1930s Webster Electric 1x8" Tube Amplifier

This was just in for show-and-tell. Its owner wants to use it with a microphone for some retro-inspired "acoustic-amped-mic" situations. Well, maybe that will work with some sort of preamp to boost the mic's output while keeping the amp's volume lower -- just a little distortion for effect in that case. Direct-in, this thing goes into pretty distorted territory with an electric guitar as soon as you get 1/4 of the way up the volume knob.

However, this thing is clearly intended to be a lap steel amp from the '30s and almost identical to many old Oahu-branded amps with their off-centered speaker situation. It has a Webster Electric (Wisconsin) label on the amp chassis and so I'm assuming that's the maker. The distorted "gain" opportunities of this amp probably reflect the fact that most pickups had really weak output at the time and one wouldn't feel "distorted" until about halfway up the volume using period instruments.