The Epiphone Company was founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos. It was purchased in 1957 by the Chicago Music Company, owners of the Gibson Guitar Corporation. Epiphone was Gibson's main rival in the archtop market and their quality archtops-the Emperor, Deluxe, Broadway and Triumph-rivaled (and some contend surpassed) those of Gibson. They also produced professional quality acoustics, basses and banjos.



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