At least one Larson brothers’ flat-top has surfaced that was bigger still by several inches. Perhaps this guitar was intended for the world’s largest parlor?Īmong the few makers who constructed such behemoths during this period were the Lyon and Healy Company and the Larson brothers, both of Chicago. Bear in mind that Elmer Stromberg’s massive Master 400 archtop, designed to project through the increasing din of the big-band era, measured a mere 19”. Its gigantic body, measuring 19 ¼” across, puts it in a class with the largest guitars ever built. It is curiously both deluxe and plain.īut what is it? It’s wide, flat fingerboard straddles the body at the 12th fret, its relatively thick V-shaped neck is topped with a squared-off slotted headstock, and its antiquated nickel-plated tuners, with pinion gears above the worm gears – are all indicative of a small, turn-of-the-century parlor guitar. Its configuration of flimsy, stamped-steel trapeze tailpiece and simple movable bridge (usually the hallmark of a budget flat-top) stands in stark contrast to the high quality and craftsmanship demonstrated throughout the guitar. Its unbound 18-fret fingerboard –also of rosewood – sports only a few small, round dots for position makers, yet intricate multicolored wood purfling graces much of the rest of the instrument, including the top body edge, rosette, and back centerseam. Really,it’s amazing to play it – a piece of history - and the sounds is deep andmellow.So what is it? Its original black-finished spruce top is simply ladder-braced from within, but its back and sides feature Brazilian rosewood with dramatic bookmatched figure.

This is a lovely, and quite playable, guitar unplugged. Originally this was strung with gut-I use Martin silk and steel strings slackeddown to relieve tension. It seems to plug in toyour basic wall outlet (see chord photo) and takes some 20 minutes to warm up.I have never plugged it in, so I can’t say one way or the other. This guitar is in very good condition considering its age.There’s a near-invisible hairline crack above the soundhole but it’s quitestable. It features sprucetop, quartersawn oak back and sides, brass hardware, ivory nut, bridge andtuning keys, no dot markers. The Arion is actually three-quarters size. It wasof better quality than most of the other “lesser brands like Jupiter, Columbus,etc. This is an Arion (see stamp inside the sound hole). Here is another sweet Lyon & Healy guitar from the late1800’s.

1880s lyon and healy parlor guitar