The Odyssey of recreating an A.Stathopoulos original hard case
Collecting all the information needed for an A, Stathopoulos case replica!
When the historical A. Stathopoulos 1911 bouzouki (model 141) found, was without its original case
While the search for the discovery and rescue of historic old bouzoukia is on the rise, almost none in depth research has been done, gathering information regarding the construction and the resale of antique bouzouki cases by the renowned instrument makers of the early 20th century .
On December 2013 I initialized with an article, the first research on old Greek bouzouki cases , inviting historians, researchers, and followers to cast as much light as possible to the matter.
http://memoriesoftheinnocentage.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-oldest-bouzouki-case.html
Although, with the help of renowned researchers, basic information about the construction of cases came to light, important details regarding the construction and the raw materials used, remained in obscurity.
The museum quality restoration of the historical A. Stathopoulos 1911 bouzouki, motivated one more time to dive deeper into the research of the old bouzouki cases.
The research led me down the rabbit hole for almost 5 months. In the end I got a break!.
By accident I stumbled upon the Anastasios Stathopoulos 1913 complete catalogue, which contained detailed information and photographs regarding soft and hard cases which the workshop was selling.
From the A. Stathopoulos catalogue its obvious that the luthier was offering 4 types of cases for bouzoukia
No 150................Hard case from canvas ................$ 1.50
No 151.................Green feltron ------------------------$ 1.25
No 152...............Leather case superb quality--------$ 6.75
No 153...….........Immitation leather case-------------$ 5.50
But who was constructing these cases for Anastasios Stathopoulos workshop, and what specific materials and hardware used on them?
In the 1913 catalogue, photographs of mandolin cases appeared to have an A. Stathopoulos label.
Was the Stathopoulos workshop constructing also the musical instrument cases?
The answers to my questions came from Steve Kirtley , musician, researcher and a living cyclopedia regarding vintage musical instrument cases. Steve casted most of the necessary light needed to define the manufacturer, materials, shape, and hardware used for the creation of Anastasios Stathopoulos bouzouki cases
The manufacturer of Anastasios Stathopoulos' hard cases was no other than the famous Bull’s Head Brand Cases (Maulbetsch & Whittemore Company 1886-1920) located at Newark, N.J. USA.
Something that completely surprised me, during my conversations with Steve, was the information that the 1911 hard bouzouki case would neither be a thick, neither a coffin case style, as I would expect.
" Starting about 1906 laminated veneer cases are the new development, allowed by the inexpensive rotary veneer. The USA leads the way with this technology . When the laminated veneer cases first appeared , they solved a pent-up desire for shaped cases that they had been trying to achieve for decades . So, manufacturers immediately began showing off the extreme shapes they could achieve. The trend was to make cases that tightly fitted the shape of the musical instrument .
Later the wider neck became more common , I think mainly because it allowed more space for the accessory compartment "
Steve had given me by now the three very important information regarding A. Stathopoulos hard cases. Who was the manufacturer of the case, what material used for the skeleton of the case, and what shape the case would have.
And as I had just started seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, the rabbit hole became bigger when my research extended to the remaining information regarding lining, colors, latches, clasps, hinges, exterior material etc.
Accordingly to A . Stathopoulos catalogue, the hard cases lining (for the expensive ones) was silk plush, or silk velvet.
Now someone will ask what is silk plush? Translation of the word "plush" to Greek language is also velvet...but what is the difference then?
Silk plush was a very expensive fabric used back in 1910s-1920s for the creation of stuffed animals and toys. . It is similar to the velvet fabric with longer pile (like a short pile fur), but with the luster, softness and luminosity of silk velvet.
Vintage teddy bear made by short pile silk plush
The silk plush fabric was discontinued long time ago, and as intensely as I researched for a remaining piece of vintage plush fabric, I didn't find one with enough dimensions to cover the lining of a bouzouki case.
A small piece of silk plush found in Ukraine. Amazed by its luster and color
I decided then that my next option was silk velvet.
Before I started the bouzouki case research, I had no substantial knowledge regarding fabrics, woven and knit style of fabrics, and cost of fabrics. My research trying to find 100% silk velvet led me to Venice Italy and to a small factory which for hundred of years now, produces 100% hand made silk velvet fabric. The factory also supplies the nearby museums with silk velvet fabric when needed , for the restoration of historical royal costumes.
Accordingly to Anna, the representative of the small factory , the silk velvet cost varies from 368.00 euros to 632.00 euros per meter!
Now I know why it was so hard to find 100% silk velvet :)
And since the lining material would have cost me more than the construction of an A. Stathopoulos case, I started looking into the alternatives of silk velvet. Then I discovered the silk velvet blend!
The silk velvet blend is a velvet fabric with 18%-30% silk and 82%-70% other materials. The most close blend to 100% silk velvet is the silk/rayon velvet . Rayon ( which is a semi organic material and different from what commonly called viscose ) has very similar properties to silk, regarding softness and luster.
Finding a seller of silk velvet blend and at the particular colors used for lining musical instrument cases back in 1910s-1920s, was another small Odyssey.
Finally, I was able to locate one in Paris France.
They are few only workshops in Greece creating by hand custom bouzouki cases. I contacted all 5 of them asking for the materials used for the skeleton of their cases. Some are using pressed cardboard /paper, some others a mixture of fiberglass, plastic and paper.
Panatelis Agkistriotis (https://kavouki.com/) , a young talented luthier, musician, and custom musical instrument cases' builder, uses wood veneer and natural raw materials for the creation of his custom cases. Pantelis was my obvious and only choice. He accepted with great enthusiasm the difficult challenge to construct the fist and only replica of an A. Stathopoulos 1910s bouzouki case.
My civil engineering first degree came up very handy, creating the foot print /blue prints of the instrument's exact measurements, and sending them to Panteli
The A. Stathopoulos exact bouzouki case replica, is an attempt to revive the forgotten history of bouzouki cases, and the utilization ( as much as possible) of the same techniques and materials used back in 1910s. During the construction of this particular case, Pantelis Agkistriotis will try to match as much as possible the original specs, and reproduce every possible detail of hardware and raw materials down to the recreation of the blurred A. Stathopoulos label seen in A. Stathopoulos catalogue. This was a side-job, smaller research for few weeks, which brought positive results on decoding and recreating the original label.
Recreating the label.
I hope, when the bouzouki case is completed , other owners and collectors of historical musical instruments of that era, will follow my footsteps recreating the 1910s-1920s vibe, and giving the "original home" to their beloved vintage instruments.
Stay tuned! To be continued!
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