1940 Martin 5-17 Mahogany guitar in excellent shape

guitarz.blogspot.com:

This Martin 5-17 looks to be in awesome shape and is exactly the parlour guitar that I would buy if I had the appropriate funds. It appears to be original except for the added armrest, though the seller does not claim that it is such.
I love the look of the all-mahogany build and feel that it would lend a little warmth to what can be a slightly treble-rich design.

Currently listed at $1600 Canadian.

R.W. Haller

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Lyon and Healy Lakeside Concert Sized Guitar. A stunning Parlour guitar from the 1920s

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I'm a bigger fellow. At 6 feet 2 inches and 250lbs ( on a good day ) it's fair to say that I take up a good chunk of space. For this reason I tend to stay away from smaller guitars, in a "does this guitar make my bum look fat?" kind of way.

However, I've really taken a shine to 12 fret parlour guitars in the past couple of years. I bought an Archimbault parlour ( built by Art and Lutherie ) to do some travelling last year and was thoroughly impressed with the full sound and projection.

This Lyon and Healy Lakeside was listed on Kijiji for $500 and from the time I found it to the time of posting the ad has been taken down. Perhaps it sold. Perhaps the owner took another look at the rosette and binding work, or the simple Martinesque open gear slotted headstock, or the way the spruce top has aged so nicely, and they decided to keep it after all.

R.W. Haller


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The Swanee Singer - Guaranteed not to split!

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Our friend Eric Geevers writes:

I'm fixing this guitar for someone, but I can buy it at a fairly low price. Bit of a twist in the neck, but we'll see what happens. 'Germany', and it's said that it's pre-WWII. I can believe that! What do we say?

Does anyone have any more info on this guitar for Eric (and for the others of us who are also curious)?

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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1931 Gibson L-0 acoustic guitar - a pre-war 12-fret beauty

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Back to guitars again now after our double bass detour of the last few days...

Here's an old Gibson for you... it's a 1931 Gibson L-0 in gorgeous condition.

The neck joins the body at the 12th fret as was popular at the time, and I guess some might call this a "parlour guitar" although I always believed that parlour guitars had a much narrower body shape whereas this Gibson has some quite exaggerated curves.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $3,995.

G L Wilson

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Pre-war 1930s vintage Harmony Supertone parlour guitar - La Habernera

guitarz.blogspot.com:

At nearly 80 years old and showing signs of heavy usage, this pre-WWII 1930s Harmony Supertone "La Habernera" parlour guitar could surely tell a few tales.

The "La Habernera" artwork on the front of the guitar could be considered kitsch by today's tastes, but to me it all adds to the guitar's whimsy making it all the more interesting. Personally, I'd much prefer this than anything with skulls all over it, as the modern cliché seems to be.

The fingerboard seems to be covered in some kind of pearloid material - I've seen the same on other parlour guitars of the same era - but you'll notice that wear and tear through heavy playing has worn away much of the pearloid down to the bare wood of the neck, possibly illustrating why it was used in the first place: so as to avoid using expensive rosewood or ebony for the fingerboard.

Currently listed on eBay this auction is finishing within the next 24 hours as I write this, with bidding at $50.99 at the time of writing.

G L Wilson

EDIT: Sold for US $168.39.

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