The article traces the American 12-string guitar's origins to February 8, 1896, when Carl E. Brown patented a 10-string "Harp-Guitar" with octave-strung bass courses and a lever to retract extra strings. Two firms—Hamilton Gordon Company and Rene Grunewald Company—licensed the design, though Grunewald used a traditional guitar body shape.

Trade journal The Music Trade Review featured the Grunewald version at least six times between 1896-1899, touting its "acme of perfection" and aggressive marketing across the U.S., Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. A Houston store advertised "Harp-Guitars" at $10.50 by August 1900, though whether these were 10- or 12-string remains unclear.

By 1900-1901, Grunewald had doubled the high strings, creating a production 12-string still called the Harp-Guitar, possibly under Brown's original patent. Competitors Holzapfel & Beitel, C. Bruno & Sons, and Bohm soon introduced similar multi-string instruments. However, surviving specimens are conspicuously absent despite claims of "enormous" sales.

The trail goes cold after 1901-1902, with no further mentions in trade publications. Grunewald later advertised a "Special Guitar"—a standard 6-string—in The Cadenza, suggesting the harp-guitar venture had ended. The exact transition from 10 to 12 strings and patent ownership remain unresolved.