The Spanish luthier Francisco Simplicio was born in Barcelona in 1874. As a youth he apprenticed as a cabinet maker in the Casa Masriera y Vidal, and later with Francisco Vidal, a workshop that produced fine furniture, and soon earned the position of a master craftsman with this firm. Francisco worked as a cabinet maker for some eighteen years. Around 1919, a series of labor disputes between owners and workers that led to a lock out, Simplicio was forced to seek other employment. Based on their longstanding friendship, Francisco was able to find work in shop of Enrique Garcia, who one of many fine luthiers to come out of Manuel Ramirez's shop. Simplicio under Garcia tutelage soon became a master craftsman. When Enrique Garcia died in 1923, he left his shop on Paseo San Juan 110 to Francisco. In 1929, Simplicio exhibited some of his guitars at the International Exhibition in Barcelona, winning a gold medal. During his life he produced around 340 instruments. This instrument, no 290, has been recently restored. There were several cracks in the top, and back with have been nicely repaired (see photos). I had the privilege of playing this instrument. It is nicely set up, and has a particularly rich tone. The bases are dark, smooth, and remind me of chocolate. The trebles are a clear, sweet, and have good body. This guitar's age means also it has a wonderfully open tonality.