Classical Guitars: 1949 Edgar Monch (1907-1977) SOLD Birdseye Maple

Edgar Monch made in Ludwigsburg, Germany SOLD

$8,000

645 mm Scale, 50 mm Nut. Spruce and Birdseye Maple back and sides. 7 Fan Braces. Dovetail jointed Heel. French Polished. 1,252 grams = 43.62 ozs - 2 lbs. 11 5/8 ozs.

There are 5 cracks in the top, (2 of these travel under the bridge up to the area near the rosette.) and 1 that is 5" long in the back and 1 that is 13" long one on the treble side of the sides, these were restored by a luthier over 15 years ago, according its previous owner.


Look at the interior photos, one shows how thin the top and sides definitely are.


This may be the oldest known Monch guitar, there are a couple more that date from 1952 - made in Munich, and many later in that decade.


There is a photo of Julian Bream holding a guitar in the company of Edgar Monch. Julian Bream recorded for RCA using one in 1959.

Luthier Edgar Mönch, born in Leipzig on October 29, 1907, descended from a family of musicians. His Russian mother was a pianist, his father a violinist and bandmaster. Edgar Mönch spent his childhood in Russia, attended school there and later studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University in Gdansk. He worked as a technical interpreter at the Skoda Works in Prague. There he also studied violin at the conservatory.

It was while he was a German prisoner of war in an English POW camp that he got involved in guitar making. There he met a Wroclaw luthier who showed him how to make a guitar. Released from captivity in 1947, Edgar Mönch began working as a luthier. He perfected his knowledge of guitar making by studying in Spain with guitar maker friend Marcelo Barbero in Madrid. Edgar Mönch’s skill and drive for perfection earned him worldwide recognition. He worked very precisely and self-critically like rarely any other German luthier before. Edgar willingly passed on his knowledge to his students, and world-renowned luthiers such as John Larrivee, Kolya Panhuyzen, Ken Bowen and Joseph Kurek grew out of his workshop. Two months after his son’s passing, Edgar Mönch himself died on February 16, 1977. Segovia, Julian Bream, John Williams, Vicente Gomez and many other guitarists around the world played and still play a Mönch guitar.