Description
This beautiful Imperial Parlor guitar was built around 1900 in Cincinnati by the John Church Company, and is in good playing condition with a full, well balanced tone. These were some of the first guitars built for steel strings, and the Church woodshop manager patented a bridge / tailpiece intended specifically for steel strings. This guitar is strung with an 11-52 Custom Light string set. Heavier strings are not recommended. There is no visible serial number and records are few, but given the materials and build quality this would likely have been a higher end model.
The Imperial Parlor guitar pairs a ladder-braced Adirondack Spruce top with Brazilian Rosewood for the sides, back and headplate. The neck is Mahogany, with Ebony for the fingerboard and pyramid-style bridge. The purfling, rosette and back strips are likely from Germany; many American builders sourced these materials from Germany until WW2 ended their availability.
The binding, bridge pins and heel cap are celluloid. The position marker inlay set is engraved Mother of Pearl, also used on the bridge pins. The body blocks seem to have been modified, and now have an Oak facing over the original narrow block. The kerfed linings may be Mahogany. The tuning gears are original and work well. The gear orientation is "reverse", with the worm gear closer to the nut than the crown gear. This orientation changed for most guitar and mandolin tuners around 1925.
The body finish is the original shellac or varnish, and is in good condition considering that the instrument is about 125 years old! The neck finish appears to be a newer lacquer, possibly applied as overspray during some service mentioned below. This refinishing may have also removed the serial number, commonly stamped into the top of the headstock, but the 'IMPERIAL WARRANTED' stamp on the back of the head is intact and clear.
Over the years this lovely guitar has had a number of repairs, including linen-reinforced side crack repairs and a cleated back crack. The neck appears to have been off, allowing service to the neck block and an improved neck angle and action.
The bridge plate has been reinforced with a Maple sub-plate, a simple and effective method that ensures that the ball ends of the steel strings don't come through the top and lift the bridge.
The original tooled leather "Trap-Door" case is included. This is missing the "Trap Door" itself, and its handle.
Imperial Warranted instruments were built by the John Church Company in Cincinnati Ohio from around 1871 into the very early 1900's. The company had opened in 1860 as the local branch of the Oliver Ditson company and was sold to the store manager John Church in 1871. It was Ditson's practice to transfer ownership to the managers. By 1885 John Church had a small guitar manufacturing facility supplying instruments to Ditson, as did other builders including the Martin Guitar company (who provided the first 'Dreadnought' models around 1916).
The Church company stopped building instruments not long after 1900 and seems to have focused on selling instruments supplied by Lyon and Healy, including the Washburn brand. The Washburn name was taken from George Washburn Lyon, Patrick Joseph Healy's partner.
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |
DETAILS:
- Instrument Model: Imperial Parlor Guitar
- Instrument Manufacturer: John Church Company
- Instrument year: Approximately 1900
- Instrument Finish: Natural, Varnish and Lacquer
- Instrument Class: Steel String Acoustic Guitar
- Instrument serial number: N/A, built around 1900 by John Church Company in Cincinnati OH
- Country of Origin: USA
- Instrument Condition: Good
- Playing Condition: Good
- Right-handed
- CITIES Documentation Required: Yes
- Instrument Weight Imperial: 2.948 lbs
- Instrument Weight Metric: 1.34 kgs
- Scale Length Imperial: 25.15 in
- Scale Length Metric: 639 mm
- Nut Width Imperial: 1.853in
- Nut Width Metric: 47.08 mm
- Case included: Yes
- Case original: Yes
- Case Type: Leather 'Trap Door'
- Items in Case: N/A
- Consignment: Yes
- Product ID: 190405
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |