This style of guitar is one of my favourites. It was designed originally for a light gut/steel mix string setup and most often these guitars were strung up with medium gauge steel strings which just kill the top. They only have a couple braces on the soundboard, but they are built of good quality materials. I've rebuilt a few and converted the top to Martin style X bracing. You end up with a tiny little 24.25" scale parlour with Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, White Spruce top, ebony fingerboard and bridge and a Spanish Cedar neck. This will be a real slick little box when it's done. Keep an eye on it!
1939 Epiphone Olympic
This one boasts a solid tight-grained carved spruce top. It has Mahogany back and sides, unlike the more commonly found black walnut versions. It has an elevated fingerboard extension, where the Gibsons have it glued right on the soundboard, (unless it's an L7 or another higher end model) which is a welcome feature on a student model guitar. Moderately radiused fingerboard, 24.5 inch scale with a truss rod beneath it accessed on the soundboard side. Dove tail neck joint and mahogany neck. This is one of my favourite models of guitars. Email me if you're looking for an Olympic. It's going to be nice and growly.