British Lute by Edgar Light, circa 1790

Serial Number	N/A, but made around 1790.
Pricing	$4475.00 CDN without case. SOLD
Harp	The harp supports, as the rest of the instrument, are made of an ebonized wood.
Frets	While this is based on a harp or lyre design, there are 10 frets for the top two strings.
Body	As noted, the body is made of ebonized wood. The back and bottom are both rounded and is in good shape. The rosette is in good condition.
Finish	This instrument features an ebony finish with gold paint in a fern trim motif, in excellent shape. The instrument is identified thus: “E. Light, Inventor of the British Lute, 32 Berners Street, London No. 8”
Hardware/electronics	There are types of tuners. On the back of the harp are ordinary square tuning pegs, operated with a tuning hammer, as on a harp, autoharp, or piano. On the front, there are eight thumb-screw type tuning keys for rapid key changes. The bridge has pins for 15 strings, and a wire saddle.
Playability/Action	This is a fully playable instrument, in good shape.
Case	No case.
Comments	Historically interesting and in lovely condition, all mechanical parts are in very good working condition. The gold finish, perhaps a neo-classical motif, is very attractive and quite well preserved. The eight extra tuning keys on the front are interesting; this helps overcome the limitations of many smaller harp-based instruments, which lose strings (and notes) to fit into a smaller space. This idea is used on some modern instruments and components, such as the 5th string banjo capo and the HipShot ™ drop tuner.