Rathbone Guitars.

Rathbone Guitars.  Early in the company’s history, Messrs Barnes & Mullins moved their burgeoning musical instrument business from Wimborne, Dorset to Rathbone Place in London, W1. The move, in the year 1900, coincided with the beginning of a new era for music in the United Kingdom. Having established themselves as a musical duo within the fabric of Victorian London, the partners set about expanding their business: creating, sourcing and supplying the finest instruments from around the world.

With banjos and mandolins being the most common fretted instruments of their day, these instruments were naturally a focus for the pair, but not long after their move to Rathbone Place, the entrepreneurs turned their attention to sourcing what we would now recognise as acoustic, folk guitars.
As guitars became more popular - and most importantly were able to project their tones more effectively - they found their way into dance bands and contemporary orchestras, often instead of, or as a complement to, the banjo.

A handful of these innovative early Barnes & Mullins guitars - borne from the heart of Rathbone Place - are still in circulation today, over 100 years later. These original instruments stood the test of time and have been providing pleasure for generations.