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Giuseppe Indelicato Contarino

Handmade Sicilian Acoustic Parlour Guitar from c.1920.

The pictures below were taken in Rotterdam and dated June 1, 1925 showing a GIC-guitar

and -mandolin (fig.1) in de hands of Bernard Vroklage and his wife Amanda Wolf (fig.2 & 3).

Both the guitar and mandolin on the top provided with a branded circular trademark:

Giuseppe Indelicato Contarino CATANIA (fig.4,5 & 10)

fig. 1, 2 & 3

fig. 4 detail of the branded mark

About this guitar

Initial owner Bernardus Maria Vroklage *1888 Hilversum – †1962 Rotterdam (Netherlands)

His daughter

Margaretha Mathilda Vroklage *1922 Rotterdam – †2011 Rotterdam (Netherlands)

Her niece

Christine Amanda Lucia Vroklage *1958 Voorburg (Netherlands)

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Giuseppe Indelicato Contarino – Acoustic Parlour Guitar

fig. 5

3

fig.6

Description and dimensions

Spruce flat top with branded trademark fig.10

Walnut arched back fig.14

Walnuts sides

Cupboard bond inlaid with mother of pearl and black mastic,

additional shading brim with mastic and fir on the top fig.6

Cabinet binding of cedar (?) on the back cover fig.14

Rosette inlaid with mother of pearl and mastic

Flat rosewood fingerboard, 17 straight brass frets

Brass heads with bone made buttons fig.6

Inlaid decoration with mother of pearl and tortoise under the strings on the top fig.6

Bridge made of rosewood and brass, nut made of bone

Inside a paper label with factory, name and town fig.11

Dimensions fig. 7 & 8

Length (cm) 93.8

Strings length 60.5

Body length 45.5

Body width upper part: 25.4

Body width lower part: 30.7

Body thickness 8.5

Total body thickness incl. bridge: 9.5

4

fig. 7

fig. 8

fig. 9

5

fig. 10 & 11

FABBRICA DI STRUMENTI MUSICALI A CORDA

G. INDELICATO CONTARINO & C.

Via …………………….

C A T A N I A

Note: no address and the label is cut out by hand (fig.11)

fig. 12

The decoration under the strings and a branded trademark are typical for many Italian mandolins that

are almost all equipped with this type of ornamentation.

Condition

With the exception of the strings and the bridge pins, which appear to consist of pieces of raw wood

and match sticks (!), this guitar is in its very original condition.

The rear of the body wears a small scratch (red arrow top-right) and a number of cracks in the

longitudinal direction (open arrows) however without noticeable dislocation. fig. 13

6

fig. 13

fig. 14

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Furthermore, this guitar is practically undamaged and in excellent condition.

The brass frets are not worn and the tuners work properly.

However, the guitar has not been played for over 65 years and needs to be readjusted.

With this guitar comes the original soft cloth-cover and a guitar course from around 1920-1930:

Ferry Kabath - Moderne Pectrumgitaarschool (Modern Pick Guitar School) c. 1925 (in Dutch).

fig. 15

fig. 16

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Giuseppe Indelicato Contarino

Liutaio Siciliano chitarra classica - Fabbrica di Strumenti Musicali a Corda

Sicilian Luthier of classic guitars - Factory of Stringed Musical Instruments

iuseppe Indelicato Contarino (born c. 1890 ?) was a luthier of mandolins, guitars, banjos

and Hawaiian guitars from Catania, Sicily (Italy) around 1900.

His first workshop was situated in the Via Crescenzio Galatola 27 and later moved to the

Via Botte dell’ Acqua 17-19 both located in Catania. His factory exported guitars worldwide,

from Argentina to Japan to New Zealand.

The factory was inherited by his two sons Giuseppe jr. & Mario Indelicato the ‘Fratelli Indelicato’

(= Brothers Indelicato) who had also a workshop at the Via Botte dell’ Acqua nr.7 and after the death

of Mario around 1960, it remained in the hands of Giuseppe Indelicato jr. and was moved again from

the Via Botte dell’ Acqua to the Via Daniele 15, also in Catania CT.

During WWII Giuseppe jr. served in de Italian Navy and Mario, who continued the business, used his

mother’s family name Indelicato-Fichera to label his products. (fig. 18)

The company was dissolved c. 1975 because of the upcoming competition of the Japanese guitar

makers.

Giuseppe Indelicato Contarino had two sons Mario & Giuseppe Indelicato jr. the latter had a daughter

Patrizia Indelicato.

He was also a relative of Salvatore Indelicato and Giovanni Indelicato Contarino.

Indelicato is a familiar name in Catania county.

This information was derived from the forum posts by Patrizia Indelicato (see below p.12-13)

Giuseppe Indelicato Contarino instrument labels

Via Crescenzio Galatola 27 Via Crescenzio Galatola 27 Via Botte dell’Acqua 17-19

Hand signed Hand signed English label

G

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Sicily – South Italia www.mandolinluthier.com Catania CT https://www.google.nl/maps/place/Catánia

The first workshop of luthier Giuseppe Indelicato Contarino was situated in the center

of Catania CT in the:

Via Crescenzio Galatola 27 and was later moved to the…

Via Botte dell’Acqua 17-19 and moved c.1960 to the…

Via Daniele 15

…all situated in CATANIA CT - Sicily - Italy. (fig.19)

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Catania Centre - Via Crescenzio Galatola (pin) Catania – both earlier locations on a 550 m distance

Via Crescenzio Galatola 27 Via Botte dell’Acqua 17-19

Via Daniele 15

fig. 19

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A mandolin by Giuseppe Indelicato Contarino

Fabbrica di Strumenti Musicali a Corda

G. INDELICATO CONTARINO Via Crescenzio Galatola 27 CATANIA

No 208 (written in ink) And signed in ink by Giuseppe Indelicato Contarino

Mandolin label G. INDELICATO CONTARINO

Via Crescenzio Galatola 27 CATANIA No 104 (written in ink)

Signed in ink by Giuseppe Indelicato Contarino

fig. 20 & 21

Description: classic Italian ‘Potato Bug’ mandolin with beautiful inlaid butterfly design, of tortoise

shell, ivory and mother of pearl, with light engraving. The body of the piece crafted of various woods,

including walnut and cypress, and also features ivory tuning pegs, an ebony neck and banded inlay.

