Cortley was a house brand name for guitars sold by Southland Musical Merchandising Corporation (Greensboro, NC) , Maxwell Meyers (Dallas, TX), and Harris Fandel (Massachusetts). Cortley instruments (electric, acoustic and classical guitars; banjos and mandolins) were made from around 1973 until the early 1980s. Cortley guitars were supplied by Jack Westheimer, a Chicago based importer and distributor. Westheimer was a pioneer in sourcing guitars from Japan and Korea who introduced various brands including the similarly named Cort and Cortez - many Cortez and Cortley designs were identical and made in the same Japanese factories.

Source: Unofficial Cortley guitars website (3 February 2017)

Source: Jack Westheimer: Pioneer of Global Guitar making. By Michael Wright. Vintage Guitar Magazine