c.1900 Manuel Ramírez SP/CY

A small-bodied Manuel Ramírez from around 1900, in spruce and cypress, showing the light, responsive build of the Madrid workshop that followed Torres.

A Manuel Ramírez from Around 1900

This guitar is a fine example of the style and sound that had such a profound impact on its players and listeners. It is a small-bodied instrument with deep basses, golden and vibrant trebles, and rich textures of sound interwoven with clear, bell-like fundamentals.

The guitar certainly shows signs of use and has had some well-done repairs over the years, but it is in stable and playable condition.

Manuel Ramírez (1864–1916): The Madrid Workshop After Torres

The Manuel Ramírez shop was undoubtedly the most important guitar workshop of the early post-Torres era. Brother and former pupil of José Ramírez I, Manuel committed himself to carrying the Torres design into the 20th century, and he gathered the finest builders of his day to do it: Santos Hernández, Domingo Esteso, Modesto Borreguero, Pascual Viudes and, very likely, Enrique García. Together they produced guitars that secured the legacy of Torres for every generation of makers that followed.

Segovia's 1912 Manuel Ramírez

The shop's most famous instrument is the 1912 guitar played by the young Andrés Segovia, built by Santos Hernández and today housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, alongside Segovia's 1937 Hermann Hauser I.

The "Viuda de Manuel Ramírez" Label

After Manuel's death in 1916, the workshop went on completing instruments under the label of his widow ("Viuda de Manuel Ramírez"). His craftsmen later founded workshops of their own – Santos Hernández on Calle de la Aduana and Domingo Esteso at Gravina 7 – carrying the shop's sound and standards deep into the 20th century.