I was in Copenhagen, Denmark last week. I spotted some guitars on display in an antique store, and was delighted to find a 1970 classical and an early arch top by Danish maker Arne Schlunsen there. The classical was light, had a clear, open tone and was very well made. Talked a bit to the shop owner, who it turned out was a friend of local guitar maker Kenneth Brogger, who wrote the book “Danish Guitars – and Their Makers”, which I bought. Being a remote part of Europe, Scandinavia has a history that does not follow closely many of the events and developments that happened farther south on the continent, but I was delighted to find that guitars have been made here in Scandinavia for a long time; good ones too! The book has great pictures and concise descriptions of many historical and newer instruments, and introduced me to makers and a part of history I must shamefully admit I was largely ignorant of. I am writing this because I think the book is good enough that I think it would be interesting even for non-Scandinavian guitar enthusiasts, in fact it is as nice or better that most of the hard cover “coffee table” guitar books I own. The text is in both Danish and English, and for you US people it can be bought from Elderly Instruments.
Danish Guitars - and Their Makers by Kenneth Brogger
Here is an excerpt from what they have to say about it:
“A lovely book showcasing Danish made guitars from 1777 to the present. Features 37 makers and 98 instruments including early classical gut string guitars, steel string guitars, jazz guitars, modern classical, electric guitars, and the guitar lute (aka the Swedish lute or arche-lut). Each maker is presented chronologically with a biography, one or more guitars with specifications, and detailed color photos of headstocks, rosettes, ornate bridges, inlays and other intricate designs.”