On our final day in Milan, Giulia and Hiroki were free and kindly offered to drive us around. I had expressed an interest to Giorgio Ferraris the night before in seeing the Lutherie School, and he graciously made himself available for a couple of hours this morning. After meeting the school’s Director, Virginia Villa, and [...]

After leaving the museum collections at Castle Sforza come closing time, we took a cab to our hotel for a quick refresh, then another short cab ride to the home of Giorgio Ferraris and his wife Lara, who had invited us for dinner. I had met Giorgio on the last night of our Genoa trip [...]

Since I haven’t shown you any instruments for awhile, I’m going to throw a whole bunch at you now.  And there’s much still to come! Last blog, I left off at the Sforza Castle museums with a view of the hallway display of the Monzino Collection. This is where I spent the bulk of my [...]

Time for Day 3 of our continuing adventures in Italy.  For this trip, we wanted to explore a bit farther afield, and I suggested Milan (both to my wife, Jaci, and host, Franco) – as there were musical instrument research possibilities there, along with other museum options for Jaci, and friends to help show us [...]

By now, most readers have probably caught up with my first-time adventures in Genoa (Genova), Italy two years ago.  So – could I recapture the magic?  Yes, and no.  Nothing can compare to that first impression, the emotions, the city, the new friends and the ridiculous amount of new instrument discoveries (and always that “following [...]

There are two dozen or more Dyer harp mandolins known to survive at this point, and other than some interesting, but subtle, differences (outside of the obvious different “Styles” of trim), most of us should be familiar with them by now. So: What is wrong with this picture? That’s what the owner was apparently asking [...]

…whether that basket is labeled “Fakes” or “Authentic”…especially until you are sure! In this case, I’m referring to the strange and mysterious “Stauffer” harp guitars that are actually shaped like an egg. The surviving specimen at left was not the first I had heard rumors about, but the first I came across – or rather, [...]

I’ve been meaning to write about this for some time, but it took awhile to finish the new Stauffer & Co. book.  Not so much reading it, but absorbing it. Lots to digest here – so many new instruments and information! Copies are available direct from Stauffer & Co., and now in the States from [...]

Time to try and get back to the reams of unpublished historical information I continue to obtain. Here’s one pretty much no one has heard of.  I have never heard of one in any collection either, though clearly some must have been manufactured.  Just another “holy grail” to add to my still-growing “want list”… The [...]

Here is a special piece that has been in the works since a short teaser I did in October, 2010, in a blog entitled “A Two Person Trio?”. I closed that little oxymoronic mystery with a promise of the unveiling of a unique harp guitar…and here it is! The unprecedented instrument  is part of a [...]