[CITTERN] Re: 18th C. EG on ebay
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 It's not an 18th c guittar, it's a 19th century Portuguese guitar into which someone has put a label. Mahogany was not used for instrument bodies in the mid-18th c, rosewood was not used for fingerboards, brass string plates were not put on the end, fingerboards were not made like that - etc etc etc. It's simply a much later instrument and is a Portuguese guitar, many of which were imported into Britain in the late 19th century when there was a craze for playing them. David To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[CITTERN] Re: 18th C. EG on ebay
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
