Richard and Denise Wilson 4 String Hourglass Dulcimers
Richard was a skilled carpenter but had to find a new career after the early 70s US housing slump. His parents got him interested in the dulcimer and after building a kit, he and his wife decided to make their own. Early on, they had to choose between buying a sofa for their apartment and a bandsaw. They chose the latter, converting the living room into a workshop and living in the bedroom! Richard specialised in the acoustics and the construction, while his wife did the ornamentation (inlays and soundholes). Decorations included mother-of-pearl unicorns, sailboats and birds; soundholes ranged from hearts, seagulls to cherries. He estimated that each dulcimer took from 13 to 150 hours to make. Between 1974 and 1985 they claimed to have made over 2000 instruments, travelling from art fair to art fair across the USA.
2.257 (formerly 2.133) Richard & Denise Wilson/Diamond Designs Oct 1995 #3932, 4 String, 3 Course Dulcimer £Sold
Printed label with hand-drawn design, “Diamond Designs/Manitou Beach, Mich./ #3932 [h/w]/Handcrafted by: Richard &/Denise Wilson [h/w signatures]/Oct 1995”.
Solid walnut scrolled head/pegbox, sides and bookmatched back with lighter flecked butternut (?) top. Hollow walnut fingerboard with delightful mother of pearl markers in the form of paired leaves at frets 3, 7, 10 and 14 and a beautiful flower (poppy?) at 5. Weeping heart soundholes in the UB and humming birds in the LB. Enclosed gear guitar tuning pegs, cross-grained string strainer, machine screw anchors, wooden nut and (floating) bridge.
Overall length 35¼”, upper bout 5¾”, lower bout 6⅝”, height 1¾”, FBW 1½”, VSL 28″ (med/long scale), weight 1lb 13oz (832g). Original 6+ and 13+ frets. Strings now 11, 14, 23w.
Handsome instrument with a bright clear sound. The original purchaser was so pleased with this dulcimer that she shortly commissioned another (see #3973 below). The Wilsons retired from the dulcimer business a few years later.
2.239 (formerly 2.78) Richard & Denise Wilson – 1983 4 String Hourglass #1545 – £Sold
All handwritten on pasted-in slip – “#1545/ Hand Made by/ Richard & Denise Wilson/ Manitou Beach, Mich/ July 1983”.
Mainly walnut, with bookmatched back, sides and tailpiece. Top is lighter but still walnut-like – probably butternut. Walnut (fluted) scroll and narrow, flared pegbox in old style. Original small bladed, light wooden pegs, now replaced with gold, open-geared tuners with black buttons. Wooden nut and floating bridge, with strings running over a cross-grain block of walnut, acting as a strainer. Mahogany (?) fingerboard with darker, walnut overlay. Has overall beach design motif with 4 seagull soundholes, and 2 MoP seagulls inlaid at frets 4 and 6+, flying above wooden sea groynes (portrayed in wood inlays of contrasting colours). 6+ fret but not 13+. Overall length 35¼”, upper bout 5¾”, lower bout 6½”, height 1¾”, FBW 1⅜”, VSL 28″ (med/long scale), weight 1lb 11oz (769g). Original 6½ fret. Strings (?original) 12/12, 13, 23w: now 11, 14, 22w.
Attractive and well-made instrument. Shallow frets require accurate finger placing, but otherwise easy, low action with good intonation. Responsive body gives good sustain, with plenty of volume if required, but quite a hard sound.
Click on images below to enlarge.
2.243 1992 Wilson/ Diamond Designs 4 String Hourglass #3708 £Sold
Later Wilson/DD label – printed, but with a hand-drawn look. “Diamond Designs/Manitou Beach, Mich./ #3708 [h/w]/Handcrafted by: Richard &/Denise Wilson [h/w signatures]/Sept 1992”
Solid walnut body with a beautiful bookmatched back and a particularly striking curly figure towards the tail. Butternut (?) top with a slightly odd series of darker spots which appear to be beneath the finish. Dark walnut fluted scroll, slightly longer and flatter than the original design. Narrow pegbox, fitted with good quality chrome, enclosed tuners. Narrow, hollow walnut fingerboard with 6+ and 13+ frets. Rosewood (?) nut and bridge, latter originally floating but now glued. Most outstanding feature of the dulcimer is its décor: mother of pearl octopus, whale, dolphin, starfish and whelk on the fingerboard; a stunning marquetry sailboat riding on mother of pearl waves on the back; and dolphin/gull soundholes. Has chrome strap buttons each end, currently fitted with a neat under-thigh quick release strap. Overall length 35”, upper bout 5⅝”, lower bout 6⅝”, height 1¾”, FBW 1⅜”, VSL 28¼” (med/long scale), weight 1lb 10oz (753g). Original 6+ & 13+ frets. Strings now 11/[11], 14, 24w.
