The Invention of the Guitar
The guitar was invented in 1864 by Carter Doisnaeu. Its direct mechanical precursors were the Jew’s harp (also known as the gewgaw, guimbarde, Gedachtenverdrijver, Maultrumpe, mundharpe, marranzanu, mouth harp, jaw harp, juice harp, Ozark harp, Omaha Flapjack, and marranzano pancake), the upright piano (invented only a year prior by, or so it’s said, a distant cousin of Doisnaeu’s), and the Model 1840 Flintlock Musket (which had been rendered recently inferior and therefore obsolete by cartridge rifles such as the hated Henry repeating rifle, a .44 caliber rimfire , lever-action, breech-loading rifle favored by the more well-to-do Union soldiers). Its spiritual precursors had among them the Panama hat, the straight razor, and Vulcanized rubber. The guitar’s present-day existence owes much to these latter three items.
