Extremely Rare Gurian Workshops Dixieharp
Item History & Price
Reference Number: Avaluer:43020079 | Brand: Gurian |
I got this kit from a closing music store that still had a few Gurian-relat...ed items in inventory. As you might guess from the condition of the Dixieharp's box, the seller and I were both surprised to find the pieces were all there and still in good shape. So I had Marty Fair of Fairbuilt Guitars put it together (I wasn't about to mess this up!) and now here it is, ready to be tuned up and played if you'd like, or put on display if you think it's more important as the only known example of a surviving Dixieharp.
I'm a total fan of Gurian guitars, and jealously hang onto 4 of his guitars plus several other items relating to his business. He was a true innovator, and almost single-handedly caused a substantial upgrade in the quality of American-made guitars. The big makers of the day noticed when he opened his shop and soon had customers like Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Pierre Bensusan, James Taylor, Jackson Browne and a host of other performers who knew what they were looking for. Gurian gave us new guitar designs, great imported woods, handmade guitar components, new luthier tools, and a troop of former employees who went on to write books about guitar building and establish their own successful guitar making shops.
There were only about 5000 Gurian guitars ever built. No telling how many of those have been lost to fires, floods, car wrecks, jealous lovers, elevator shafts, giraffe kicks, sunken ships, and children under 5. But if you're looking for a Gurian Dixieharp? As far as I know -- and I've been looking nearly 2 decades -- there's a population of just one. This one.
There ought to be a reserve, but there isn't.