Well-designed and solidly built, this has a good balanced sound, good intonation (though bridge is not compensated) and works right the way up to the second octave. In super condition and with a stunning series of small sea-themed designs, this is a real stand-out dulcimer.
Click on images below to enlarge.
1.90 1983 Wilson Hourglass #1567 £Sold
All handwritten on pasted-in slip – “#1567/ Hand Made by/ Richard & Denise Wilson/ Manitou Beach, Mich./ Sept. 1983”.
All solid cherry hourglass, bookmatched top, back and sides. Well-executed, pretty soundholes in the shape of cherries (upper bout) and strawberries (?) (lower bout). Neat scalloped scroll with high-sided, flared, closed pegbox, now re-shaped to accommodate geared ukulele tuners with white buttons. Originally no 6+ and 13+, now provided. Wooden nut and (floating) wooden bridge. Three brass screws act as string anchors. Overall length 35”, upper bout 5¾”, lower bout 6½”, height 1⅞”, FBW 1⅜”, VSL 28⅛” (med/long scale), weight 1lb 10oz (740g). New 6+ and 13+ frets. Strings now 11/[11], 14, 22w.
Well constructed as always with an elegant design. Light construction and cherry body give this an open sound with some volume and good responsiveness. Unusually, the scale is a little variable but within acceptable limits.
Click on images below to enlarge.
2.134 April 1996 #3973 £Sold
No printed branded label, just a pasted-in slip, all handwritten, “#3973/ HAND MADE BY/ Richard & Denise Wilson/ Manitou Beach Mi/ April 1996/ [both signatures]”.
All cherry, bookmatched on top, sides and back. Hollow cherry fingerboard and fluted Wilson “scroll” with pegbox. Enclosed guitar tuning pegs with single holes at the far end of the capstan (rather awkward to align the strings properly). Wood nut and floating bridge. Beautiful mother of pearl leaf markers/designs at frets 3, 7, 10 and 14 and a more extended, exquisite multi-coloured flower design at fret 5. Neat cherry soundholes in UB and strawberry? in LB.
Otherwise as 2.133 above.
This dulcimer was commissioned by the original purchaser of #3932 above, because she was so pleased with it. The Wilsons retired from the dulcimer business not long after having made this.
2.88 Richard and Denise Wilson – 1987 4 String Hourglass – £Sold
# no number: Handwritten pasted-in slip, “HANDMADE BY/ RICHARD & DENISE WILSON/ Manitou Beach, Mich./ March 1987”. Solid walnut sides and bookmatched back, with a lighter – probably butternut – solid wood top. Skilfully executed butterfly soundholes in the LB and typical Wilson skewed hearts in the UB. Walnut fingerboard with no overlay, originally no 6+ fret (now fitted). Wooden nut and floating (movable) bridge. Three ply scroll in the later style, with straight rather than flared pegbox, open below. It has Grover Sta-Tite friction tuners with rosewood buttons. Three chrome screws form the string anchors and the strings are strained over a neat, cross-grained piece of contrasting hardwood.
Overall length 35”, upper bout 5¾”, lower bout 6⅝”, height 1⅞”, FBW 1⅜”, VSL 28″ (med/long scale), weight 1lb 13oz (826g). Originally no 6½ fret. Strings now 11, 15, 22w.
Plays easily and sounds sweet but not restrained, with good volume. See pictures 8-10 below. NB Pictures taken during final setup, now fully strung.
2.72 Diamond Designs (Richard & Denise Wilson) – 1995 4 String Hourglass – £Sold
#3893: Printed label inside reading: “Diamond Designs/Manitou Beach, Mich./ #3893 [h/w]/Handcrafted by: Richard &/Denise Wilson [h/w signatures]/Jan 1995”. All solid walnut body, bookmatched on the back. Three piece headstock with distinctive oval scroll as earlier Wilson instruments. However, the pegbox is wider and straighter and now has 4 Grover sta-tite friction tuners with rosewood buttons. The soundholes are shaped like seagulls and frame an overall beach scene design. Neat wood marquetry image of sea lapping round groynes in middle of fingerboard, with large and small seagulls in MOP flying above it. Wooden nut and floating bridge. 6+ and 13+ frets. Small screws as string anchors.
Overall length 35”, upper bout 4⅝”, lower bout 6½”, height 1⅞”, FBW 1½”, VSL 28″ (med/long scale), weight ?lb ?oz (?g). Original 6+ fret. Strings (?original) 11/11, 16, 25w: now 11/11, 15, 22w.
Feels compact, light and responsive. Well built and neatly designed with an unusual theme. Sounds open, not loud, but quite bright and crisp. See picture 1-3 below.
Click on images below to enlarge.
