Preston English Guitar
date: label: Date made
content: 1760 - 1770
name: label: maker
content: Preston, John
notes: label: Description
content: This guitar was made by John Preston of London, England around 1760-1770. It is a six course (4x2, 2x1) guitar with a spruce top, figured maple back and sides, and tortoiseshell veneered oak fingerboard and four holes for the capotasto or “moving-bridge.” The guitar has a watch-key tuning device which was better suited to the guitar’s short metal strings. English guitars received great popularity with amateur musicians in Great Britain from about 1750 to 1810.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United Kingdom: England, London
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
label: See more items in
content: Music & Musical Instruments
label: See more items in
content: Guitars
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Densmore, Frances. Handbook of the Collection of Musical Instruments in the United States National Museum.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MI.095325
label: accession number
content: 26512
label: catalog number
content: 95325
objectType: label: Object Name
content: guitar
label: Object Name
content: english guitar
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: maple (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: tortoise shell (finger board material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (frets material)
label: Physical Description
content: brass (head material)
label: Physical Description
content: steel (wires material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 27 3/8 in x 11 1/2 in x 4 1/2 in; 69.5325 cm x 29.21 cm x 11.43 cm