1838 Grobert

It is assumed that Jean-Babtiste likely apprenticed in Paris. There is evidence that he traveled there at the age of 14. Six years later in 1824, he was officially registered as a string instrument maker. He eventually left France to enter the precious woods import business.

Nicolas went on to run a music shop from 1828 to 1842 in central Paris. He returned to Mirecourt sometime after 1846.

Nicolas’s son Alfred (1826–1881) was also a registered musical instrument maker in Paris who worked for Jean-Babtiste Vuilluame, the leading nineteenth century violin luthier and dealer in France. Vuillaume originally hailed from Mirecourt and his association with Alfred’s father and/or uncle becomes apparent in the story that has secured the name “Grobert” a lasting place in the history of French lutherie.

Vuillaume lent a c. 1828 Grobert guitar to Nicolò Paganini during the violin virtuoso’s second visit to the capital in 1838. Paganini was also an accomplished guitarist and signed his name on the bass side of the guitar’s soundboard. Following Paganini’s death in 1840, Vuillaume gave the guitar to the composer Hector Berlioz who signed the opposite side of the soundboard purportedly as an homage to the violinist. As the curator of the Paris Conservatory, Berlioz later bequeathed the guitar to the conservatory’s museum in 1866. Today, the Grobert guitar that bears the signatures of these two historic figures resides in the Musée de la Musique in Paris.

Determining which Grobert brother built the Paganini-Berlioz guitar has been subject to debate. Nicolas has often been credited, but others have deemed the younger brother Jean-Babtsite the more likely builder. While both brothers branded, labeled, and/or signed their guitars “Grobert A Paris” — usually on the neck block and sometimes on the underside of the soundboard or a transverse brace — Nicolas signed or labeled his ainé (elder) presumably to differentiate his guitars from his younger brother’s instruments. The c. 1828 Paganini-signed Grobert is branded in two locations with “Grobert A Paris” but with no mention of ainé. This observation has underpinned the argument that Jean-Babtiste was the maker, and that all Grobert guitars without the ainé stamp were built by him.

Interestingly, an 1828 Grobert in the collection of James Westbrook is very similar in design to the Paganini-signed instrument. (Please see photo gallery for a side-by-side comparison.) It came with the usual Grobert branding, but also included a signature written in pencil on the underside of the soundboard: “26 Avril 1828, Grobert ainé.” Of course, one could speculate that in and around 1828, Nicolas may have been copying the work of his more established younger brother and therefore both Groberts were building guitars of a similar design. Nevertheless, it was Nicolas’s son Alfred who had a close relationship with Vuillaume and it is not known when Jean-Babtiste left France to enter the precious woods trade. If he had left the lutherie trade prior to 1838 (the date of the Grobert guitar in this collection), then Nicolas was the likely builder of the Austin-Marie Collection’s Grobert. Complicating this narrative, however, is that the 1838 Grobert is not stamped ainé.

With such a small sample size of extant Grobert guitars (fewer than 10) to analyze and a dearth of historical information, it may be impossible to afford positive attribution to either brother except to those instruments marked ainé.

The 1838 Grobert in the Austin-Marie Collection is arguably the finest surviving guitar from these makers. It is branded “Grobert, A Paris.” on the neckblock with 1838 written by hand just above the brand. An identical branding can be found on the backside of the soundboard cross brace found just below the soundhole. There is no ainé stamp found on the instrument. The soundboard is of spruce and the back of beautiful burled walnut laminate on spruce. The sides are of solid burled walnut. The neck is ebony veneer and the heel is of solid ebony. The headstock is of an ebonized (black French polish) light colored wood, adorned with an ornamental crown of mother-of-pearl. The finely engraved tuners are inlaid into the side of the head and fitted with carved ivory buttons. The most striking feature is the truly unique rosette fashioned in a floral design made of beautifully engraved, hand-colored mother-of-pearl spilling over the soundhole perimeter. The soundboard border and bridge are adorned with a matching floral motif. The soundboard is supported by four internal cross braces, an angled brace in the lower bout, and a popsicle brace on the treble side of the upper bout. The back is reinforced with three transverse bars.

The absence of an ainé stamp on the Austin-Marie Collection’s 1838 Grobert might have us lean toward the younger brother Jean-Babtiste as the maker. However, considering the scarcity of definitive historical information, a Jean-Babtiste attribution would not be indisputable.

I want to extend a special thanks to Catherine Marlat and Erik Pierre Hofmann for their invaluable research on the Grobert brothers. I highly recommend their book, Dictionary of French Guitar Makers 1625–1875,  for further study.