Manuel Rodriguez Classical Guitar — Model #139 1960 - French Polish

This hand-built concert guitar was made by Manuel Rodriguez in 1960 in Los Angeles, California — one of the finest examples of his early American period. It is accompanied by the original purchase receipt, signed by Rodriguez himself, documenting its commission and sale to my father, Robert Waldo, in 1960. A professional appraisal conducted in 2019 by Tomas Delgado of Candelas Guitars valued the instrument at $6,500. The guitar has been in our family since new and has been carefully preserved throughout its life. My father kept a chamois cloth over the top whenever he played, and the instrument was never handled by the children. It remains in very good condition, with only a small scratch near the rosette and two cracked plastic tuning pegs, as noted in the 2019 appraisal. My father was a student of the classical guitar, studying under Joe Alba in Claremont, California — Jessica Alba's grandfather — a teacher with deep roots in the Los Angeles classical guitar community of the 1960s. The guitar has always been kept with a program from a 1961 Segovia concert, signed by Segovia for my grandfather, which speaks to the world my parents inhabited and their connection to the classical guitar world of that era. That program is included in the sale of the guitar since it defines an era. The appraisal itself was performed by Candelas Guitars — the same shop that placed an advertisement in that 1961 Segovia program — a business that has been central to the Los Angeles classical guitar scene for over 60 years. This guitar deserves to be played. It has spent too long in its case, and it should be in the hands of someone who will truly appreciate it.