Antonio de Lorca Garcia was a guitar maker in Málaga, Spain in the 19th century.  He was an excellent maker and one of the last to use the elongated body shape in Spain but at the same time used fan bracing.  In the above pictures the only non-original elements are the pegs.  The instrument that I was able to study was part of the collection of Ángel Luis Cañete of Málaga with whom I coincided at the workshop of my first teacher José Ángel Chacon.  This guitar was built in 1847 and is very similar to the Pages guitars that I have seen having a similar shape and almost identical fan braces. 

This is news (even for you English speakers) because there has never been a decent book written in Spanish on the subject; something I find quite ironic.  “La Guitarra en la Luthería”  by José Ángel Chacón Tenllado was published by the regional government here in Andalucia, Spain earlier this month.  I am sorry to say that I have yet to see a copy of the book but I did see some of the drawings and content while it was being written.  Chacón was my first teacher in instrument-making back in 1990 and prides himself on being a luthier – a maker of all stringed instruments- not just the bowed instruments for which he is  well-known.  He developed his professional skills in Italy so for me the Italian influence combined with the violin maker’s influence enriched what I later learned here in Granada.  I am excited about this book because I know how systematic and organized Chacón is so I know that everything will be explained to perfection.  Teaching has been a very important part of his work ever since he returned to Spain in the eighties.  And now for the baffling politics of this:  There were an extremely limited number of copies printed and it is not for sale, go figure.