"Imperial" 1930 Emperor Reissue archtop

[pcm]

Well I finally found and got it: Epiphone ‘30s Emperor Reissue (“Imperial” line/ manufactured 1992) acoustic archtop arrived this week. After searching many years for one of these I had given up - research showed low production numbers and no one I had talked to had ever seen one. On one of my daily visits to << archtop.com >> I was surprised to see one listed on their “arriving soon” list. Lucky timing secured the purchase. (Many thanks to Joe Vinikov and crew at << archtop.com >> for the dedication and time they put into finding and making available great guitars - especially the vintage Epiphones.) This guitar is without a doubt the best instrument I now own and my favorite to play. Not only does it look like it was made yesterday (In his description Joe described it as being in “unplayed condition” - and it is!) but the workmanship and attention to detail are fantastic - “Custom Shop” all the way. Wood: Solid 2 piece top/back, nice flame sides and back. 7 ply neck with pearl/ abalone inlays. Action/ playability is excellent with really nicely done fretwork. Sounds great - this is one acoustic archtop that excels when it comes to “lead” work - loud and well defined notes without having to “work at it”- a lot of acoustic archtops, especially older “vintage” ones, were designed/ optimized for rhythm work and project best when strummed hard. Not so with this one - its got modern day playability/ responsiveness wrapped up in a vintage look! I’ll post pictures after the weekend.
Some questions:
1) Any other lucky owners of this great instrument out there?
2) Any body have any factual info on actual production numbers? (I’ve got the Carter book, but that’s not exactly clear on this point).
3) Any other info on this model that can be provided - I like to keep a “history” of my instruments when possible - would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks. - Paul