Luis Castellano Principal Characteristics of Guitar Makers of World Renown

This is taken from my book published in May 2020: Annotations for the History of the Classical Guitar in Argentina 1822-2000 by Randy Osborne and Hector Garcia Martinez.

It begins on page 1,1516 in Volume 2, and ends on page 1,528.

Luis M. Castellano lecture program: “Principales Caracteristicas de las Guitarras de Autores de Renombre Mundial” (“Principal characteristics of the Guitars by Makers of World Renown”), it is the lecture given on May 15, 1938 for the Asociacion Guitarristica Argentina in the (Hall) Salon de los Actos de la Asociacion in Pasaje Barolo, Buenos Aires.

In the “Guitar News” magazine issue No. 85 of September-October 1965, the editor, Wilfrid Appleby, wrote Part V of an article titled: The Evolution of the Classic Guitar — a Tentative Outline. On page 4 of that article are the photos shown on the next page of the Vicente Arias, Antonio de Torres and Manuel Ramirez headstocks. For whatever reason there is no credit given to Luis M. Castellano as a source at all.

Effectively it was the very first real classical guitar-collectors book that was written in 1938. It was a 22 page booklet entitled “Principales Caracteristicas de las Guitarras de Autores de Renombre Mundial”. The detail that Luis Castellano provides is extremely thorough. Besides this being a lecture for the Asociacion Guitarristica Argentina, it was published some weeks later as the booklet. In this same year in Europe Charles Delauney published his book “Hot Discography”. I only mention this from the standpoint that connoisseurs began to take notice of the passing of time, and the high-quality art, that had been produced in the previous few decades. Delauney took it upon himself to catalog the great early Jazz 78 RPM records of Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Django Reinhardt and hundreds of other artists including Blues singers such as Bessie Smith, etc, that were already 15 years old, and out of print. Some of these original label recordings have sold recently for $15,000, in that there are 1-4 known copies of the disc. Luis Castellano, with over two decades of experience being an appraiser, saw instruments that were unforgettable and priceless today, during the sunset of the epoch of the premier great modern guitar constructors.

Translation of the lecture:

“Ladies and Gentlemen:

Invited by the distinguished professor, Miss Maria Esperanza Pascual Navas, Secretary of the Artistic Board of the Association, I have accepted to develop a short talk about a theme of the guitar, without anymore merits than having seen daily during almost a quarter of a century, an infinity of instruments and the unquestionable impartiality that signifies the personal and official evaluation responsible of what is going to be subjected to public judgement.

In effect, to make an appraisal, not only do we have to take into account my opinion, but also that of those who approve or disapprove of ours with their offers, in the moment of the auctions.

The responsibility is at once moral and material; our judgement in as much, must be meditated, serene and impartial. Perhaps previously, I might have spoken about something of the history of the guitar, about its music or about purely spiritual things of it, that of course are very interesting as difficult. But the theme that I have had the audacity to confront, I haven’t heard that it might never have been developed, therefore, I have confidence in the benevolence of the audience to proceed. We will develop a subject of arranged material, tangible, that you can touch, that you can see, that the senses can perceive, and there is the touchy part. In the immaterial, can exist opinions found that subsist, because they can’t elucidate. Instead in the material it is or it isn’t, it will be certain or in error. The difficulty of this work, is based on determining differential characteristics, in every one of the integral parts of the instruments, then to have them compared as such. This practice, can be qualified as improvised, by as much in its briefest time that they have accorded me to do it, it hasn’t been possible for me to do something worthy of this qualified audience. Some aficionados, might affirm with more or less exactitude, if a guitar is or isn’t authentic, but maybe if they saw it in predicaments, if you ask them the why it is or why they let it be. In most haste the beginners see it, when they have to evaluate certain instruments and appraise those as if “God had helped them”.

Today, the situation has varied a bit, because we possess a specie of school of appraisers, in which those of the most experience, divulge without egoism, the knowledge that they have assimilated in the daily practice or in the studies made in the moments destined to leisure. The thousand different problems are very heterogeneous in what must be erudite, that is a necessary constancy and an energy extraordinary to confront them. Overall there has to be taken into account, that they haven’t written special books that are of interest to us.

