Josef Alcañiz (Murcia, active c. 1800s)
Josef Alcañiz, a guitar maker from Murcia, seems to have been active at the end of the 18th century, beginning of the 19th century.
Francisco Casasnovas (b. 1816 - d. 1876 Palma de Mallorca)
Francisco Casasnovas (the surname is also written Casanovas) was born in 1816 in Palma de Mallocora. He began building guitars and bandurrias in 1845, opening his workshop at Plaza de la Merced 1, Palma de Mallorca. The 1853 Casasnovas in our collection shows that he was using a fan brace kite system of the sort used by Antonio Torres, which seven fan braces closed by chevrons at the bottom, even before Torres. He trained his sons, Bartolome Casasnovas i Fiol, and Miguel Casasnovas de Fiol. When he died in 1876, his sons took over the workshop, building under the label Hijos de Casasnovas until 1927.
1853 Francisco Casasnovas played by Dr. Costa
Bartolome Casasnovas i Fiol (b. c. 1850 - d. 1927 Palma de Mallorca)
Bartolome Casasnovas i Fiol was the son of Francisco Casasnovas and along with his brother Miguel was trained by his father. They took over their father's workshop after his death in 1876, and continued building under the label Hermanos Casanovas until 1927. They exhibited a guitar in the Barcelona exhibition of 1888 and obtained a prize for a mechanism to alter string tension. A Casasnovas guitar built in 1880 is listed in the collection of Felix Manzanero.
Miguel Casasnovas i Fiol (b. c. 1845 - d. 1903)
Miguel Casasnovas i Fiol was the son of Francisco Casasnovas and along with his brother Miguel was trained by his father. They took over their father's workshop after his death in 1876. They exhibited a guitar in the Barcelona exhibition of 1888, and obtained a prize for a mechanism to alter string tension. Although he died, unmarried, in 1903, his brother continued building under the label Hermanos Casanovas until 1927.
José Diaz (Talavera de la Reina, active c. 1890)
A guitar made by José Diaz in 1889 in Talavera de la Reina is listed in the collection of Felix Manzanero. (Photograph courtesy of Felix Manzanero).
Antonio Gimínez de Soto (Vera, active c. 1845)
Antonio Gimínez de Soto was a guitar maker in Vera active circa 1845.
Hijo de Luis Martínez (Pontevedra active c. 1900)
The Hijo de Luis Martinez was the son of a maker in Pontevedra who was active around 1900. (Photo Courtesy of Felix Manzanero.)
Ignacio Martorell Casasnovas (b. c. 1858 Palma de Mallorca early 19th Century)
Ignacio Martorell Casasnovas, was the son of Catalina Casanovas and Bernat Martorell i Alberti, and grandson of Francisco Casasnovas. He made guitars, laudes, and bandurrias, and had his workshop at calle San Miguel 77, Palma de Mallorca. He continues to be listed at this address until 1927. A guitar built by Ignacio Martorell in Palma de Mallorca is listed in the collection of Felix Manzanero. (Photograph courtesy of Felix Manzanero).
Ambrosio Ordoñez (Corcubion, active c. 1930)
Ambrosio Ordoñez was a luthier active in Corcubion, Galicia circa 1930.
Antonio Pérez del Arco (Beas de Segura, active c. 1930)
Antonio Pérez del Arco was a guitar maker in the small village of Beas de Segura in the province of Jaén who was active circa 1930.
Arsenio Perruca (Teruel, active c. 1900-1930)
Arsenio Perruca was a guitar maker who resided in Teruel, Aragón and was active during the first third of the twentieth century.
Antonio Rodriguez (Valladolid, active c. 1900)
Antonio Rodriguez was a luthier in Castilla La Vieja, Valladolid active at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Rafael Romero (Galaroza, active c. 1930)
Rafael Romero a luthier active in the tiny town of Galaroza in the province of Huelva circa 1930.
Juan Sánchez Jimenez (Linares, active c. 1850-1903)
Juan Sánchez was born in 1823 in Coin, Malaga. He began his career as a guitar maker around 1850. In that year we find him at calle Grama 8, in Malaga. In 1868, he moved to Linares, Jaen and set up shopat Corredera Alta 58, (the house were Andres Segovia later is reputed to have been born). He took part in guitar exhibitions in Linares, Madrid, Buenos Aires,and Montevideo, and his guitars won two gold three silver metals. In 1881 he moved his shop to Corredera 29, and remained there until he died, November 13th, 1902. There is an example of his work in the Manzanero collection with back and sides made of bamboo. The guitar pictured (left) is a more typical example, and is a finely crafted instrument with back and sides of Brazilian rosewood. (Photographs courtesy of Manuel Herrera and Felix Manzanero).
Eustaquio Torralva (Logroño, active c. 1860)
Eustaquio Torralva was a guitar maker in Logroño in the second part of the nineteenth century. He is know from a 1863 specimen of his work in the collection of Felix Manzanero dated 1863. (Photo courtesy of Felix Manzanero).
G. Yacopi (Bilbao, active 1930s)
G. Yacopi was an Italian born maker who took up residence in Bilbao and was active in the 1930s. A guitar made by him in 1934 is listed in the collection of Felix Manzanero. (Photograph courtesy of Felix Manzanero).
