1902 L-1 introduction specs (acoustic archtop): single bound round soundhole with 2 rope pattern wood rings, single bound top, ebony fingerboard, dot fingerboard inlays, orange top finish, dark mahogany back and sides, 2 sizes.

1908 L-1 specs: 13.5" wide, narrower waist, trapeze tailpiece with pins anchored in tortoise celluloid plate, elavated pickguard, 13 frets clear of the body, bound fingerboard, slated "The Gibson" logo.

The L-1 featured a tighter grained two piece spruce top and Honduran mahogany back and sides.

These guitars were crafted in the Montana shop and were hand built using the same techniques as the original offering.

In the late 1990s or early 2000s, Gibson introduced the L-1 Robert Johnson acoustic guitar model, the guitar features the historic small L-series body design (25" scale length), ebony bridge with carved pyramid wings, 3 3/4-inch soundhole diameter, and a Robert Johnson signature inlay at the end of the fingerboard.