19th Century Guitar

The classical six string guitar of the 19th Century resembles several fretted zithers from the ancient Mediterranean world. The word "guitar" comes from, "qitara", an Arabic name. The baroque guitar of Spain and the Vihuela generally had five string courses. Treble strings were paired. These earlier instruments are closer to the lute in both tuning and construction. The "Spanish" guitar comes to Spain by way of France, Italy and Austrian makers early in the 19th Century.

At present the earliest unaltered classic guitar, datable with certainty, is an Italian instrument in Stockholm, Musikhistoriska Museet annex, with the label "Gio. Battista Fabricatore fecit An 1791 in S.M. del Ajuto, Napoli." (Thomas Heck, 1972) Harvey Turnbull tells us in, The Guitar from the Renaissance to the Present Day (New York, 1974), that the guitar with six single strings is probably of French or Italian origin, [but] definitely not of Spanish origin (p. 64).

Whether it was the French or the Italians who made the first classical six string guitars, 1790-1830 displayed a strong consistency in design. Because of the abundance of fakes using similar labels at the time, it is difficult to attribute surviving guitars to their makers. From what does survive, the first classic guitars were probably made in Naples in the 1770s or 80s. Such instruments can readily be found dating from the 1790s with such labels as Gagliano, Fabricatore, Valenzano, Trotto, and Vinaccia. The original classic guitars, were soon being faithfully copied in Vienna and elsewhere in the early 19th century. Johann Georg Stauffer is one of the more innovative and documented Austrian makers.

19th Century Romantic Style Classical Guitar

The beautiful guitar below was made in Austria near the turn of the 19th Century. Even so, it is done in early 19th Century romantic style. This guitar has a floating finger board.   It also has a unique feature in the Stauffer tradition. The neck is adjustable by inserting a key to turn a pin at the joint of the neck with the guitar body. The action is therefore adjustable, but because of a slight warp at the end of the finger board, the action can't be lowered to more than about 4 mm. at the 19th fret. Frets and finger board are in excellent condition.

There are a couple of professionally repaired cracks on the face of the guitar. They are stable and do not affect the tone. There is another crack of about an inch in the side of the guitar that is non-repairable because of a flaw in the wood, but it is stable and does not affect playability. Tuning gears are not original, but function fine. For its age, this guitar is in excellent condition. It is now strung with NylaGut (a synthetic gut string) and sounds terrific. Its volume is impressive for its size. It has that "19th Century sound" and is particularly complimentary to voice accompaniment. The wooden "coffin case" is made by John Salicco.

Examine the photos below and if you are interested in more details, please contact us.

Price of antique guitar with wooden case $1,200.00 plus S&H.                        Printable PDF Order Form

Late 19th Century Harp Guitar

I acquired this harp guitar (Kontraguitarre) early last year. It's a turn of the century Hubert Heerbeck instrument from Austria. Not presently for sale, I offer this picture for those who may have an interest in these instruments. It has the Stauffer style peg head and a floating fretboard. The neck is held to the body by two pins which are adjusted by a clock key. To the right is a picture of a cedar "coffin" case I made for it.

Though these instruments existed in Europe from the early 1800s, present documented evidence of harp guitars in America begins in the 1890s. I became especially interested in Harp Guitars because of the Tacoma, WA connection to the history of their making. Just a few miles from the Banjo Factory, a little over a century ago, Chris Knudsen was making his innovative Harp Guitars right here in Tacoma. For more information about Harp Guitars, I recommend that you visit http://www.harpguitars.net/

If I ever get caught up on banjo orders, I would like to try making a double neck Harp Banjo. I'll keep you posted.

Late19th Century or Turn of the Century Parlor Guitar

This well played beautiful guitar was probably made in Austria near the turn of the 19th Century. Frets and finger board are in good condition. It has a nice mellow tone.

There are a few stable cracks on the face of the guitar. They do not affect the tone. There are no other cracks on the side or the back of the guitar. The face of guitar shows the wear and scratches of years of use. Tuning gears all function fine. For its age, this guitar is in good condition. It is now strung with Savarez heavy tension strings and it sounds terrific. It has a full mellow sound impressive for its size.

Examine the photos and if you are interested in more details, please contact me.

Price of parlor guitar is $600.00 plus S&H. Printable PDF Order Form

I can provide a wooden case for an additional $200.00 (Please allow two weeks for construction of the case.)