Brad McEwen wrote: > Hi: > > Gavin Davenport sent me a link to eBay where there was a Paul hathway > Renaissance cittern for sale. bidding has now ended on that one, but there > is an EG for sale there. It says mid 18th C English Guittar by james Earp. > However, it has a Portugues style headstock and fan tuners. > > Anyone have an idea about what this is, who th emaker was? Could it be > evidence that the fan tuners were in fact not Portugues in origin but > British? Or was it imported by James Erp, rather than made by him? > > In any event, could it be one of the earliest examples of fan tuners? > > Item No. 130079810828 > > Brad > > Here's a direct link:
http://cgi.ebay.ie/mid-18th-century-Guitar-cittern-by-James-Earp_W0QQitemZ130079810828QQihZ003QQcategoryZ621QQcmdZViewItem I wonder why the seller thinks it's from the mid 18th century? I've never come across James Earp - nor seen 18th century instruments with the maker's name so prominently displayed. The use of mahogany for back and sides doesn't seem right. I don't think I recall seeing MoP inlays on the fretboard on 18th century instruments. The strings configuration of 4x3 would be very unusual indeed. Someone published a tutor for the Portuguese guitar in Britain in the late 19th century. Maybe this instrument is from that time rather than the mid 18th. To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
