DICK KNIGHT, SURREY, 1969, AN ACOUSTIC GUITAR

DICK KNIGHT, SURREY, 1969
AN ACOUSTIC GUITAR
Bearing the logo Knight at the headstock, with original hardshell case bearing a label inscribed KNIGHT CUSTOM ACOUSTIC 1973? #NSN and SERIAL NO. DG1082
Length of back 20 3/8 in. (51.8 cm.)

Special Notice

Please note lots marked with a square will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) on the last day of the sale. Lots are not available for collection at Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services until after the third business day following the sale. All lots will be stored free of charge for 30 days from the auction date at Christie’s Rockefeller Center or Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn). Operation hours for collection from either location are from 9.30 am to 5.00 pm, Monday-Friday. After 30 days from the auction date property may be moved at Christie’s discretion. Please contact Post-Sale Services to confirm the location of your property prior to collection. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn). Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information.
Lots made of or including (regardless of the percentage) endangered and other protected species of wildlife are marked with the symbol ~ in the catalogue. This material includes, among other things, ivory, tortoiseshell, crocodile skin, rhinoceros horn, whalebone certain species of coral, and Brazilian rosewood. You should check the relevant customs laws and regulations before bidding on any lot containing wildlife material if you plan to import the lot into another country. Several countries refuse to allow you to import property containing these materials, and some other countries require a licence from the relevant regulatory agencies in the countries of exportation as well as importation. In some cases, the lot can only be shipped with an independent scientific confirmation of species and/or age, and you will need to obtain these at your own cost.

Pre-Lot Text
DICK KNIGHT
Trained as a machinist and woodworker specializing in mill-work, Dick Knight began his guitar-making career at the end of World War II. Partnering with Joe Van Stratten they launched the short lived Stratten Guitar company in Surrey that produced arch-top guitars for jazz musicians. Because of the difficulties in obtaining materials in post war England the business would cease operation by 1948. Returning to mill-work, Knight continued to make and repair guitars part time until 1967 when he partnered with another guitar maker, Gordon Wells, to form Knight Guitars. Together, Wells and Knight would grow Knight Guitars to be one of the preeminent British workshops specializing in both repairs and restorations as well as the bespoke building of acoustic and electric guitars for the English market. Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend and Andy Fairweather-Low are among the many British guitarists who continue to be fans of the work executed at Knight Guitars.