I received this book today and I am very excited to get a start on it. Arias, at least to the guitar-playing public, was indeed the forgotten maker until the early part of this century when things started to change. Siegfried Hogenmüller and Stefano Grondona were particularly influential in the resurgence of interest in the figure of Arias. My first experience with Arias was a guitar which Javier Riba brought to my workshop immediately after purchasing it. I remember the look of terror on his face when I began examining the guitar and said “Oh my god!”. He thought I had discovered some fault in it when in reality I had discovered the double back which was not noticeable from the outside. That guitar, from 1900 is an incredible instrument and its quality has caused me to seek out information about and guitars made by Vicente Arias.

This book is the first comprehensive work dealing with the life and the guitars of this great builder. At this point I have only flipped through it admiring the incredible photography and layout but I know that I will love it. I love the detailed photographs of the different rosettes and the plans of 4 Arias guitars; one of them included full size. Congratulations to Alberto and Clémentine Martínez. Get yours now. CaminoVerde.