E.J.Berg 1897

[Andras Novak]

This wonderful guitar came to my workshop for repair and setup. Do any of you know something about this builder? It is definitely professionally built, but i cannot find anything about it on the net. Unusually for the time it was made, it has a trussrod, but also a very small bridgeplate. Thin steelstrings, or gut? The saddle is straight, with no more compensatiuon for the E6 than the e1. 

Andras Novak Instrumentmakare 

Stockholm Sweden

[Frank Ford]

He does visit here, and I sent him a note yesterday. . .

[Tim Mace]

wonder if Carl's guitar was a Berg.......I always think of him when I see mop like this.Huddy Leadbetter too.......

[Carl Meine]

P. Benson Guitars were out of Minneapolis and they have similar features.

http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/20U-13253.htm

http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/kids/guitars.html

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1905-P-Benson-Parlor-Guitar-Mahogan...

[Carl Meine]

What I have heard is that P Benson was large music retailer out of Minneapolis and would buy Chicago guitars, do the inlay work in shop and sell them at a higher price. If you look at some of the old catalogs, you can see that the styling is very reminiscent of this E.J. Berg. I don't think it would be too far of a stretch to say that there might be a

[Ian Barker]

Now this may be a clue, or it may be pure coincidence.  According to the interesting catalogue pages in the Ebay sale referenced above, Mr P. Benson of Minneapolis didn't just sell guitars.  He sold razors as well.  And the razors he sold were made by Erik Anton Berg, of Eskilstuna, Sweden.  There are plenty of refences to this gentleman and his company on the web.

Is it perhaps possible that Mr Benson made this beautiful guitar as a present for his supplier, Mr Berg, or for one of his family?  It would explain how the guitar got from Minneapolis to Sweden.

Andras, it would be interesting to discover if your client has any history for the guitar which might point towards Eskilstuna.

[Andras Novak]

You seem to be a true explorer of the eBay!

The owner told me that this guitar has never been sold, he is a relative to the builder. It has remained in the family, and does not have any sale records. Between the 4th and 5th fret you can read the name "Maria", which makes it probable that the builder made it for his woman or doughter or someone close to him. 

The E.A. Berg chisels are the best I have ever owned by the way, they can still be found on flea markets and old woodworking shops. They had a shark as a symbol. Theese sharks can nowdays be seen on a line of Bahco tools, as Bahco Bought the E.A.Berg company Some decades before i got to Sweden (1988). 

The builder might have something to do with that company, but it's not specially probable, as the name Berg is very common in Sweden. But thanks for your interesting reply's, the Bensons really look like something similar.

This instrument might have been a more simple one from the beginning, and decorated with those lots of inlays later. When i glued back the v-shaped pearl piece fitted on the end of the guitar where the two sides meet, i saw that there was an earlier, little more simple decoration inunder it. Also, the knife that cut the wood for the v-shaped pearl, slipped out on to the binding. this indicates that the binding was made before the pearl inlay, which also suggests that the inlay was not made when the guitar was new. 

I have also found an explanation for the trussrod. The inlay on the back side of the neck is cut off both right up at the head and where it meets the heel. So the trussrod also came to place later on. See the pictures, hope they are not too lousy. 

Andras

[Ian Barker]

Andras,

Well, it was a neat theory...but (as they say on Mythbusters) this one is 'busted'!