The Mandolin & Cittern Source

The Mandolin & Cittern Source



The (English) Guittar



Painting 'Portrait of Mrs. Robert Gwillym' by Joseph Wright, England, 1766.
The English guitar or guittar was a type of cittern, which was popular in many places in northern Europe from around 1750–1850. It is unknown when the identifier 'English' became connected to the instrument at the time of its introduction to Great Britain, and during its period of popularity it was apparently simply known as guitar or guittar. The instrument was also known in Norway as a guitarre and France as cistre or guitarre allemande (German guitar). They commonly used 'Preston tuners', which were a new mechanical type of tuners invented during this period, and later used on Waldzithern and Portuguese guitars. It had 10 strings in 6 courses, with the 4 highest courses double and the lowest two single.




Details: Historical example of a guittar made by John Preston, with the usual Preston tuners.
Made by: John Preston, Britain.



Details: A modern version made with machine heads.
Made by: Paul Hathaway, Britain.