Classic Guitars

"Born in Renaissance Europe, the guitar has found its greatest popularity, and its widest range of forms and playing styles, in the New World. In the past two centuries, American musicians, playing everything from blues to western swing to rock 'n' roll, and companies like Martin, Gibson, and Fender have virtually redefined the instrument. American trends and innovation have, in turn, traveled back across the Atlantic, where Europeans continue to push the limits of what a guitar can be and do. "This book of thirty postcards features forty-nine classic guitars selected by historian and musician Robert Shaw, the author of Great Guitars. Accompanying the images are Shaw's engaging notes on the instruments' history and the musicians who have played them. These extraordinary guitars are sure to fascinate and delight---whether you're a player, luthier, collector, or simply an admirer of superb craftsmanship. ISBN: 0-7649-1758-7; size: 4 3/4 x 6 7/8"."--© Pomegranate [refers to Postcards]

The guitar is an versatile instrument of fundamental importance ranging from Victorian parlor music and the distinctive Hawaiian sound, to Blues, Country, Jazz, and Rock. Musician, curator and art historian Robert Shaw teams up with photographer Michael Tamborrino in Classic Guitar to provide the reader with a gorgeously illustrated exploration of sixty-five of the most important and collectible guitars of the past two centuries. Each selected and showcased guitar is accompanied by information about its creators and its historical significance in the history of music. Acoustic and electric guitars by Martin, Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, and other legendary companies are presented, along with masterpieces of the guitar maker's art by such truly legendary luthiers as James D'Aquisto, Elmer Stromberge, and John Monteleone. A very highly recommended addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library Music History collections, Classic Guitars is impressively enhanced with an impressively informed and informative introduction concisely describing the guitar's quite lengthy evolution as well as the twentieth-century explosion of creativity that has resulted in hundreds of outstanding American luthiers and the production of millions of guitars worldwide.