The hollowbody market
was a hard to predict one, and the year this
guitar
was first offered, 1968, Sears went from offering zero double cutaway hollowbody
electrics to
offering no less than FOUR separate models by years end. I'll blame this
on George Harrison, who was often seen sporting a handsome double cutaway Gretsch
Country Gentleman.
Click for catalog listings.
The 1485 was a Harmony-made ES-335 look-alike, and a
premium guitar at the time it was offered, commanding one of the largest prices
for a Silvertone in any catalog at $199.95. Obviously related to its long-available
sibling the 1454 (and itself most closely related to the Harmony
H78), it was available for
a little over a year as the Made In Japan instruments
took over. The higher than usual price tag of the 1485 (in the same ballpark as
the price of the 1454), along with its small window
of availability, make this a very rare Silvertone.
Introduced: Fall/Winter 1968
Retired: 1970
