John Church Imperial Parlor Guitar c 1900 | $775 | (v2506) It appears that the John Church Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, was an offshoot of the many companies of Oliver Ditson, who appears to have made similar arrangements to birth the John C. Haynes & Co. of Boston, and Lyon & Healy of Chicago. The John Church Co. was incorporated in 1885 and produced the Imperial line of guitars at least until 1900. In 1891, Charles F. Geiger, a manager at the Church Co., patented the unique tailpiece design found on many Imperial parlor guitars of the era. Of interest to guitar enthusiasts and historians is that this patented tailpiece was design specifically for steel strings, placing the Church Co. among the first makers to offer guitars with steel strings. More information on the fascinating Church/Imperial story can be found at Charles Robinson's blog Leaving This World, where he documents a wide variety of early guitar makers, including the John Church Co.
This example, overall, is a pretty plain guitar, but well made. It features a white oak back and sides, unbound. The ladder-braced top is spruce with two inlaid purfling rings. The neck is likely cedar, carved in a typical 'V' shape of the era, with an unadorned Brazilian rosewood fingerboard. The head stock features a Brazilian overlay. The tailpiece is nickle plated with a June 30 '81 patent stamp on the end. The tuners are brass with some engraved embellishment, the fanciest part of the guitar! There is a burgundy and gold Imperial label inside.
This is a true 'parlor' guitar in that is was actually made at the tail end of the parlor era, and features the modest dimensions typical of the era. The body measures 12 3/4" across at the lower bout, with body depth 3 5/8" at the end block. Scale length is 24 9/16". The neck measures 1 13/16" with string spacing 2 1/16" across at the saddle. It should be pointed out here that there is no saddle or bridge, per se, but rather a unified tail piece/bridge/saddle combination.
There are no prior repairs evident. We recently: reset the neck; leveled and dressed the frets; glued a small crack along the tailpiece; replaced some missing lining inside along the back center seam; made a Brazilian rosewood nut; inlaid a spline in a center seam opening; lubed the tuners. There are various and sundry scrapes and nicks from age and use, and a knot in the neck just where it begins its curve into the heel (we inspected it closely when the neck was removed for the reset). The G tuning peg is bent slightly.
This is a really nice guitar on several levels: it has a nice vintage vibe with its austere look and business-like tailpiece; it has very interesting historic appeal; in general, it's a pretty rare guitar; but best of all it plays and sounds really great! We've always been a fan of white oak, and this guitar is one of those where players will, after a few strums, exclaim, "Such a big sound from a small body!"
No case at the moment.
Check out the sound clip!
This example, overall, is a pretty plain guitar, but well made. It features a white oak back and sides, unbound. The ladder-braced top is spruce with two inlaid purfling rings. The neck is likely cedar, carved in a typical 'V' shape of the era, with an unadorned Brazilian rosewood fingerboard. The head stock features a Brazilian overlay. The tailpiece is nickle plated with a June 30 '81 patent stamp on the end. The tuners are brass with some engraved embellishment, the fanciest part of the guitar! There is a burgundy and gold Imperial label inside.
This is a true 'parlor' guitar in that is was actually made at the tail end of the parlor era, and features the modest dimensions typical of the era. The body measures 12 3/4" across at the lower bout, with body depth 3 5/8" at the end block. Scale length is 24 9/16". The neck measures 1 13/16" with string spacing 2 1/16" across at the saddle. It should be pointed out here that there is no saddle or bridge, per se, but rather a unified tail piece/bridge/saddle combination.
There are no prior repairs evident. We recently: reset the neck; leveled and dressed the frets; glued a small crack along the tailpiece; replaced some missing lining inside along the back center seam; made a Brazilian rosewood nut; inlaid a spline in a center seam opening; lubed the tuners. There are various and sundry scrapes and nicks from age and use, and a knot in the neck just where it begins its curve into the heel (we inspected it closely when the neck was removed for the reset). The G tuning peg is bent slightly.
This is a really nice guitar on several levels: it has a nice vintage vibe with its austere look and business-like tailpiece; it has very interesting historic appeal; in general, it's a pretty rare guitar; but best of all it plays and sounds really great! We've always been a fan of white oak, and this guitar is one of those where players will, after a few strums, exclaim, "Such a big sound from a small body!"
No case at the moment.
Check out the sound clip!