The investigations that we must make practically, for drawing the conclusions, that permit us to act with efficacy. We have to hear different opinions, some evidently partial, to compare them then, to find that which is closer to the truth.

NOMENCLATURE OF THE INSTRUMENT

Although when the majority of you listen to me, you know the nomenclature of the guitar, it can be that some of its internal parts, that generally aren’t mentioned, might not be sufficiently known, by which I believe it’s opportune to detail them. The guitar is composed: of the body of resonance, the neck, the headstock or tuning gear location, and six strings (three of gut and three wound called basses). The body of resonance, is formed by two flat and parallel surfaces, the back and the harmonic top, both united in their contour by a band of wood of 9 to 10 centimeters in height, that are called the sides. The interior of the back has a few transverse bars, which are called braces. The harmonic top, has braces like the back, and some thin sticks in the mode of a fan, that are the harmonic bars or simply the fan braces. The top and the back, are united in their internal contours with the band, by way of a specie of chain, generally made of cedar or beech, that is called the kerfing liner. The perforation of the harmonic top, is called the rosette. In the center of the lower part of the harmonic top, between the rosette and the base is found a rectangular piece of wood: it is the bridge; in the front part of it, there is a slot in which is inlaid a stick of ivory or bone, called the saddle, by way of which, a mode of a membrane, the strings transmit the vibrations to the sonorous body. The back part of the bridge, has six transverse holes, in which the end of every string is mounted. The neck, remains attached to the body of resonance by a thick piece of wood, which is called the heel. The flat part and frontal area of the neck, is called the fingerboard and over it are inlaid some pieces of metal transversely, called frets; between the neck and the head, there is a small bridge of bone or ivory, called the nut. In the part above, is the head or geared tuners that subject the strings to tuning.

It’s called a tornavoz, a tube of resonance, lightly conical, that is applied in the soundhole, inside the sonorous body.

I said on a certain occasion, “that the guide of best security, in appreciation of a guitar, is the fame of a “luthier”, according to the critical judgements, emitted by impartial experts” and a measure that passes the time, I can repeat that same, with more firmness. For an instrument to be tested, it doesn’t have to respond to the demands of the player, without permitting it to be therefore very good. Every guitar, must be plucked according to its characteristics; the very fine instruments can also be uneven, of course in proportion to the ordinary ones. Such a situation, obliges the player to pluck differently, supporting with more or less force to the determined strings. In the majority of cases, the accomodation toward the instrument, is unconsciously done and from that part the generally erroneous concept of the musicians, that believe that then playing a guitar for a time, they improve making it produce better and more quantity of sound, when in reality what happens, is the player adapts to the instrument and not that the instrument might have suffered fundamental modifications, save that it could have been a long time in disuse, because in such cases can lose momentarily, a part of its string vibration.

When you try a guitar with a tornavoz, it’s convenient to solicit the collaboration of someone, that can listen at a distance, because when this apparatus is well placed, the player perceives a small quantity of sound, occurring on the contrary to the listeners. By this reason, some concert guitarists prefer the instruments without a tornavoz, to avoid the preoccupation it causes them, the thought that the audience doesn’t hear them.

A guitar can be presented, that might not be totally adjusted, that is to say, that is out of tune. That is due to two causes: uncalibrated strings, that aren’t important and is determined easily, testing it with harmonics, or a badly divided fingerboard, that has much importance, because its reparation demands an appreciable expense. In the instruments of the consecrated constructors, it is a little difficult to find bad fingerboards, because, it is supposed, that all of them carry out the classic geometric calculations, that they must make especially for each guitar, according to the string length, that I’m not going to detail by going into technical profundities, inappropriate for this dissertation. I only want to concretely demonstrate, a method of very rapid and of easy practice, which we carry out in the cases in where the intonation of the instrument is in doubt. The open string is measured from the nut to the seventh fret, a distance that must be exactly equal to that between the seventh to the nineteenth fret and as well equal, to a distance between the nineteenth fret and the saddle on the bridge. The exact half, of the total length of the string, must be at the twelth fret.

