Hey guys, original poster here.
A friend of mine has had a mid-'50's Aristocrat since the late '60's, albeit in a gig bag. A true musician, he's been looking for a case 'the whole time'. I remembered that I'd bought a Duo Jet case in the '90's and still had it in storage. I got some Duo Jet measurements off the 'net and pulled the Aristocrat lower bout width measurements from Hans' book. I figured we'd have a shot at an 'okay fit', but wasn't sure.
I dropped the case off at his house the other day and told him to see if worked with his guitar. My buddy said the '90's Duo Jet case, 'fit the Aristocrat like a glove'. Success!
So there you have it: My friend and dogman have reached similar conclusions, based on independent testing!
I appreciate all the input. I mean, where else could you go to find an information source for a project that spanned 40 years and 2 different guitar brands?