At the turn of the nineteenth century, a new instrument began to overtake the English guittar (a cittern-shaped instrument) in popularity: what the English called—and still call—the “Spanish guitar,” with six single strings. This led to the emergence of a new school of guitar making, almost exclusively based in London, and arguably representing the most productive period in the history of British guitar manufacture. It was led by England’s greatest guitar maker of the nineteenth century, Louis Panormo (1784–1862).
| Specifications | |
| Date | 1832 |
| Location | London, England |
| Length of Guitar | 912 mm |
| String Length | 623 mm |
| Upper Bout Width | 222 mm |
| Waist Width | 173 mm |
| Lower Bout Width | 296 mm |
| Side Depth at Waist | 88 mm |
| Soundboard: Spruce | Back: Brazilian rosewood | Sides: Brazilian rosewood | Details: Features Panormo’s signature teardrop bridge and crescent-shaped headstock; tuners by Baker. | |
Panormo likely built his first surviving guitar at his workshop in London’s West End, no. 26 High-street, Bloomsbury. (The guitar referenced here is the 1816 Panormo in the Austin-Marie Collection.) The famed Catalan guitarist Fernando Sor had arrived from Paris the previous year, and perhaps by no coincidence, Panormo’s early guitars immediately reveal the Spanish influence. He often used rosewood for his back and sides as opposed to maple, and while his early soundboards are ladder braced, he later moved to Spanish-style fan-bracing.
The 1832 Panormo in the Austin-Marie Collection represents what might be called Panormo’s “classic” style. The label reads, “The Only Maker of Guitars in the Spanish Style,” a claim he first made in 1828 and continued to use on his labels throughout the remainder of his career. The two-piece back and sides of Brazilian rosewood, the teardrop bridge wings, the crescent-shaped head, and the unscrewable endpin are all Panormo trademarks. The elegant pearl button tuners are by Baker, a Panormo favorite. The spruce soundboard is supported by five internal fan braces in the Spanish style, and encircling the soundhole, we find Panormo’s Stradivari-inspired rosette of inlaid mother-of-pearl offset square and diamond shapes.
An impressive roster of guitarists who visited London, or who resided there, played Louis Panormo’s instruments, including Antonio Trinitario Huerta, Phillipe Verini, Madame Pratten, and Stanislaus Sczepanowski.
