Silvertone was the brand name used by Sears, Roebuck & Company for its line of sound equipment and music products from about 1915 to 1972. Along with a number of other manufacturers, CMI/Harmony produced a range of instruments branded Silvertone for Sears Roebuck. DeArmond pickups were fitted in some of these instruments.
DeArmond also manufactured a number of attachable pickups branded Silvertone. These assemblies used 1 or 2 plain chrome Hershey Bar pickups, riveted to a steel bracket that enabled the pickup(s) to slide along a bar. This provided some tonal variation. The assembly also incorporated volume and tone controllers for each pickup. The catalog numbers for these two items changed over the years.
Silvertone 1453 guitar (as Harmony H-82 Rebel). Note the different heights of the two D-grille chrome pickups with integral bezels.
Two D-Grille soapbar pickups with ‘pearlised’ gold infills fitted in a Silvertone Model 1479 guitar. Both pickups are riveted to the pickguard but the bridge pickupis seated on two small fibre ‘standoffs’ to increase its height.A (B0423)
1963 Silvertone Model 1423 guitar. The neck pickup is raised slightly but the bridge pickup appears to be raised approx. 5/16″ (8mm.)(B0438)
Three D-Grille pickups with integral bezels on timber bases of different heights installed in a 1956 H1454 guitar. (B0187)
1963 Silvertone Model 1423 guitar with two D-Grille chrome pickups with integral bezels as Harmony H-49 Jupiter Stratotone. (B0438)