At the bitter end of the company's tenure, the Oscar Schmidt Company attempted to catch up with the 20th Century. For 40 years, Schmidt made instruments that were essentially unchanged in design since before 1900. Then around 1935, as the company was rapidly approaching going belly-up, some modern ideas began to appear in their lineup. During these "twilight" years, a small number of 14-fret flat top guitars, a few arch-top guitars and even some electric guitars were produced. The arch-tops were sold under both the "Stella" and "Sovereign" brand. The one pictured here is typical, although the tailpiece may not be original.
Alas, it was too little and way too late. Schmidt simply could not compete with Gibson, Epiphone and Regal with a line of arch-tops or electric guitars. The timing was simply wrong! Not even the esteemed C. F. Martin Company could make a go of selling arch-tops and electric guitars! Ironically, Schmidt's successor, the Harmony Company had great success with arch-tops and electric guitars soon after their buyout.
