1961 Ignacio Fleta SP/IN

This 1961 Ignacio Fleta, No. 229, is a classical guitar with a spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides – a one-owner Barcelona Fleta in untouched condition.

No. 229 – in Very Good Company

In typical Fleta fashion for this period, it is made of spruce for the soundboard and Indian rosewood for the back and sides. Of interest, one of the most famous guitars in history was also a 1961 Fleta, recorded and played in concert by John Williams from 1961 to 1972. The "Williams" Fleta was No. 235, and this one is No. 229 – only 6 guitars away, so it is in very good company.

Condition

Until it came to us, the instrument had only one owner in its entire history, who took great care of it – no cracks, no repairs of any kind, and it is in original condition, including the finish. A rare find, and an extremely desirable Fleta.

Ignacio Fleta: Master Guitar Maker of Barcelona

For performers and collectors alike, the name Ignacio Fleta (1897–1977) ranks among the elite handful of 20th-century luthiers. Trained in Barcelona as a maker of violins and cellos, he built mainly bowed instruments from the late 1920s until 1955, when he decided to devote himself to the guitar. Countless scores of the finest players in the world have played his instruments – among them Andrés Segovia, John Williams, Angel Romero, Turibio Santos, Alirio Díaz and Marcelo Kayath.

Ignacio Fleta e Hijos: Three Generations

By the mid-1960s Fleta's sons, Francisco (1925–2003) and Gabriel (1929–2013), had become his partners in the workshop – which is why the labels from then on read "Ignacio Fleta e hijos" (Ignacio Fleta and sons). After Ignacio's death in 1977 the brothers carried on, and today Gabriel's son, Gabriel Fleta Jr., continues the family workshop in its third generation. Many dozens of Fletas have passed through our doors over the years.