Knutsen Harp Guitar    

Here's a very interesting instrument, probably made prior to the last Seattle harp guitars with vertical bass headstocks. Like those instruments, it also has zither pin bass tuners, but on a completely differently shaped headstock.
At bottom left is the guitar with its original owner, Tina Sofia Bohman, the maternal grandmother of the guitar's current owner. Pictured in her church with her string band group on Sept. 23, 1927.

hgs22.jpg (19930 bytes) hgs22headside.jpg (28694 bytes) hgs22side.jpg (27144 bytes) hgs22back.jpg (19163 bytes)

Click on a picture to enlarge
(images copyright John Joyner, family photo copyright and courtesy Greg Furse)

Knutsen Archives Inventory Number

HGS22

                 Category

Seattle Harp Guitars

                 Body Style

"Lower Bass Point"

                 Current or last known owner

Greg Furse

              Year (approx)

1912-1913

                 Label

"C. Knutsen, Sole Patentee of the 11-string harp guitar. The five extra bass strings are tuned to D,C,B,A and G one octave lower than regular pitch"

                 Label Code SE2

                 Courses / Strings

18-course: 6 strings on neck, 5 bass, 7 treble

               Frets

straight

                 Scale length 25-1/2"
                 Neck Joint no heel

Woods

Top

cedar

Back & Sides

mahogany

Neck

cypress?

Fingerboard

dyed mahogany

Bridge

unknown
Headstock veneer koa

Binding, trim

Top

dyed wood

Back

unknown

Fingerboard

none

Headstock(s)

dyed wood
Soundhole 8 blonde, red or black wood rings

                 Inlay

fancy fret markers

                 Pickguard

none

                 Comments

 

 

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