Epiphone introduced the Century electric guitar in 1939 as part of the Century series of instruments (which included a banjo, mandolin, lap steel and an amplifier). It was a hollow bodied, single pickup archtop that was eventually replaced by the Epiphone Century E422T in 1958 when Gibson took over Epiphone. The body width of the Century gradually increased following its introduction: from 14.75" wide in 1939, to 15.25" in 1941 and 16.375" in 1946. The Century guitar was also available in Tenor (4-string short-scale) and Plectrum (4-string long-scale) configurations.

The early Epiphone Century's had a single Master pickup in the bridge position, this was moved to the neck position in 1946. The pickup was changed to a Tone Spectrum unit in 1950 to 1957. Some were also made with NY pickups during the 1950s. The headstock had a metal logo plate.