Flamenco Guitars: 1931 Angel Alonso Villaverde

Angel Alonso

$15,000

657 mm Scale, 52 mm Nut. Spruce Soundboard, Cypress back and sides. 7 fan braces and 2 bottom chevrons. Separate kerfing pieces attaching the top and back to the sides - the ultimate high grade lutherie fabrication, it provides the most power and resonance to the instrument. Ink stamp on the Spanish heel in two places. New Ebony Pegs (Original Pegs included), French Polish. Original Hard shell Case. It weighs just 40.29 ozs. = 2 1/2 lbs.

The center design of the rosette appears in a 1909 Jose Ramirez, and doubled in a 1916 Jose Ramirez, as well as a single insertion in some Santos Hernandez, Domingo Esteso, Francisco Simplicio and many Miguel Simplicio rosettes. Not to mention Marcelo Barbero rosettes fabricated for the Viuda de Santos Hernandez in 1945.

The workshop of Angel Alonso was located at Calle Torrijos, 20, 1st Floor in Madrid, when this guitar was fabricated. The floor he was located on is denoted on the Ink stamp.

The advertisement from the "Boletín-revista de la Biblioteca Fortea" dates from 1936, issues Nos. 13-18 - notice the maker was still on the same street but in a different building at Calle Torrijos 16.

There is a Laud in the Museo de Musica in Barcelona, it dates from 1929, when his workshop was located at: Calle del Marqués de Santa Ana, 5, Madrid.

This address was very close to the workshops of these legendary luthiers, notice the distances from his shop to the others as 1 mile= 1.6 km:

Santos Hernandez (1.8 km)

Domingo Esteso (1.5 km)

Manuel Ramirez (1.9 km)

Rafael Ortega (1.9 km)

Vicente Arias (650.0 m) less than 1/2 mile - 0.40)

Jose Ramirez (2.3 km ) compared to the location where this Flamenco Guitar was fabricated. ex.= Manuel Ramirez (6.8 km), maybe he moved to not be so close to so many workshops (He was the only guitar maker located on Calle Torrijos in Madrid.), it is not known who he may have studied with or worked for or if he was a cabinet maker before he opened up his own workshop. I see some features that I see in Manuel Ramirez guitars- shape of the interior Spanish heel, wood strips going up the sides from cut kerfing areas attaching the sides to the top and back, the headstock has somewhat of the appearance as well but I am not an expert, such as luthiers are.

No cracks on the Soundboard.

There is a biography of the luthier in the hardcover book: "Guitarreros de Madrid. Artesanos de la prima y el bordón". by Luis F. Leal Pinar, published in 2008, now almost out of print. The image of the biography is shown below, stating that Angel Alonso was fabricating guitars and Lauds in Madrid at the end of the 19th century.