No mandolin content—ca. 1852 Ashborn guitar

[Scot63]

I know a lot of you double- or triple-up on instruments, so I thought I'd show off my recently acquired James Ashborn guitar, ca. 1852. I got this from an estate sale on ebay. For once, I was the only bidder and got it for the start price. It's in immaculate condition. Front is spruce, back and sides are probably butternut and rosewood laminate, neck is something similar. Fretboard is ebony, of course, and the densest quality of ebony I've ever played. Except for the treble side tuners and likely the string pins, it's all original and, in some ways, the easiest-playing guitar I've ever owned. This is a Panormo-style guitar, as Ashborn was an English immigrant with excellent skills. When it arrived, I had to do nothing to it except put some Aquila nylguts on it. There are couple of very small cracks on the back, but my luthier said they were so minor to bring it back in hundred years when it might have a real problem. For more on him, his unique manufacturing practices that enabled him to compete with one C. F. Martin, and his guitars, see https://www.vintageguitar.com/3298/james-ashborn/

[Nevin]

Very cool.

[Tavy]

Very cool indeed - condition looks immaculate for the age!

[ajm2qc03]

that's a beautiful instrument, and a very informative read from vintage guitar. My initial thought when I saw this guitar was how closely it resembled the martins of that era and after reading I now have an idea as to why. Great addition to your collection

[Scot63]

Tavy, it is very nearly immaculate. One repaired top crack (visible in pic above in the lower left bout) and two nonflexing cracks on the back (not visible). After doing nothing in terms of setup, it intonates perfectly up and down the neck. I'll post a sound file someday soon.

[Skip Kelley]

That is awesome!

[allenhopkins]

How is it braced? I have a c.1860 "no-name" (for which I paid $50 after someone pulled it out of an attic) with X bracing, which was C F Martin's style, but pretty uncommon. Most guitars of that vintage had straight transverse "ladder" bracing, or in the case of Spanish-influenced instruments, fan bracing.

[Scot63]

Hi, Allen, it is fan-braced, in the Spanish style. Probably a whole lot like contemporaneous Panormo instruments in many respects.

[Bruce Clausen]

Lovely! And yes, it looks alot like the 1820's Panormo I used to own, except in the colour of the binding, and the lack of MOP points at the ends of your bridge. Body was solid Brazilian rosewood, though I think maple was more common back then. Came to me from a family that had had it since the turn of the 20th century, with a label from a Calgary music store of that era. Played and sounded great after some work done by a very fine luthier here.

It had its original Baker machine heads-- beautifully made and still working perfectly, though the ivory buttons were an issue when I sold it. What are the heads on your guitar?

[Scot63]

Neat! Where did your Parnomo get off to? I bet it was really something. The tuners on the bass side are unique to Ashborn, I think, and made by a local machinist. Ashborn also patented a tuner design that apparently appeared on some of his banjos (also highly prized) and infrequently on his guitars. This tuner is not one of the patented one, though the attached picture shows you just what this nicely working tuner looks like (this is from a different Ashborn I found on the web). On the treble side is something entirely different—not sure what, but they are very old.