Indeed, Chicago was one of the major harp guitar centers in America from 1890 until the instrument's demise in the 'twenties.  The list of individuals and firms who built very early and very wonderful harp guitars in Chicago includes Almcrantz, Altpeter, Bohmann, Carlson, Carlstedt, Hansen, Harmony, Larson, Leland, Lyon & Healy, Mayflower and Meyers.  The Larson brothers are thought to have built a few of these brands, and of course built for Maurer, Stahl, Dyer and many others as well.

I told the owner that it was an interesting new Historical Maker for our list, noting its eight sub-basses on the uniquely-shaped headstock and of course its offset soundhole.

As always, I do my best to identify the instrument in these fascinating photographs.  This gentleman's harp guitar didn't match anything in the Galleries, though it bore many suspicious similarities to this one-of-a-kind specimen by one Henry G. Tabbert of Cleveland, Ohio:

As it was in pretty poor shape, I passed on it, but grabbed the small photos, noticing the curious headstock logo (at left).

I also remembered seeing this style of harp guitar before - of course!  It reminded me of both the Tabbert and that old historical player's instrument.  That enabled me to safely switch the historical player's instrument from "attributed to" Tabbert to "att G. A. Carlson.

I already knew that it wasn't the exact same specimen as in the historical photo, as the carved sub-bass head piece had a slightly different shape.  

But it's a very close match!

But where did one end and another begin?!

...which leaves whatever is left as some sort of crazy "A"?

The previous owner had repaired a few cracks (leaving many to go) and also replaced the bridge.  Sadly, he replaced the split original Brazilian rosewood bridge with ebony.  We decided to leave it when we determined that the wood underneath had not been addressed, thinking it less risky to trust it would hold tension than to remove the bridge which would have almost certainly made more of a mess and require a potentially visible top patch (the inside bridge plate is all but non-existent).  In the end, the top remained incredibly flat and the bridge has not ripped off, even with 18 light to extra light strings tuned to pitch.

Even lightly strung, this harp guitar turned out to be a cannon!  Yes, that term is overused, but is not an overstatement here.  This may be the loudest harp guitar in my collection (of dozens of already loud harp guitars)!

Perhaps it's mostly due to the offset and oversize soundhole (over 4-¾")?  Like many early harp guitars, it is also large – 17-⅜" wide and 4-⅞" deep at the tail block.

Or it could be the very unusual bracing.  There are the expected two hefty cross braces just above and below the soundhole.  But no other "ladder bracing."  Instead, there are five long angled bars extending from the lower cross brace all the way to the tail.  As these angle toward the bass side, there are three additional short cross pieces on the treble side, but nothing further for the bass side.  As I said, the bridge plate is the thinnest bit of extra spruce running under the pins.

Then there's that heavily domed back, something Carlson undoubtedly copied from his Chicago neighbor Joseph Bohmann.  

I suspect that the back and sides are the same 3-ply that Carlson's neighbor Joseph Bohmann used: thin maple sandwiched between two pieces of Brazilian rosewood veneer.

Unfortunately, as in Bohmann instruments, this outer rosewood layer invariably ends up with hundreds of small splits that we've so far found no feasible way to restore.

While Carlson's neck scale is a typical 25", his subs range from 31" to almost 37", substantially longer than most other configurations out there.

Both mahogany necks are super straight, the bass neck strongly made with an extremely deep "V."

Though fuzzy, we can see what is likely the same logo on the headstock.  It also has the same bass headstock design with 12 subs tuned with pins, the large offset soundhole, and the straight tapering bridge, with an additional medallion-like piece added.

Presumably, he came and went.  Searching has unearthed no G. A. Carlson mandolins or standard guitars.  So far, his output remains these four harp guitars, two of which survive.

And what of Henry Tabbert, who first clouded the issue above?

Again, nothing is known of the Cleveland maker, but I have to assume that the two builders either knew each other or that one saw and copied the others' work.

Note how the two most distinctive features are shared: the large offset soundhole and the straight, tapering bridge.  Add to that a similar double-neck and bass head configuration, with each having twelve long sub-bass strings tuned with pins.  The Tabbert owners describe it as a much cruder instrument than Carlson's.  He was listed in a city directory, but was probably a part time builder.

Epilogue:

People always ask about how these instruments were originally utilized, and I always treasure finding evidence of the original owners of these wonderful inventions.  Here, we can actually see two of the ensembles that included the rare and obscure G. A. Carlson harp guitars.  In the case of Europe’s orchestra, we can even hear recordings of his groups and the strong, rhythmic drive of their Marches and similar American music.  In concert, the Europe orchestra harp guitarists had to somehow back up over a hundred musicians of all types: banjos, horns, drums and multiple pianos.  They therefore really had just one musical criterion for their instruments: they had to be loud.

And G. A. Carlson delivered!