OF THE GREAT MAESTROS OF LUTHERIE

It is interesting to know the maestro of every constructor, where as some strokes of the educators, remain in many cases adopted by the disciples, over all until they form their own personality. We will begin with Don Antonio de Torres, of Almeria, creator of the modern guitar. He began his activities, constructing in the taller that José Pernas had established in Granada, by the year 1850. (Now a discounted historical myth. — R. O.) His works were made by his own inspiration, without neither copying nor letting himself be influenced by anyone. Vicente Arias, of Ciudad Real and Manuel Ramirez, of Madrid followed the path outlined by Torres, adopting his school, This last, forged in his taller to four “luthiers” of great fame: Antonio Emilio Pascual, of Alicante; Santos Hernandez, of Madrid; Domingo Esteso, of Cuenca and Enrique Garcia, of Madrid, who had the best disciple, Francisco Simplicio of Barcelona.

OF THE DATES AND THE LABELS

It is important to know the dates of birth and death of the fabricators, whereas, an error of this nature, in a counterfeit badly documented, will draw suspicion of the evaluator, making then, a more meticulous analysis of other characteristics, that are denounced in the evident form of the mystification. The same can be said, of the epochs and places in which they constructed the instruments. Don Antonio de Torres, born in San Sebastian de Almeria the 18th of June of 1817, and died in the same city, the 19th of November of 1892. He constructed in two distinct epochs. The labels of the first epoch, between the years 1850 and 1869, say the following: 1st line: Por D. Antonio de Torres. 2nd line: Sevilla. 3rd line: with Gothic lettering: Calle de la Cerrageria numero 32 (cerrageria written with g). 4th line Año de 186...I have seen another label from the first epoch, whose difference was that it wasn’t written with Gothic and cerrajeria written normally, that is to a say, with j and not having the de before the surname Torres. Two of the labels of the second epoch are known between the years 1880 and 1892. One of them says: 1st line: Por D. Antonio de Torres. 2nd line: constructor. 3rd line: de guitarras en Sevilla. 4th line: vive hoy. 5th line: en Almeria calle Real No. 20 Cañada 6th line: Año de 18...7th line: Guitarra...2nda Epoca. the other label says: 1st line: Por D. Antonio de Torres. 2nd line: Almeria. 3rd line: calle Real No. 20 Cañada. 4th line: Año de 18...

5th line: Segunda Epoca 6th line: No...

Manuel Ramirez, born in Madrid in the year 1869, approximately and died in the same city in the year 1920. (1916. Misinformation from Domingo Prat’s Diccionario de Guitaristas.) His instruments were all constructed in Madrid. The first labels say: Manuel Ramirez — Constructor de guitarras — Plaza Santa Ana — Madrid — From the years 1897-1911, his labels say: Manuel Ramirez — Constructor de violines y guitarras — Luthier del Real Conservatorio — Arlaban 10 — Madrid. After 1911 until his death, he moved in front of the antique location, calle Arlaban No. 11, whose address is what is different on the last, labels of the next to the last ones.

In those that he exported to Buenos Aires, they had following added: Fabricacion Especial para la Casa Romero Agromayor y Cia, Buenos Aires. (Special Fabrication for the music house of Romero, Agromayor and Company.)

Above: Translation: “1864 Antonio de Torres Guitar (First Epoch), Historical relic, of incalculable worth, having belonged to Tárrega and presently is the property of the brilliant concert guitarist Maria Luisa Anido.”

Manuel Ramirez never put a date on his labels.

Vicente Arias, born in Ciudad Real between the years 1840 and 1850, (we haven’t been able to arrive at an exact fixed date) and died in 1912 in Madrid. His first labels say: Vicente Arias — Construida en Ciudad Real en el Año 18...

The last labels say: Vicente Arias — Sta. Isabel No. 20 — Madrid — Año 1906 — (they have the hand written signature).

Enrique Garcia, born in Madrid the year 1868 and died the 31st of October in 1922. His first guitars were constructed in Madrid, in the taller of his maestro Manuel Ramirez, and one of them conquered the First Prize in the Chicago Expostition, the year 1893.

The first labels say: Enrique Garcia — Constructor Guitarras Bandurrias — y Laudes — Primer Premio en la Expon-de Chicago 1893 — Calle Aragon 455 (handwritten en quatrain). Barcelona — handwritten in the upper corners in quatrain, left: Año, right: 1899.

