René François Lacôte (1785–1871) was a

Romantic guitar The early romantic guitar, the guitar of the Classical and Romantic period, shows remarkable consistency from 1790 to 1830. Guitars had six or more single courses of strings while the Baroque guitar usually had five double courses (though the h ...

luthier A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be ...

from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. His guitars were played by guitarists such as

Fernando Sor Fernando Sor (baptised 14 February 1778 – 10 July 1839) was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer of the Classical period (music), late Classical era and Romantic music, early Romantic era. Best known for writing solo classical guitar mu ...

, Ferdinando Carulli,

Dionisio Aguado Dionisio, a variant of Dionysius, may refer to: People Given name * Dionisio Lazzari (1617–1689), Italian sculptor and architect * Dionisio Aguado y García (1784–1849), Spanish classical guitarist and composer * Papa Isio (1846–1911), Dio ...

Napoléon Coste Claude Antoine Jean Georges Napoléon Coste (27 June 1805 – 14 January 1883) was a French classical guitarist and composer. Biography Napoléon Coste was born in Amondans (Doubs, Doubs, Doubs), near Besançon, France. He was first taught the g ...

, and

Marco Aurelio Zani de Ferranti Marco Aurelio Zani de Ferranti (23 December 1801 – November 1878) was an Italian classical guitarist and composer. Biography Marco Aurelio Zani de Ferranti was born in Bologna on 23 December 1801. He began on the violin, but switched to guitar a ...

. Musicologist René Vannes referred to Lacôte as the "Stradivarius of the guitar" in his book Universal Dictionary of Luthiers. Lacôte apprenticed to the luthier Joseph Pons. Fernando Sor mentioned in his book Méthode pour la Guitare that "M. Lacote, a French maker, the only person who, besides his talents, has proved to me that he possesses the quality of not being inflexible to reasoning".

Gallery

File:Early romantic guitar by Pierre Rene Lacote (FRETS.com Museum).jpg, 1836 Lacôte guitar File:Strung instruments, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.jpg, 1827 Lacôte 9-string guitar (top-right) File:Guitar MET DP-13191-001.jpg, Lacôte guitar ca. 1835 File:Napoleon Coste.jpg, Napoléon Coste with a Lacôte Heptacorde (left) File:Étiquette Lacote — 1828 - T2p340.png, 1828 Lacôte guitar label File:Musee-de-la-musique-6.jpg, Three Lacôte guitars (bottom row, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th guitars)

References

Pierre-René Lacôte , Guitar , FrenchMakerBuilders of the early 19th CenturyRené Lacôte - 1835 at SICCAS GUITARS - The world's finest guitars in one place
1785 births 1855 deaths Date of birth missing Date of death missing Place of death missing Luthiers from Paris Guitar makers 19th-century French businesspeople {{France-music-bio-stub