Celebrated Benary Tilton-Style A Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1890)
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Item #6702
Celebrated Benary Tilton-Style A Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar, c. 1890, made in New York City, serial # 1329, natural varnish finish, Rosewood back and sides, spruce top; mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, original black coffin case.
This fascinating late-nineteenth century guitar is a superbly preserved instrument in the style of one of the era's more celebrated designers, William B. Tilton. Tilton's patented "Improvements" to the guitar consisted of a wooden center bar that ran down the inside of the guitar like the dowel of a banjo, intended to take stress away from the top. Other original design elements include a screwed-down metal tailpiece and the curious metal disc suspended on the center strut visible the soundhole, which originally touted the 1856 patent on these innovations. Whether or not these "improvements" actually resulted in a better guitar, but they were used on production instruments for many years. Benary were a New York retailer and appear to have sold these older-pattern Tilton-style guitars up to the around the end of the 19th Century.
This is a fairly late example of a Tilton-Style instrument, by the time it was built for Benary Tilton's patents had likely expired. The tailpiece and decorative disc in the soundhole are much simplified from the earlier engraved metal pieces and are made of ivory celluloid. The disc simply reads "Celebrated Benary guitar" in raised letters and the tailpiece is engraved "New York" with a patent date of January 1886-this pertaining to the new one-piece molded design. The back and sides of the guitar are nicely grained Brazilian rosewood. The spruce top is unbound, with a 10-3 ply soundhole inlay. The grain of the top is run straight in the standard manner-many earlier Tilton instruments use an unusual diagonal grain top which tends to be less stable over time. The V-profile neck is mahogany with a rosewood fingerboard, ebony nut and engraved strip tuners with bone buttons. Overall this is a very neatly made, high-grade guitar despite its simple appearance.
Overall length is 37 in. (94 cm.), 11 5/8 in. (29.5 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 13/16 in. (46 mm.). This guitar is incredibly clean for being about 125 years old; the thin varnish finish is still shiny with the typical light checking and there are some small dings butwe have seen many ten year old guitars with less playwear than this! There is one repaired top grain crack running under the treble side of the bridge from just under the soundhole rosette almost to the rim but no other cracks. The bridge looks to have been neatly re-glued at some point. Amazingly no cracks to the rosewood back or sides. The guitar is fitted with silk & steel strings; the action is a touch high by modern standards (4/32" at the 12th fret) but quite playable in the lower positions the and the sound is much bigger than most would expect from such a dainty guitar. This guitar's condition would have been a good find in 1915-100 years later it's pretty amazing! Excellent - Condition.
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This fascinating late-nineteenth century guitar is a superbly preserved instrument in the style of one of the era's more celebrated designers, William B. Tilton. Tilton's patented "Improvements" to the guitar consisted of a wooden center bar that ran down the inside of the guitar like the dowel of a banjo, intended to take stress away from the top. Other original design elements include a screwed-down metal tailpiece and the curious metal disc suspended on the center strut visible the soundhole, which originally touted the 1856 patent on these innovations. Whether or not these "improvements" actually resulted in a better guitar, but they were used on production instruments for many years. Benary were a New York retailer and appear to have sold these older-pattern Tilton-style guitars up to the around the end of the 19th Century.
This is a fairly late example of a Tilton-Style instrument, by the time it was built for Benary Tilton's patents had likely expired. The tailpiece and decorative disc in the soundhole are much simplified from the earlier engraved metal pieces and are made of ivory celluloid. The disc simply reads "Celebrated Benary guitar" in raised letters and the tailpiece is engraved "New York" with a patent date of January 1886-this pertaining to the new one-piece molded design. The back and sides of the guitar are nicely grained Brazilian rosewood. The spruce top is unbound, with a 10-3 ply soundhole inlay. The grain of the top is run straight in the standard manner-many earlier Tilton instruments use an unusual diagonal grain top which tends to be less stable over time. The V-profile neck is mahogany with a rosewood fingerboard, ebony nut and engraved strip tuners with bone buttons. Overall this is a very neatly made, high-grade guitar despite its simple appearance.
Overall length is 37 in. (94 cm.), 11 5/8 in. (29.5 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 13/16 in. (46 mm.). This guitar is incredibly clean for being about 125 years old; the thin varnish finish is still shiny with the typical light checking and there are some small dings butwe have seen many ten year old guitars with less playwear than this! There is one repaired top grain crack running under the treble side of the bridge from just under the soundhole rosette almost to the rim but no other cracks. The bridge looks to have been neatly re-glued at some point. Amazingly no cracks to the rosewood back or sides. The guitar is fitted with silk & steel strings; the action is a touch high by modern standards (4/32" at the 12th fret) but quite playable in the lower positions the and the sound is much bigger than most would expect from such a dainty guitar. This guitar's condition would have been a good find in 1915-100 years later it's pretty amazing! Excellent - Condition.
