Reportedly made by Tony Lamberti himself circa 1948, this little gem is filled with history.
I found it at a weekend market in Melbourne in about 1978, covered in some horrific glunk like Estapol or some similar varnish and with all six machine heads kaput. The man selling it seemed to know a lot about this small-bodied guitar, and I suspected he had had it all those years.
I had no idea what brand of guitar it was and really was not in the market for another guitar, having a couple of very nice guitars myself. 
However, the guitar was very different from the standard fare, and I was curious to hear his story. He said the guitar had been made by Tony Lamberti in about 1948 in the family’s instrument factory in North Melbourne, not long after the company had started.
Apparently, in those days, Lamberti guitars were quite well known around Australia, and in Melbourne and Sydney in particular. I had no interest in buying the guitar, but he wanted to see the end of it and was selling it for only a few dollars.                      
“What the heck,” I thought, “I’ll fix it up.”
The first chore was to get rid of the Estapol, which was a disaster for this or any guitar. Covering that poor guitar in that glunk was an act of vandalism. And it was poorly done, with the vandal using a brush and using it badly.
I consulted with a friend who knew about working with fine woods, and he said to use a little paint stripper, painted on very thinly and then quickly scraped off, followed by wiping with a water-soaked cloth several times to remove all the paint stripper. 
Fortunately, no Estapol was on the neck, but I was worried about damaging the spruce top and maple sides. 
“No, those woods are strong and resistant. Be quick about it, and they’ll be safe,” he said.
He was absolutely right. The paint stripper quickly bubbled the Estapol, and in only a minute or so, it was easily scraped off. The paint stripper-Estapol goo that remained was easily removed after several passes with the wet cloth.
In a couple of hours, all of the Estapol was gone.
I sanded the top and sides with ultrafine 800 grit, over and over, giving a beautifully smooth surface. After seeking advice on various finishes, I decided to simply use 100% carnuba wax, although there are many options with people having their own strong opinions.
The carnuba wax has stood the test of time. The wood is well protected and looks fine.
This Lamberti is far from the hallowed resonant sounds of a high-quality Gibson, Martin, Cole Clark, Fenech or Maton or any of the other remarkable, finely crafted acoustic guitars made today, but so what? It has a distinctive honky tonk sound all its own and is fun to play with a slide, the louder and more indelicately the better.