Galanti
Galanti was a manufacturer of accordians starting in 1917 and lasting until the mid-1970's. Between about 1962 and 1967, the company began offering electric (and perhaps acoustic) guitars.
Antonio Galanti started the Galanti accordion factory with his three sons in the small village of Mondaino Italy. Galanti earned his living by traveling throughout Italy showcasing his Merry-Go-Round, while continuing to develop the first Galanti accordion in 1890. The first Galanti accordions saw production in 1917. It was not until 1920 when a significant amount of Italians had immigrated to the United States that the Galanti Brothers saw an opportunity to grow and expand the company and started exporting the Galanti brand to New York. In the 1950's demand for accordions had started to die down and accordions became less desirable until the magazine Accordion World changed its name to Accordion and Guitar World.
Most accordion companies started manufacturing guitars as well until the late 1960's and dropped from sight soon after. Ahlborn Galanti started making classical organs during the late 1970s and subsequently founded the General Music or GEM. Similarly Marcello Galanti founded Intercontinental Electronics S.p.A., later known as Viscount International S.p.A to design and manufacture electronic organs after leaving his brothers in 1969.
Galanti guitars were also recognized for their craftsmenship and used widely by professionals at the time in Italy. During the 1950's, in response to Elvis Presley, the growing popularity of rock music, and especially after the success of the Beatles, electric guitars became all the rage and lined the shelves of department stores across the United States and all over the developed world. This led to a multitude of instrument makers adding guitars to their production including accordion manufacturers.
