History:  it is not easy to find information on this guitar or the maker, but here is what my research has revealed.  The Schireson Brothers were among a group of guitar builders and were all based in one area of Los Angeles which couldn’t have been any bigger than a square mile. They included Knutsen, the De Lano brothers, and also the Oscar Schmidt company.  The Shireson Bros are reported to have made various styles of acoustic instruments from as early as 1906 until 1937.  When they began making resonator guitars, they were sued by the Dopyera Bros (of National fame) for patent infringement for copying their resonator cones.  National won the case and was rewarded all of the Schireson Bros assets, essentially putting them out of business.Date of Manufacture:  No records of serial numbers are know to exist for Schireson Bros guitars.  There is a reference to this guitar, however, in the 1999 book "Chris J. Knutsen / From Harp Guitars To The New Hawaiian Family / History and Development of the Hawaiian Steel Guitar"  by George T. Noe and Daniel L Most.  In that book, on page 164, there is a full-page color photo spread of this very model guitar.  The book states that Lyric guitars were produced between the dates of 1911-1937.  The guitar shown in the book is serial #98 and is reported to be built in 1918.  The guitar for sale here is Serial #61, which is the earliest serial number I have found information on to date.  Assuming that these guitars were produced at an even rate over the years, I would guesstimate the build date to be approx. 1915.Description:  The Style IV is reported to be the Schireson Bros top of the line Weissenborn style guitar.  This guitar measures approx. 37-7/8” in length. The lower bout is approx. 15.0” across and the upper bout is approx. 9-3/4” across. The sides are about 2-3/8” in depth. It has a scale length of approximately 25-5/8”.  The nut measures approx. 1 7/8" and the string height is approx. 1/4" or 6 mm.  The guitar is very light, weighing only 2 lbs. 13 oz.  I am not very familiar with wood types, but my guess would be Spruce top and Mahogany back, sides and fretbord.  Strung with D'Addario EJ17 strings tuned to open G.  Condition:  This is the original bridge and saddle!  This guitar is a survivor having under gone a few alterations in it's lifetime.  It looks like at one time this guitar had a tailpiece added and a different bridge was used (probably similar to an archtop setup).  When I received it, the original bridge was in place but was only connected to the body by the center bolt and a screw on each side.  I took this guitar to a local luthier with 50 years experience to bring this guitar back to playable condition.  He re-glued the bridge and filled the old screw holes on the sides.  He left the center bolt, which I believe is original to the guitar.  I have seen examples with this bolt, but not the funky nut that is used here.  It was with the guitar when I got it though and it appears to be pretty old, so we left it.  The discoloration around the bridge is not necessarily from the old temporary bridge as I have seen many examples that look like this.  The endpin was missing and was replaced with a plastic type.  The old tailpiece holes were also filled.  The bridge pins are a replacement plastic type, but I am pretty sure that this guitar originally had wood bridge pins.  The nut is a replacement Gold Tone nut that was shaved down to match the natural height created by the low steel saddle, to make the string height consistent over the fretboard.  The tuners are original and in good shape and working condition.  I believe the black buttons are even original which is amazing since these usually crumble over time.  The Lyric headstock decal is also in amazing shape for it's age.  The inlaid wood soundhole rosettes are also in very good condition as well as the interior label.  There were some cracks that needed to be stabilized by the luthier, notably three cracks below the bridge extending to the bottom of the guitar, the right one also extending up near the soundhole.  There are also some fret position numbers written in ink along the upper frets on top of the soundboard.  The fret board is also in very good condition.  Overall, this guitar is in remarkable condition for it's age.  The crack repairs and the guitar overall are very stable.  The bridge is tight to the body and should stay that way for quite some time.  The guitar plays great and sounds great.  This low serial number guitar is truly a historical treasure and should be valued by any collector as a rare early example of a Shireson Bros Lyric Hawaiian Lap Steel Guitar.  Guitar comes with a plastic molded case that is not original to the guitar and is only intended to protect the guitar from damage.  I have done my best to describe this guitar, but I am not an expert, so please view the pictures and use the zoom feature to determine condition and characteristics for yourself.  Sorry for the long description, but I want you to know exactly what you are getting.  Please feel free to ask any questions and good luck with your bids!