Review: Vincente Arias (1833-1914) The Forgotten Luthier

by Kevin Aram

Originally published in American Lutherie #144, 2021



Vicente Arias (1833-1914), The Forgotten Luthier
Alberto Martinez, Clémentine Jouffroy, Editors
(many other contributors)
ISBN 979-1090267-56-5
Camino Verde, Paris France, 2021
https://caminoverde.com

I first became aware of Vicente Arias in 1978 when I bought a copy of the book Guitars: From the Renaissance to Rock by Tom and Mary Anne Evans. In the section entitled “The Modern Classical Guitar,” there is a listing for an Arias guitar from 1874. The entry has a short description of the guitar together with the dimensions, three photographs, and the information that he lived and worked in the town of Ciudad Real which is in the Provence of La Mancha in Spain.

Fast forward to 1984 when my wife and I spent a month driving around Central, Southern, and Eastern Spain. As a part of this holiday we decided to follow the journey taken by Don Quixote in the famous book, and so, tourist brochure in hand, we visited and stayed in a number of towns in La Mancha including Ciudad Real.