Guitar decacorde
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InstrumentGuitar |
Instrument FamilyStrings |
MakerRéne Lacôte |
Place MadeWestern Europe ; France ; Europe ; Paris |
Date Made1826 |
DescriptionBookmatched soundboard of spruce, of generally fine grain. Soundhole 80mm diameter. The edge of the soundhole is veneered in ebony, surrounded by alternate strips of ivory and ebony (10 of each). The soundboard is edged in ebony, with alternate strips of ivory and ebony ( 5 of each) inside. This edging extends around the whole guitar, including the section between the soundboard and fingerboard. The soundboard does not extend onto the fingerboard. Bridge of ebony, the main section 120mm long and 25mm wide. Separate bridge saddle. Bridge pegs of rosewood. The back and sides are of mahogany, with an ebony edging in between. The mahogany on the back is one piece, and is a veneer laid onto spruce. At the bottom of the sides is an inlaid ebony section which tapers from 2mm next to the bottom edging, to 32mm by the soundboard edging. There is a broken ebony endpin at the bottom. The neck is of mahogany, 94mm wide at the neck join, and 79mm wide at the nut. It is of the same piece as the heel, and has been carved out on the bass side to reduce weight. The neck joins the head with a V joint. The core head material appears to be maple, with the back of the head veneered in mahogany, and the top veneered in ebony. The head is a scalloped shape, with friction pegs of rosewood. The bass nut, set at an angle to the strings is made of ivory. There are holes for three ditals, one of which survives. The fingerboard is 307mm long. There are 17 frets in total, frets 12 - 17 are placed on the soundboard, inlaid into ebony pieces. Printed label inside the instrument reads "Place des Victoirea / No. 5 / Lacote / Luthier / a Paris / Annee 1826" and has a handwritten "92" to the left of the "Lacote". On the head, stamped and gilt is "Lacote / a Paris", and stamped in two places on the head (also gilt) is "PAR BREVET / D'INVENTION". Repair history: Instrument went through conservation and restoration in 2017. Missing ditals were 3D printed in brass, the fingerboard would levelled and missing pegs made. Work was completed by Jonathan Santa Maria Bouquet, Fabio Bonardi and Daniel Wheeldon. Overall size: 927 Body length: 436 Body width, upper bouts: 231 Body width, waist: 167 Body width, lower bouts: 302 Body depth: 90 (bottom) - 81 (heel) String length: 630 (main section), 686, 693, 701, 708, 715 for bass strings Printed label inside the instrument reads "Place des Victoirea / No. 5 / Lacote / Luthier / a Paris / Annee 1826" and has a handwritten "92" to the left of the "Lacote". On the head, stamped and gilt is "Lacote / a Paris", and stamped in two places on the head (also gilt) is "PAR BREVET / D'INVENTION". Technical drawing available at Friends of St Cecilia's. Please see http://www.stceciliasfriends.org.uk/ |
Other InformationGeneral usage of type: This type of guitar was known as the `Guitare Decacorde' and was invented in 1826 by the guitarist composer Fernando Carulli in association with Lacôte. It was unusual in that it only had 5 stopped strings, the 5 open basses being diatonically tuned. This form of guitar did not achieve great popularity although Carulli wrote a method and a series of pieces for it. |
NotesAnne Macaulay, 1981, 1986, July 1991; Gary Southwell, 1984; D.P. Martin, 2003; Jonathan Santa MariaBouquet, 2017. |
Measurements927. |
CollectionMIMEd ; Macaulay Collection |
Accession Number0767 |