Description
This wonderful guitar was made by ‘Petitjean’, one of the best and most famous guitar workshops of those times in Mirecourt. Already in 1800 the family was engaged in the production of musical instruments. The workshop was most likely operated by many members of the family. The guitars were labelled with different manufacturer names like for example ‘Petitjean L’ainé à Paris’ (like in this particular case), ‘Petitjean à Mirecourt’ and ‘Petitjean’. The innovation of the ‘Petitjean’ workshops was that guitars were no longer constructed with a two-piece back but rather with one-piece backs which consisted of solid wood or veneers. In addition to that, valuable precious woods like Brazilian rosewood were processed. The shown guitar is very precisely processed and has a top consisting of finely grained spruce wood. The top’s frame as well as the soundhole is decorated with mother of pearl. This decoration can also be found on the fingerboard and the guitar’s head. The rectangular ebony bridge is decorated with inlays of bones and tendril ornaments which are moving away from the bridge: A leafy branch with a flower bud at its end can be seen. On later guitars the ‘flower motif’ was replaced by a ‘vine branch motif’. The back and the ribs of this guitar are made of solid maple.
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