The Larsons Creations, Guitars and Mandolins [Audio CD]

Robert Hartman (Composer)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1996

This book is an account of two brothers who were premier producers of stringed instruments in the early part of this century. Swedish immigrant cabinet makers Carl and August Larson made instruments under the brand names of Maurer, Prairie State, Euphonon, W.J. Dyer and Bro., Wm. C. Stahl, and under their own name, and their highly-collectible creations are conisdered to day to be some of the finest ever made. Lovingly researched and written by Robert Hartman, grandson of Carl Larson, The Larsons Creations contains many beautiful color photos of these artful instruments, classic advertisements, and catalogs, and a CDfeaturing guitarist Muriel Anderson playing 11 songs on 11 Larson instruments. Includes sixteen pages of full-color photos.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Centerstream Publications; Pap/Cdr edition (February 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0931759773
• ISBN-13: 978-0931759772
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,183,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting resource for vintage guitar fans, January 1, 2011

By 

Tim O'Neill (Orange, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Larsons' Creations - Centennial Edition: Guitars & Mandolins (Hardcover)

This new edition is substantially revised and expanded from previous versions. In addition to brief biographical summaries on the Larson Brothers, it contains reproductions of old musical instrument catalogs, Larson Brothers patents and many photographs of vintage Larson made instruments. There is also a CD included which features beautiful illustrative performances by Muriel Anderson on several different Larson instruments.

The book was written by Larson descendant Robert Hartman, who was himself a small boy when the Larson shop was closed for good in the mid-1940's. Putting together a comprehensive history of Larson instruments must have been a formidable challenge, as the two brothers did not leave behind extensive written records. Another complication is that they did not build guitars under their own names, often building for other manufacturers and distributors.

The information on the Larson Brothers and their instruments is presented clearly enough, although it would be nice if Mr. Hartmann and his editors had devoted more resources to proof-reading, spell-checking and basic grammar. The text is riddled with misspelled words ("devorced", "deseased"), disagreements in tense, and other obvious errors. However, this book is so unique and interesting that these amateurish flaws can be overlooked. The end result is an interesting coffee table book that is both a useful resource for the collector and a lot of fun to thumb through for the vintage guitar enthusiast.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Larson's Creations, July 30, 2008

By 

Kelly Kiemele "ktwok22" (Mandan, ND United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Larsons Creations, Guitars and Mandolins (Audio CD)

Very informative and thorough resource about the wonderful instruments created by these master luthiers. These instruements are finally becoming "known" as truely exceptional. There are still many undiscovered out there because many of us are unfamiliar with the and don't know how to identify them. The book will help you learn to do so.