Silvestri Catania - Romantic Guitar Chitarra - Circa 1891 - Shellac finish

Description

Silvestri - Catania
Late Romantic flat top Guitar
Made in
Catania (Sicily), Italy
Year of production: After
1891
(This is when the Silvestri company was founded)
Finish: Original finish covered with Shellac
(French polishing technique)
Condition:
Very good (Fully Restored)
;
This guitar was imported out of Italy as a restoration project. It came in with no finish on the top and with laquer cracks and traces of woodworm on mostly the back and sides. The neck was a lightly bent forward, so this was gently bent back with steam and heat. The entire fretboard was sanded and then polished with beewax, making it more dense. The bridge had been broken in several pieces in the past, but had been restored at some point and bolted/glued on the top. We did not want to damage the old guitar any further so we decided to restore the bridge the best we could. After hole, split and crack was re-glued, we decided to add a couple of layers of shellac with a French polishing technique to preserve the original finish on the neck, headstock, back and sides. After the restoration was finished (which took quite a long period of time) it was restrung with extra light steel strings.  The guitar was made out of solid woods.
String amount: Six
String type: Steel (It is also possible to install Nylon strings)
Fret amount: Seventeen (with zero-fret excluded)
Fret type: Simple brass Italian style frets
Fretboard material: Rosewood
Fretboard inlay: Pearl dots
Top nut material: Bone
Bridge nut material: Brass
Top material: Spruce
• Imported from Italy
• Very early guitar from the
Silvestri
company