English Guittar (Preston English Guitar) 18th century England--For Sale (offers over $5300 will be considered)
Here is a 6 course 10 string English Guitar (English Guitar) made in London by Preston. I do not know if his name was John Preston or James Preston.
This type of guittar (spelled with 2 "t"s) was popular during the American Colonial period. It was often found in taverns, bordello and barbershop at the time of George Washington, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.
Behind the head you can see the stamp "Preston Maker" and below that London. above the words is the stamp of His Majesty George the Third.
This instrument has the watch-key tuner supposedly invented by Preston. The typical tuning for the English Guittar (CEG ceg) is engraved in the head
This instrument has tortoise shell fingerboard. The finish appears to be original. The back plates are separated by a 2mm gap and the back braces are presently not glued to the back. The face has 3 thin cracks--once the back is removed it will be easy to repair these crack.
The back and sides appear to be flamed maple and the face, a close grain softwood (pine, spruce?). The varnish is in very good condition.
The back plates and sides have no cracks.
There are some small ornamental pieces of Mother of Pearl and 2 small strips of tortoise shell missing in the head.
There is an ornamental stone or shell missing at the bottom and top of the fingerboard.
The tortoise shell is in very good condition. Here is a nice inlay in the fingerboard.
The ebony fingerboard on the side at the 8th fret is missing (1/8" x 1/8" x 1/2").
There is a small crack in the head which had been glued together but is visible.
The back left panel is unglued which should aid in the removal of the back.
2 of the 10 end pins which hold the strings (probably ivory) are missing. The ivory strap pin is in good condition.
The brass rose is in wonderful shape.
When I found this 5 years ago the back plates were 3mm apart. In my climate of 40 to 50% humidity the gap has shrunk to 2mm.
I bought this instrument for myself with the intention of doing the repair and learning some authentic pieces. I did research and found some original pieces. I contemplated how to do the repair of the back and conferred with violin makers and master guitarmakers. I searched my soul and I came to the conclusion that someone else with long experience with this type instrument and with this maker should do the repair.
I think that this instrument can be well restored and should make a good playable instrument.
You can see the restoration by Art Robb of another Preston English Guitar at: http://www.art-robb.co.uk/EG.html
To contact me about this instrument by e-mail, click on my address: ron@fernandezmusic.com
Or you can call me (Ron Fernandez) at 949-856-1537