Manufactured by Giuseppe Indelicato Contarino of Catania, probably late 19th or early 20th

Century. Acquired in Italy.

Condition: fair to good, the piece is generally solid, with some slight cracks to the face board. There is

also some missing band inlay, and some chips from the tortoise shell inlay.

Size: Measures 24 1/2 inches long Price: $ 80.00 (fig. 20 & 21)

Source: eBay advertisement

In his 'Manuale Teorico-Practico del Mandolinista' of 1923, arguably the end of the Golden Age of

the Mandolin, Agostino Pisani cites the following as notable makers, perhaps a more reliable guide

than the number of existent instruments to be seen today.

Naples: Vinaccia Fratelli; Maratea, Michele & Domenico E Figli; Esposito, Fratelli Pasquale

& Gaetano; Calace, Raffaele; Rubino, Gennaro; Loveri, Carlo & Figli; Ricci, Luigi; Abbate,

Alessandro & Figli;

Catania: Carabba Fratelli; Indelicato, Salvatore; Porto, Rosario & Figli; Alfio, Bianca

Francesco; Puglisi Reale & Figlio; Silvestri, Ermelinda;

Firenze: Maurri R. & Fratelli; Lybeert, Alessandro & Figli; Casini, Seraphino; Del Perugia,

Fernandino;

Rome: Valente, Raffaele; De Santis, Giovanni & Figli; Embergher, Luigi;

Source: www.mandolinluthier.com

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Sources:

http://www.fetishguitars.com/sicily-southern-italy/

http://www.fetishguitars.com/sicily-southern-italy/indelicato-contarino/

https://www.google.nl/maps/place/Catánia

http://www.mandolinluthier.com/

http://www.maremagnum.com/libri-antichi/giuseppe-indelicato-contarino-catania-grande-fabbrica-

di/141148951

Patrizia Indelicato granddaughter of Giuseppe Indelicato Contarino,

daughter of Giuseppe Indelicato Jr.

Forum: http://www.chitarraclassicadelcamp.com/viewtopic.php?t=10051

Patrizia Indelicato, December 31, 2013

Hello,

Giuseppe Indelicato Contarino (born c. 1890) was my grandfather and he was a luthier manufacturing

mandolins, guitars, banjos and Hawaiian guitars in Catania in the Via Crescenzio Galatola 27 and later

in the Via Botte dell’ Acqua 17-19 always in Catania.

He exported worldwide, from Argentina to Japan to New Zealand (I collected the stamps from various

of his customers). The factory was inherited by his two sons the Fratelli Indelicato = Brothers

Indelicato (Giuseppe jr. & Mario) and after the death of my uncle (Mario), about 50 years ago

(c. 1960), it remained in the hands of my father (Giuseppe Indelicato Jr.) and the factory moved from

the Via Botte dell’ Acqua to the Via Daniele 15 in Catania CT. My father ended the business about

35 years ago (c. 1975) when I was still in high school, because he had become elderly (he is now

almost 101 years b. 1912) and because at that time Japan ‘Yamaha’ was competing with the guitar

luthiers and they offer good value for money, however I am pleased that his (Giuseppe Indelicato) and

his father's (Giuseppe Indelicato Contarino) high-end musical instruments are still popular today.

* Blue text markings are my additions and estimations.

Translation by Google Translate

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Patrizia Indelicato, January 1, 2014

I’ve left Catania almost 30 years ago (c. 1980) but I will try to get information when I see my

father (at Easter).

I know very little of my grandfather (and I actually never knew that the stamps I collected were from

the customers of my father) and my father speaks little about his family (I know that his mother, Maria

Fichera, died when he was young), however I think that the real ‘luthiers’ were he (the grandfather)

(GIC) and my uncle (Mario Indelicato-Fichera) who signed himself with the name of my Grandma in

the period when my father was in the Navy (War). This Christmas I tried to get some details, but his

memories are always about the period when he embarked on the destroyer Antoniotto Usodimare or

that he was captured and imprisoned by the British in Africa. (In the period of the ‘Brothers Indelicato’

Mario took care of guitars and his relations with customers).

I know that in Catania were 2 luthiers: Indelicato and Carmelo Catania, about Carmelo Catania, for me

to understand how people lived during the war, told me of ski-boots barter between him and the latter

(She gave him a pair of boots and Carmelo has built a beautiful pair of wooden skis for her).

fig. 22 beautifully restored GIC mandolin (source: internet)

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fig. 17 Italian Luthier c.1930 Giacomo Bisiach (1900-1995) fig. 18 Mario Indelicato Fichera mandolin c.1940-1945 (Taisamlu - ebay.com)

Unless stated otherwise: text & pictures by

Roelf Backus

Zeist - Netherlands

roelfbackus@gmail.com

Updated: 30 July 2017