Unknown, old parlor guitar - any help/info?

[martinlan]

Hi,

I recently got hold of an old parlor sized, acoustic guitar. My great grandfather built and repaired acoustic instruments in the 30's, 40's and 50's, and this was delivered to him for repairs. However, it was never picked up by the man who owned it, so it stayed in my family. I never knew it existed until a few weeks ago, when my mother's cousin gave it to me, since I'm the only family member who keeps the musical tradition alive.

It's small-bodied, with maple(?) body and spruce top. I've had it repaired (some cracks, etc.), and the guy in the shop said it might be of German origin (me/it are in Norway now). I'm attaching an image of it, if anybody has any feedback about how old it might be, country of origin, etc., please let me know.




Martin.

[martinlan]

Can't seem to get the picture working... see this link, then:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

[ship of fools]

No pictures came through, so if you could try again. There are several on the forum here who love to chase down the origins of some old parlors. Me I tend to look at the Washburn family but enjoy other makers also and love the chase. ship

[martinlan]

Originally Posted by ship of fools

No pictures came through, so if you could try again. There are several on the forum here who love to chase down the origins of some old parlors. Me I tend to look at the Washburn family but enjoy other makers also and love the chase. ship

Thanks for your reply! How do I get a pic thru? It asks for an URL, and I only have the file itself, not an upload...

[ship of fools]

It looks like it could be German, and made by a maker called Martin Stingl from around the 1890's, here is an example of his work.

Hope this is the right one hard to tell there were so many makers at that time period. ship

[martinlan]

Thanks for your reply! It's a bit hard to tell, the image was so small, but it looks much like it, yes. Exciting if it's that old!