help identifying parlour guitar

[graham high]

hello everyone,this guitar was rescued from the garbage.obviously old but how old?any chance of it being a martin.any info or input would be greatly appreciated.

[graham high]

more pics

[Ned Knepp]

Hi Graham, I'm no expert but my 2 cents is that this is not a Martin.  Among other things, to me the rosette seems too ornate for a Martin and I don't recall seeing any with the rope sound hole binding. The bridge, which doesn't appear in the pictures to have been changed isn't right for a Martin and the head to neck joint seem reversed from what I've seen on Martins. The examples of this joint I recall all have the volute carved to fit on the outside of the back of the head and the diamond shaped tongue fits into the head underneath the face veneer. 

 

It looks like a pretty nice old parlor from early in the 20th century but, again, I'm no expert and simply posting my opinion. I have one something like but of poorer construction that I have been rebuilding.  What sort of bracing do you find inside of the guitar?

 

Ned

[George Roberts]

Graham,

I posted a reply earlier, but it seems to have evaporated.  It is a very charming little guitar.  The style of the tuners makes me think it would be in the 1870 to 1890 range.  The buttons on the tuners look like they are bone, or less likely, ivory.  The "ice cream cone" shape of the heel, and the three piece neck look very European to me, especially the rounding of the back of the peghead where it meets the neck.  On the other hand, at this point in time, many of the American guitars were being made by transplanted Europeans. 

It would be helpful to see a front on picture of the guitar that included the fingerboard. 

I think the bridge has been replaced.  The original "footprint" was a little further posterior.  The bridge also looks like dyed maple.  Is the fingerboard ebony?

Is the inside lining of the back of the guitar the same as the outside?  Some of these guitars had spruce linings, with an outside veneer of rosewood.

A fun, neat guitar.  Good save.

George

[Mike Edgerton]

It's not a Martin. The tuners make it very late 1800's to very early 1900's. Are there any penciled in numbers on the braces below the sound hole?

[Rob Mercure]

Graham,

 

The second .jpg above seems to show part of a label inside - or at least that's the way the pic appears on my monitor.  A good perpendicular lighted shot of the back through the soundhole might be revealing for us.

 

Rob

[Kerry Krishna]

I bought a small 6 inch Black Light florescent thing for this soul reason. You would be amazed how much 100% hidden detail you can see with it...