Parlour Guitar

I’ve just bought myself a guitar!

This is a 19th century parlour guitar that is in need of some work. It hasn’t got a maker’s name inside but it has a French look to it. You can see the head has a V joint and the tuners are recessed into the head which is a nice touch.

Hopefully I’ll get it playing again, but I’m also interested in using its design as the basis of small string guitar that I intend making. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned before that I have a Cuban mahogany lid off of a 19th century grand piano- I’m going to try to re-saw it and use it for the back and sides. There’s something nice about the idea of making a 19th century inspired guitar from a 19th century piano!

However, this wouldn’t be the first time that I’ve done something like this below is a parlour guitar based on a 1902 Ditson Martin. I made it in 1977 from a Cuban mahogany wardrobe door that my Dad found in a skip!