Knutsen Harp Guitar
This is an exciting discovery! The black & white image shows a harp
guitar pictured in the 1919 photo of Ingman Ivar Strum (see
Historical Photos and also Anderson). The
color image is of an instrument sold on Ebay in December, 2002. I believe they
are one and the same!
The seller, Tanna Welch provides the only clue: "I was given this as a
gift from a friend. He found it in the closet of the house his mother bought in
Arlington, WA."
Ingman's grandson Bob has been unable to obtain additional evidence,
stating, "I talked to my cousin. He remembers seeing the guitar around
1940. He said it was well worn then. He attributes it to Grandpa playing on
street corners with an evangelistic service."
Jean Findlay adds, "The 1930 census gives Ingman's address as West
Rose in Seattle. Arlington is a small town north of Seattle close to Mount
Vernon, before you get to Anacortes or Bellingham--probably about 90 minutes
north on the I-5 corridor."
Not much to go on - so what do the photos tell us?
Luckily, we have great photos of the guitar after it was restored by
Danl Terry, and then additionally restored by Ken Miller.
I've gone over both of the photographs in detail and everything discernible
matches exactly. The specific shapes of the body, arm, headstocks, bridge (tiny
portion visible), inlays, tuners - everything. Note also that the guitar has a
large amount of fingerboard wear - it was heavily played! The two
sticking points are:
1. the lack of the purfling line separating the bass headstock from the arm -
but resolution and film properties of the photo could easily be masking that
(there are no known Knutsens of this style without a separation here).
2. a slight height alignment discrepancy between the two headstocks,
which could be due to adjustment of the bracket and neck or changes over time
(or simply the angle of the guitar to the camera).
Even if we accept the seeming discrepancies above, there is still no way to
"prove" that Knutsen didn't make a second identical (or close)
instrument. But while the odds of an exact duplicate are possible, the 200-plus
instruments catalogued on this site show that, for Knutsen, this is extremely
unlikely. The inlays, specifically, are very unique and it is all but
impossible that Knutsen would have repeated them exactly on an equally identical
guitar. After all due consideration, it is my opinion that this is almost
certainly the same instrument.
Note that the treble string back has returned - this time sloping in the
opposite direction. This is the only one I've seen with eight, rather than the
usual seven, treble strings. Repairman Ken Miller, who is setting up the guitar
for the current owner, believes that someone (perhaps Knutsen himself) added the
super-treble strings and pin block after the guitar was near completion -
possibly doing the work through the soundhole. My opinion is that they are
all original. The Strum guitar shows the bridge starting its slope and the
first couple tuners, and the pin block of the existing instrument is just as
crude as those in my Knutsen zither harp guitar (HGS40). In fact, the
whole mess of braces and poor construction inside is pure Knutsen all the way!
Click on a picture to
enlarge
(b&w images copyright and courtesy Bob Strum, top row color images copyright Danl
Terry, bottom row copyright Ken Miller)
Knutsen Archives Inventory Number |
HGS35 |
|
Category |
Seattle Harp Guitars |
|
Body Style |
"Lower Bass Point" |
|
Current or last known owner |
Ingman Ivar Strum > ? > Tanna Welch > Danl Terry> anonymous |
|
Year (approx) |
1906-1908 | |
Label |
unknown / C. KNUTSEN, Sole Patentee of the HARP GUITAR With 11 Strings. |
|
Label Code | SE1 | |
Courses / Strings |
19 course: 6 strings on neck, 5 bass, 8 treble |
|
Frets |
straight | |
Scale length | 24-3/4" | |
Neck Joint | no heel, bracket | |
Woods |
Top |
cedar |
Back & Sides |
mahogany | |
Neck |
Spanish cedar | |
Fingerboard |
dyed pearwood | |
Bridge |
walnut | |
Headstock veneer | walnut | |
Binding, trim |
Top |
multi-colored purfling, walnut |
Back |
pear or basswood | |
Fingerboard |
unknown | |
Headstock(s) |
none | |
Soundhole | multi-colored purfling | |
Inlay |
fancy fret markers and inlay in headstock | |
Pickguard |
none |
|
Comments |
Treble strings and pin block appear to have been added to already completed guitar - possibly through the soundhole. |
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