Guitar
About
musical instrument by unknown artist (1918.336)
Famous Examples
2These are specific, historically notable physical instruments — each with its own story, provenance, and place in musical history.
Torres FE 17 (The Guitare Royale)
1856Maker
Antonio de Torres Jurado · Spanish
Current Owner
Museu de la Música
Location
Barcelona, Spain
Estimated Value
Priceless
Notable Players
Why It Matters
Made by Antonio Torres — the luthier who defined the modern classical guitar. Torres established the standard body size (650mm scale length, fan-braced top) that virtually all classical guitars follow today. The FE 17 is among the finest surviving examples of his first period. Torres's guitars were preferred by Francisco Tárrega, who became the foundation of the modern classical guitar school.
Description
A first-period Torres guitar — spruce top with fan-bracing, rosewood back and sides. Lighter and more resonant than pre-Torres guitars.
Provenance
Made by Torres in Almería 1856. Acquired by the Museu de la Música de Barcelona.
Robert Johnson's Gibson L-1
c. 1928–1930Maker
Gibson Guitar Corporation · American
Current Owner
Unknown — private collection
Location
Whereabouts unknown
Estimated Value
Inestimable
Notable Players
Why It Matters
The guitar Robert Johnson is believed to have played on his 29 recordings made in 1936–1937 — recordings that became the foundation of the Delta Blues and influenced virtually every rock and blues musician of the 20th century. Eric Clapton called Johnson 'the most important blues singer who ever lived.' Johnson's guitar style — alternating bass lines, slide, and complex rhythmic patterns played simultaneously — has never been fully replicated.
Description
A small-bodied, ladder-braced flattop guitar. The humble build of the L-1 belies its enormous cultural impact — it produced the recordings that gave the 20th century its blues vocabulary.