Letter: Passing of Hart Huttig

by Tom Peterson

Originally published in American Lutherie #35, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004



Dear Tim and gang,

I came into contact with Hart Huttig through Charles Fox when I attended his guitar making school in 1976. I can still see those typed price lists of Allied Traders of Miami with the freighter or the Casa fundada en 1792 crest in the upper right corner.

In ’76 or ’77 I went to see him at his daughter’s house south of San Francisco. I sought the advice of a winemaker friend on the best bottle of sherry, and headed off. I soon learned that I needn’t have worried about bribing him or ingratiating myself in order to pick his brain, for his warmth and generosity were immediately evident as we spent a delightful afternoon bantering about everything from Maccaferris to Martins while he kept his family waiting for him to come to dinner.