Harry Rosenbloom established Elger in 1959 (named for his children Ellen and Gerson), to build high quality guitars for his music store in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. From its factory in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, Elger offered classical, acousic and archtop electric guitars but by 1965 Elger had stopped production in the USA. Rosenbloom started importing from Japan, selling Hoshino Gakki made Japanese Elgers and also became the exclusive distributor for Hoshino Gakki (Ibanez) in the USA.

In 1971 Hoshino Gakki bought Elger Guitars and regained Ibanez distribution rights in the USA, but retained Elger's Pennsylvania facility as the Ibanez USA distribution center.

Source: Guitar Attack - Lawsuit Ibanez (9 April 2017)

Source: Elger catalogs 1966-1968