The second labels say: Enrique Garcia — Constructor Guitarras, Bandurrias — y Laudes — Primer Premio en la Expon-de Chicago 1893 — Calle Paseo Sn. Juan 110 — Gtrra No... Barcelona — Of every side where it says: Primer Premio, has the medal stamped in its front and reverse — in the upper part of the label handwritten, to the left: Año, to the right: 1920.

Those of the last epoch, are exactly alike, but carry the signature.

Francisco Simplicio, born in Barcelona the 18th of October of 1874 and died in the same city the 14th of January of 1932. All of his instruments were made in Barcelona. In his first guitars, he put the labels of Enrique Garcia, writing in hand: Suc. y Unico discipulo Francisco Simplicio (Successor and Only disciple Francisco Simplicio).

A little later he fashioned his own labels in the following form: Francisco Simplicio — Luthier — Suc. y Unico discipulo-de Enrique Garcia — Primer Premio en la Expon-de Chicago 1893 — Calle Paseo San Juan 110 — Año 1929-Guitarra..... Barcelona.

Domingo Esteso, born in San Clemente de Cuenca the 12th of May of 1882 and died in the middle of the year of 1937 in Marseilles. His instruments were all constructed in Madrid, but it is possible that in Marseilles, where death surprised him, he might have made some, but of that we don’t have any firm history.

Two labels are known, one that says: Domingo Esteso — Constructor de Guitarras — Gravina 7 Madrid — Año 19....

Another says: Domingo Esteso — Constructor de Guitarras — Gravina 7 Madrid — Año....Num....Fabricacion Especial para mis unicos — representantes en la Republica Argentina — Romero y Fernandez, Buenos Aires. (Special Fabrication for my only representatives in the Republic of Argentina — Romero and Fernandez, Buenos Aires.)

Antonio Emilio Pascual, of the surname Viudes, that presently only uses labels in his violins, was born in Crevillente, Alicante province, on the 10th of November of 1883, presently resides in our country. He arrived in his first voyage to Argentina, the 4th of October of 1909, making since then various voyages to his homeland.

The first labels that he used until the year 1920 say: Construyo — Antonio Viudes — Luthier — Madrid — Año 19......

Since the year 1920 until 1928, he had the label with the following details: Antonio Emilio Pascual — Constructor de guitarras, violines, arpas — discipulo de Manuel Ramirez — Madrid — Num. Año 192.... Unicos representantes para Sud-America — Romero y Fernandez — Bmé. Mitre 947, Florida 255, Buenos Aires (it has a signature).

After 1928, the label is the same except below Romero y Fernandez, that says: Sucesor José B. Romero and the number of the street Bmé. Mitre 961.

Santos Hernandez, was born in Madrid the year 1873. He constructed all of his instruments in the city of his birth. His labels, are characterized by the good taste in the design of his frame. The first ones have a frontal adornment very elegant of fine lines. The last ones that are more vigorous and stout, they were sketched by the celebrated Professor Carlos Berger — maestro of the Academia de Bellas Artes de Madrid. They say: Santos Hernandez — Luthier — Madrid — Año 19....Aduana 27.

OF THE NUMERATIONS AND THE SIGNATURES

Don Antonio de Torres, only numbered the guitars of his second epoch. He never signed the labels.

Manuel Ramirez, never numbered nor signed the labels and was the only one who didn’t put a date on his guitars.

Vicente Arias didn’t put numeration. He signed those of his second epoch in Madrid.

Enrique Garcia, numbered those of his second epoch, of the calle San Juan era and signed those of the last, a short time before his death. (Until 1920 inclusive he hadn’t signed them).

Francisco Simplicio, numbered and signed all of his labels.

Domingo Esteso, numbered the last labels, but he never signed them.

Antonio Emilio Pascual, put numbers and signed his guitars from the number 112.

Santos Hernandez, never signed nor numbered his labels.

OF THE SOUNDHOLES

All of the eight great maestros made their soundholes round, save in some instruments Simplicio that made them ovals and placed them a little higher, but this modification was temporary, because soon he returned to construct in accord with the Torres model.

