Enrique Garcia – 1914

Description

Enrique Garcia was born in Madrid in 1868 and began an apprenticeship with José Ramirez I and possibly also with Manuel Ramirez at the young age of 15. He won the first price at the Chicago World Fair in 1893. Enrique Garcia is seen as the founder of the Barcelona school of guitar making as he strongly influenced many other guitar makers from Barcelona as Francisco Simplicio, Enrique Sanfeliù, Ignacio Fleta and many more. He was the most important and thought after guitar maker of the beginning of the 20th century and his guitars were played by the most recognised guitarists such as Domingo Prat and Francisco Tarrega.

This fantastic full-size concert guitar was built in 1914 and wears the number 155. It has an astonishing set of Brazilian rosewood (Pre-CITES convention), that is assembled in unsymmetrically, which gives this guitar an absolutely unique look. This wood has fantastic light reflections and it is one of the most beautiful that we have seen on an E. Garcia. For a one hundred years old guitar, the condition is very impressive: back and sides are free of cracks. The top has only three repaired and stable cracks: one on both sides of the fingerboard and one on the middle joint.

The look of this guitar is very representative of the myth of perfection erected around Garcia’s guitars. Every element is precisely built and combines exquisitely with the rest of the instrument. The curve of the heel, the head stock, the rosette, the dimensions of the body, the colours and textures of the wood, the shape of the neck and every detail was well thought through.

This guitar is ready to be played and perfectly set up. It plays so effortless and smooth that one falls in love from the very first moment. Pure delicate tone and well-rounded trebles reward the sensitive player and balanced overtones complement the very lyrical first strings. This guitar is definitely a masterpiece and a monument of the guitar-making history in every regard.