Flamenco Guitars: 1925 Benito Ferrer Flamenco Guitar with Pegs
Benito Ferrer
$5,000
646 mm Scale 48 mm Nut. One piece Fine to Medium grain Spruce Soundboard and Spanish Cypress back and sides. 20 Frets, essential for some Agustin Barrios pieces. 7 fan braces. Straight Fingerboard. Separate kerfing pieces attaching the Soundboard to the sides and a single band attaching the back to the sides. Weighs less than 38 ounces=2 lbs. 5 3/4ozs. Label: Benito Ferrer, Constructor de Guitarras de Concierto, calle Santiago 25 , Granada, Modelo numero 1925 (handwritten date) (handwritten address-he had moved to this location in 1924.)
The back and sides have all Original French Polish, that has never been touched up, only the Soundboard has been touched up after crack repairs.
There are 3 cracks on the top - 2 below the bridge and 1 above the bridge -these were repaired many decades ago. No cracks on the back, on the sides there are 2 cracks along the liners attaching the sides to the back. There is rasgueado (strumming) damage to the top due to not having a tapguard. The action is 5/32" on both the 1st and 6th strings at the 12th fret. (concert Flamenco action)
Maestro Andrés Segovia's first guitar came from this same workshop in Granada. Benito trained his nephew, Eduardo Ferrer, who went on to train not less than 14 makers in Granada: Antonio Ariza, Francisco Manuel Diaz, Rafael Diaz, Antonio Duran, Manuel Fernandez Fernandez, Isidro Garrido, Juan Lopez Aguilarte, Jose Lopez Bellido, Manuel Lopez Bellido, Miguel Lopez Munoz, Antonio Marin Montero , Rafael Moreno Rodriguez, German Perez Barranco, Antonio Reinosa Velazquez, Juan Roman Padilla; some of these began making Castanets in the Casa Ferrer shop, then moved on to making guitars.
Since 1987 we have sold instruments by 11 of the makers listed above.
Benito Ferrer - Born in 1845. Studied with Juan Ortega Castellon. He built Andrés Segovia's first guitar. Later he taught Nicolas Ortega, Jose Castano, and his nephew Eduardo Ferrer. He built guitars from 1875 until 1925 when he died. The above information is from the book: "Inventario de Guitarreros Granadinos 1875-1983", by Eusebio Riojas.