OF THE TORNAVOZ

All the maestros, placed in some of their instruments a tornavoz of brass, except for Arias and Pascual.

OF THE NECKS

We never have found knots in the center of those necks of the good instruments. Simplicio painted some of his necks with a color of Caoba red.

OF THE FINGERBOARDS

Generally they were constructed with Ebony, but they made some in Indian Rosewood or Brazilian Rosewood, even in the instruments of Torres, Arias, Ramirez and Garcia, over all of the first epochs. Simplicio is characterized by a fingerboard of greater thickness.

OF THE HARMONIC TOPS (SOUNDBOARDS)

Torres made some tops, with two halves of different fibers. All of the rest used only one piece for the top, sectioning in middle of its thickness, of a manner that the two halves resulting in equally, in fibers, knots and characters.

Santos Hernandez, is characterized after becoming independent of his maestro, by making his thin tops, and in some cases, perhaps the lesser, too thin.

Simplicio, gave to some of his tops, a smooth color of canary yellow.

OF THE BACKS

Torres, made various backs of three or four pieces, some united with delicate mosaics.

Santos Hernandez, constructed some backs of only one piece of wood. All of the rest used two pieces united in the middle.

OF THE PATTERNS, MOSAICS AND FILETS

Don Antonio de Torres, combined in his mosaics the colors black, green, red and yellow in smooth tones. He effected many diminutive checkerboard patterns characterizing it, by placing some very small yellow wheat grains over a background of green, which no one has repeated to this date.

Vicente Arias, liked the linear pattern a little, made many Arabic taraceas with flowery adornments.

It is characterized, by placing some shields, on which they are predominately round lines.

Manuel Ramirez, is personalized by some filets of holly, a very white wood without equal and of great hardness, that he placed around the border of the body.

Santos Hernandez, has something in common with his maestro in the same sense, but then replaced the holly with filets of ivory.

Enrique Garcia, made some marquetries around the soundhole, that was different than the rest, over all in a few small yellow points over a dark background, in the form of a circular belt.

Francisco Simplicio, used a greater variety of colors, distinguished by the vivacity of them. In some mosaics of the bridge, placed in the center are the colors of the Spanish flag and in many seen are the colors of the Argentine flag.

Antonio Emilio Pascual, is distinguished clearly by the harmony and good taste of his marquetry in smooth tones. He has knowledge as an aficionado of sketching and of painting; for that reason he combines colors and tones more diverse; his dark greens he makes them with died erable. It is characterized, by being the only one to use violet, taking advantage of the natural color of the palid violet of amaranth, for the dull tones and the died acer, for the lively tones.

OF THE HARMONIC BARS OR FAN BRACING

Torres employed the bars, not only as braces, but also as an element of collaboration to the body of resonance.

He formed the fan bracing in the guitars of the large type with seven braces (one in the center and three on each side). All the constructors adopted this school, except Enrique Garcia in his second epoch and his disciple Francisco Simplicio, that augmented one more brace, on the side of the gut strings; that is to say, placing four braces on the side of the trebles, one in the center and three on the bass side. Domingo Esteso, is characterized, by in making braces that are taller and triangular, with round angles. Santos Hernandez, in the latest guitars modified the transverse brace of the top, near the soundhole in the lower part, placing it in a diagonal form; nearing the extremity of the bridge corresponding to the treble side and backing away from corresponding to the bass side. Of a manner that, the braces of the fan, of the side of the gut strings, resulting in a shorter length, than that of the side of the basses.

OF THE EXTERIOR OF THE HEELS

All the luthiers were enlarging the heels of their guitars. Torres, in his first epoch made them small and round. In his second epoch, he constructed them larger and a little longer in relation to the neck.

Manuel Ramirez, constructed his heels a medium size, in a form like those of Torres in both of his epochs.

Vicente Arias. I only know, a class of heel very much like those of Torres of his first epoch (I have only seen three guitars by him).

Santos Hernandez, made his heels exactly equal to those of the second epoch of Torres.

Domingo Esteso, of the same forms, but somewhat larger than those of Santos Hernandez.

Francisco Simplicio, constructed all of his heels large, in a quadrangle form, with the angles being rounded.

