Good Morning, All.
I recently traded for what a gentleman called "an old Gretsch in very poor condition." Turns out that that means a 1957 Gretsch 6190 Streamliner with a crack in the front and swollen inlays. Everything else was dirty but absolutely fine, and after popping out the inlays that were blocking the strings, the guitar plays like a dream. Good action, original electronics, original Melita bridge and G-Cutout saddle.
Unfortunately, I've not been able to discover much about the guitar other than it's a fairly rare bird. Streamliners originally had two control knobs and dyna pickups, but in late 1957 they changed to a single knob with tone switch layout and to Filtertron pickups. According to another forum there were only about 200 made like this before the Streamliner was replaced by the Anniversary editions. By serial number records kept by a guy on that forum, this guitar is likely the first or second guitar off the Gretsch production line to get the smooth top Filtertron pickup (pre-patent). 25674 had dynas, 25675 is unaccounted for, and this guitar is 25676 with a Filtertron, trestle bracing, and the new layout.
Anyway, I just blathered a lot of details for "not knowing much," but that's what I've found so far. I'm curious if you all would know more, have any ideas on value, etc. It plays like a dream, and I'm still deciding whether I should sell it or play it. It kind of depends on what it's worth, I suppose.