Port Townsend, Washington
Christopher Knutsen

Spruce face, Brazilian rosewood bridge, and bone bridge pins
ca. 1897-1898
Length: 40 in, Width: 15.5 in, Depth: 4.75 in
Strings – Lutes – Guitars

This is a Christopher J. Knutsen Port Townsend Harp Guitar, “1898 patent” with hollow arm and 9 courses that include 6 strings on its neck and 3 sub-bass harp strings.  According to the luthier and researcher Gregg Miner, Christopher Knutsen was a genius. The legendary Dyer Harp guitars made by the Larson brothers in Chicago was a Chris Knutsen design. The marvelous Weissenborn Hawaiian acoustic lap steels were also copied from Knutsen designs in the early part of the 20th century.

Chris Knutsen’s innovative work was inspiration for the best luthiers of his day, yet he was almost completely forgotten until Dan Most and George Thomas Noe rediscovered his work and in 1999, published “Chris J. Knutsen: From Harp Guitars to the New Hawaiian Family: History & Development of the Hawaiian Steel Guitar.”  Since then, there has been a resurgence of interest by players and collectors alike in the innovative and amazing guitars from this independent luthier from Norway who settled in the Pacific Northwest and in Southern California toward the end of his relatively short life. Working predominantly as a solo builder, his output of several hundred instruments is astonishing.