Vintage Guitars, SWEDEN - Levin history.

This page is part of our Levin information.

Levin history

The photos used in this section are from

various Levin publicity material.

Photographer: unknown

Before Levin

Herman Carlson was born in Åsaka, Sweden on

September 25, 1864. After a completed woodwork

education he was apprenticed to a cabinet maker

in Göteborg. During that time he also attended

evening classes at the local woodwork association

where he after 2 ½ years of hard work excelled

in his examination to become a journeyman.

At that time it was customary to take on a new

surname after a completed journeyman education,

and Herman choose Levin to be added to his name.

In America

In 1887, Herman Carlson Levin travelled to the

U.S.A. where he soon found work as a polisher at

a guitar factory in New York City. This is where

he gradually learned about guitar making and in

1891 he was ready to open his own business.

In circa 1895 he joined Robert H. Benary to form the

Metropolis Musical Instrument Co. to manufacture

and distribute mid-priced banjos, guitars and

mandolins. In 1897 he filed for a patent for his

combined guitar and mandolin.

Factory in America

Back in Sweden

In 1900 he returned to Sweden, and on July 27

that year, he opened the Herman Carlson Levin

Musikinstrumentfabrik (Herman Carlson Levin

Musical Instrument Factory) on Norra Larmgatan 4,

in Göteborg. In the humble beginning the factory

consisted of two men in a 70 square meters space.

In the first year, 90 instruments were completed,

but business grew and at the end of 1903, the

work force had grown to five men completing

1,648 instruments.

The awards

The first official recognition came early. By 1903

the company had been rewarded no less than five

silver medals (highest award) at various exhibitions

held in Sweden. The success grew with a gold medal

at the exhibition in London in 1905, and the climax

came in Madrid in 1907, where the company was

rewarded not only the gold medal, but also the

Grand Prix.

The growth

By 1908 more than 10,000 instruments had left

the factory, and ten years later, more than 40,000

instruments was completed, and the work force

had grown to 30 men working out of a factory of

600 square meters. However, on October 11, 1918

a fire broke loose in the factory and during the

following years the work force had to be cut down

to 5-10 men.

In 1925 Levin added banjos to its line and the

production started to grow rapidly. In 1929 they

also added orchestra guitars and by 1936 more

than 100,000 instruments had left the factory.

Just before the outbreak of World War II the work

force consisted of 45 men and the factory floor

space had grown to more than 1,000 square

meters. The war years brought a shortage of

foreign woods such as ebony, rosewood and

walnut, and furthermore, periodically half the

work force was drafted to military service.

The new factory

At the same time, there was a large demand for

instruments, and since the old factory building

already had been expanded to its limits, a new

factory of 1,800 square meters floor space was

set up in the former space of Rörstrands

Porslinsfabrik (Rörstrands Porcelain Factory) on

Kvillegatan 9, in Göteborg. The move took place

in the summer of 1943 and the work force was

expanded to 70 men. Drums were added in that

year, and in 1948 instrument number 200,000

was completed.

Herman dies

Herman Carlson Levin dies on March 26, 1948.

50 years

The Levin company continued to grow and in 1950,

after 50 years in business, it had 130 employees,

a floor space of circa 2,600 square meters, and had

since its beginning in 1900 produced close to

250,000 instruments.

Goya

In 1952 initial contacts were being made between

the Hershman Musical Instrument Co. of New York

and Levin regarding what in 1954 became Goya

branded instruments made by Levin for distribution

in the U.S.A.

Electrics

As 1956 came to an end the total number of pro-

duced instruments exceeded 300,000. In the new

redesigned line of 1957, the archtop guitars were

now available with one or two DeArmond pickups

in addition to the fully acoustic versions.

Goya orders

In 1965, with more than 450,000 instruments

made, and 70% of its production being exported,

Levin received an order for 13,000 Goya guitars

and rented space in Lessebo to open a second

factory. In 1967 another order, this time for

120,000 Goya guitars (1,000 each month for

ten years) was received. However, disaster

struck in 1968 when the order was cancelled

and Levin was forced to close the Lessebo

factory and let half of its work force go.

70 years

In 1970 Levin celebrated 70 years with more than

500,000 instruments produced since its beginning

in 1900.

C. F. Martin & Co.

In 1972 negotiations between the C. F. Martin &

Co. and Levin resulted in that C. F. Martin & Co.

purchased Levin in June 1973.

Made in Finland

In circa 1977 some nylon-string models were being

built by Landola in Finland.

Made in Japan

In circa 1979 some steel-string and nylon-string

models were being built in Japan.

Factory closes

The factory closed in 1979. Some models built

in Finland and Japan were still available.

Svensk Musik AB

Svensk Musik AB purchased the Levin brand

name and part of the remaining stock from

C. F. Martin & Co. in 1982. The production

was restarted in early 1983 with the first

two models being the LG 8 and LG 17, both

assembled with bodies made by the Hans

Persson guitar factory in Lugnås, Sweden

and necks supplied by Landola in Finland.

In addition to those, the model L 44 was

imported from Czechoslovakia. In 1988

three more models were added to the line

of Swedish made guitars, the Classic 8,

Classic 10 and Classic 12, and the whole

production was moved to the Hans Persson

guitar factory in Lugnås.

Svenska Levin AB

Svensk Musik AB changed name to Svenska

Levin AB in circa 2000 and model L 40 was being

imported from Asia. After 2004 the line was

expanded with more nylon-string models in

addition to steel-string western models and

archtops, all being imported from Asia.