> > > From: ron fernandez <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2006 00:13:27 -0700 > To: "Roger E. Blumberg" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [CITTERN] Re: Small Portuguese Guitarra ca. 1890 > > > To Roger, > > With regard to the Portuguese guitar in the Canadian Collection of old > instruments. You will notice that they refer to me (Fernandez Music) as the > authority on such Portuguese instruments. This is because they really do not > know anything about these instrument. Their date of 1940 is simply a guess on > their part. Just because something is on the internet does not make it true. > > Since 1971 I have travelled to Portugal many times and I have visited many > instrument makers in Portugal--e.g., Oscar Cardoso, Fernando Meireles, > Gilberto Gracio, Antonio Pinto Carvalho, João Palmeiro, Domingos > Machado--where I have seen many old instruments. I have also visited the > splendid private collection of Portuguese fretted instruments held by Jose > Lucio in Lisbon. Based upon such first hand experiences, I feel that the > Andrade instrument is pre-1900 for the reasons I mentioned in my previous > e-mail. > > Nevertheless, what is needed here is a better documented connection about this > instrument. Frank Nordberg has mentioned that the 1899 Zimmermann catalogue > has instruments such as the Andrade guitarra in it. Let's have a look at that. > > The other proof would be a catalogue from Alban Voigt.. Does anyone know > anything about Alban Voigt and Company of London? Since the Andrade guitarra > was imported by them the question becomes what were their dates of operation? > When did they import Portuguese guitarras? If they were importing them in the > mid-20th century I think we would see a lot more of them. > > Ron Fernandez
Hi Ron; I hope I didn't offend by questioning it's age (or your judgement thereof). And I did see they link over to you. It must be the combination of Brazilian Rosewood (one piece back?), and the bright white heavy solid edge binding (which combo I grew up seeing as a routine in the 60's), plus the refinishing/polishing (stripping away signs of age) that threw me. But even that scrolly viney decoration on the butt looks not-of-the-period to me (looks tacky, if you will), and the fretboard even looks too good, radiused, wider modern fretwire perhaps. I mean not one of the particulars looks old -- at face-value first-sight -- except the tuning machine design. What material is the binding made of -- which cleans up so bright-white when French polished? Thanks Roger To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
