Knutsen "Pineapple" Hawaiian Guitar
The third and fanciest example of the rare form dubbed the "pineapple-shaped"
Hawaiian! Very similar to the other two, with the same label, but very
different (unknown) woods. This one has a pickguard and rope-bound headstock,
rare for a Knutsen.
Best of all, the owners still have the original receipt! The instrument was sold
by John W. Rogers, a Knutsen distributor in Bakersfield, CA (90 miles north of Los
Angeles). Rogers writes that he received $50 for "Final Payment on Knutsen
Guitar, Hawaiian Tipe (sp). No. 4. Color Red." Unknown is if there was an
earlier deposit or if this was the total price. I suspect that Rogers himself
came up with the "model" details - borrowing the "No. 4"
from a similarly-appointed Weissenborn, his "Color Red" a poor way to
try to further identify the typical one-of-a-kind Knutsen instrument. Rogers was
apparently serious enough about his Knutsen distributorship to have a stamp made
up for the back of his generic receipts.
With a known sale date of October 21, 1921, we can hypothesize that the
"pineapples" were also built circa 1921, and that the white New
Hawaiian Family label was clearly in use at this time (whether at the beginning,
end, or smack in the middle of its period of use is still unknown).
The instrument was purchased new by Gus Painter, the great-grandfather of the
current owner.
(images copyright Les Scigliano)
Knutsen Archives Inventory Number |
HP3 |
|
Category |
Hollow Neck Hawaiian Guitars |
|
Body Style |
"Pineapple-shaped" |
|
Current or last known owner |
Gus Painter > Layton Knopf > Les Scigliano > Jonathan Kellerman |
|
Year (approx) |
1914-1920s | |
Label |
full "New Hawaiian Family" label, white |
|
Label Code | LA1 | |
Courses / Strings |
6 strings |
|
Frets |
inlaid wood | |
Scale length | unknown | |
Neck Joint | hollow, square, taper begins at about the fourth fret | |
Woods |
Top |
unknown |
Back & Sides |
unknown |
|
Neck |
unknown |
|
Fingerboard |
unknown |
|
Bridge |
mahogany? |
|
Headstock veneer | unknown | |
Binding, trim |
Top |
rope |
Back |
rope |
|
Fingerboard |
rope |
|
Headstock(s) |
rope |
|
Soundhole | rope | |
Inlay |
fancy celluloid markers |
|
Pickguard |
unknown |
|
Dimensions | Upper Bout | |
Lower Bout | ||
Body at endpin | ||
Comments |
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