Enrique Garcia, in the beginning constructed small heels in a like form to that of Torres in his first epoch, but a little larger. Then he enlarged them noticeably, without arriving however to the size that later his disciple Simplicio made.

Antonio Emilio Pascual, made his first heels of a medium size. Then he enlarged them arriving to construct them of a larger size than even those of Simplicio. In as much, it is he that placed in his instruments, the exterior heel of larger volume, among the eight great constructors of which we are concerned.

OF THE GENERAL CONTOURS

Since that Torres gave definite forms to the instrument, all those that were inspired by him or followed his path, made the contours very much alike, that only the experienced view of the experts can define, being a little less than impossible to reflect with words, what the senses transmit to the brain. The waist a little close fitting and a greater amplitude of the lower part of the sonorous body can characterize only the guitars of Vicente Arias, he makes them a little taller than Torres.

OF THE MECHANICAL GEARS

Many of the original Ramirez gears and some of the Torres, we find placed in a manner that, for lifting the string, it must make a turn toward the left, instead of the right. In many of the gears of Garcia, in almost all of those of Simplicio, and in some of those of Santos Hernandez, we find a specie of a barrel with a little point for tying the string, in place of the classic cylinder with a hole, that all the other gears have.

OF THE HEADSTOCKS

One of the parts, in which the constructor lets his personality impress, as if a stamp of his signature, is in the headstock of the guitar.

Their sizes. — We are going to name the authors, of accord with the size that they generally make the headstock of their instruments, starting with the smallest: Manuel Ramirez, Domingo Esteso, Antonio de Torres, Vicente Arias, Santos Hernandez, Enrique Garcia, Antonio Emilio Pascual, and Francisco Simplicio. Between the small and the large, that is to say, between those of Ramirez and those of Simplicio there is a difference of more than 3 centimeters in length. All of them have the smallest variants in their sizes, except for Santos Hernandez, who enlarged those in the second epoch by a centimeter and a half.

Their contours. — Torres, didn’t modify the contours of his headstocks. Esteso always conserved the likeness of the most beautiful of Ramirez; this he changed a bit, but always conserved the simple lines. Santos Hernandez, differentiated some between those of his two epochs. Garcia, made in his first epoch, a combination between those of Arias and of Ramirez, and then to imitate Torres and later to be modified, leaving a style with which Simplicio is characterized.

Pascual, apart from the school of his maestro making unmistakable headstocks, yet those that he constructed were smooth.

Their mosaics. — Torres, was the only one that put Greek mosaics in his headstocks.

Their Carvings. — Garcia and Simplicio are characterized by their carvings done over a headstock overlay of Ebony; they did them in garlands of flowers of magnificent artistic taste. Pascual, as we’ve said before, had the love of drawing, has created truly works of mastery of cabinetry in his headstocks, putting him without discussion in the seat of greatest category, when it comes to this part of the instrument.

++++O++++

I want to thank the kindness of my listeners that have honored me, hearing a subject that maybe might not have been of interest as they imagined. I ask you to excuse in as much, if I have defrauded the general expectation, but must justify myself, because the character of our office, makes it appear to us of interest, all that helps us to decipher enigmas and discover falsifications.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

I want to emphasize that we have mentioned in this dissertation, the great masters in the art of the construction of the guitar, that we have cataloged as having world renown. This category, of the eight most notable, we have formed, not only taking into account the opinions of the erudite of this art, but also, then having made extensive statistics of the prices, that they have brought at public auction. I repeat in as much, that our opinions are equidistant and sincere. Many times I have thought if an Enrique Sanfeliu disciple of Garcia, to the prolific Juan Galan, to Celestino Mendez, to José del Puerto, to Evaristo Fernandez, to Vidoudez, to Hauser, or to many other known and excellent constructors, we must include among those of notable category, but until the material works and the public opinion doesn’t impose them, we must respect the voice of the populace, that is the voice of God.”

My colleague, Richard Brune, guitar maker, classical guitar historian, recently said in an email that: "Yes, that Luis Castellanos book still holds up exceedingly well. He was the first (I think) to use a light bulb inside to create a kind of x-ray photo of the top barring, a technique we still use today. "