A 19th century source mentions that Giuliani played a Gennaro Fabricatore Guitar, presumably early in his career, as later depictions show Giuliani with a clearly Viennese style of guitar (see the front cover of Dr. Heck's Giuliani biography, for example). According to Dr. James Buckland , there is an interesting quote about Giuliani in a contemporary source, from a biography of Giuliani written in 1836 by Filippo Isnardi (who also posthumously edited some of Giuliani's works for Ricordi such as Gran Sonate Op. 150), that describes a performance where he demonstrates the "invention" of the 6th string by Fabricatore: " He demonstrated the invention of the 6th string, due to Maestro Fabbricatorello in Naples; but his greatest innovation was that of adapting to the guitar any musical piece or chord whatever, and of creating an infinity of concertos and compositions, not to mention his playing the instrument with a mastery, with an elegance, and with a vibrazione (?) which no one before him achieved. " (Heck, T. "Mauro Giuliani: Virtuoso Guitarist." p.7)
Contemporary accounts indicate Giuliani probably played a Fabricatore at one time. A recent discovery (cover of GFA Soundboard Magazine) shows that Giuliani owned a French guitar by Pons, a gift of Napoleon's wife, which he later gave away (presumably to settle debts) and likely did not play in concert. You can read the article on this topic here (Written by Paul Pleijsier ). Giuliani was in Vienna and is depicted in paintings playing a guitar that resembles a Stauffer, and surely Giuliani would have come into contact with Vienna's leading builder during his years there, but no proof of this association exists. Giuliani's close friend, the famous composer Franz Schubert played a Stauffer. In the Fabricatore section below, one source claims to have Giuliani's Fabricatore guitar, with photos. My best guess is that Giuliani switched from Fabricatore to Stauffer while in Vienna.
The Maccari-Pugliese Duo web site has images of a guitar claimed to have been owned by Mauro Giuliani; it is a beautiful, labeled 1809 Fabricatore. According to Paolo Pugliese and Claudio Maccari:
" The Fabricatore guitar (1809) was surely owned and played by Giuliani; it has just been found because it was in a private collection in Naples. Now the guitar is owned by our friend Gianni Accornero, a very important collector and luthier. We are going to play it, after it is restored, probably next autumn, and to record a CD with Giuliani music... You can see M.G. written on the table board near the bridge from the photo on our site. The case is original and you can see M.G. written on it. On the palette you can see the Giuliani family's silver coat of arms; the same can be found on a door in the Giuliani's house in Italy. Gianni was able to buy the guitar because Nicola Giuliani, (one of Mauro's discendents) told us that the guitar was given to the collector by his family. "
Technical diagrams and photos of a Fabricatore Terz Guitar (Scale length 545mm) Crane Home page (Makoto Tsuruta)
Research on Fabricatore family
(1) Fabricatore's family tree :
(2) Fabricatore's ateliers - history and location
(3) Fabricatore family's instruments - notable feature and tendency
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