The Stella "Gambler"

Commonly called the Stella "Gambler", the name was never used by the Oscar Schmidt Company. Oscar Schmidt catalogs and advertising referred to the model simply as their #5024. During the dozen or so years it that was offered, the Stella 5024 model went through a considerable number of variations.

Some "Gamblers" were equipped with embossed pearloid fingerboards (#5024P). Others had inlaid pearl dot position markers - some with only two dots and some with four. Still others wore diamond shaped position markers - some of which were inlaid and others silk screened. Although also offered in grand concert size (both 6 and 12 string models), as well as tenor guitar and ukulele, the vast majority of Stella "Gamblers" are standard concert sized 6-string instruments.

Model #5024 first appeared in Schmidt ads in the mid to late 1920s. The  advertisement (right) from a 1928 issue of the music industry trade publication: Musical Merchandise is one of the earliest.

The first generation "Gambler" guitars were adorned with two different "gambler" decals. One depicted four cards, one for each of the four suites: diamond, spade, club and heart. The other decal depicted three cards with the middle card being a "king". There there were four such decals in all - one king for each of  the four card suites. Which "kings" appeared on a given instrument was arbitrary. In fact, some 5024's have the same decal repeated more than once. But most "Gamblers" have three (occasionally four) different king decals applied.

 By the early 1930s, the #5024 model was adorned with just the "face card" or "king" decals. Many of the "Gambler" Stellas from this era also have gold filigree rosettes.