Paolo Guerrini

There is little documented information about the Guerrini Accordions company. It is understood that the company was founded in 1903 by Paolo Guerrini, an Italian immigrant who settled in San Francisco, California, USA at some point shortly after 1899. Although Geurrini’s business began as a repair workshop, as was the case with many Italian accordion manufacturers who immigrated to the United States at the turn of the century, Guerrini soon began producing his own instruments for sale and was one of only a select few companies in the early twentieth century that offered customized high-end instruments. Production of button accordions in Italy had already reached a significant level in the last few decades of the nineteenth century, and many of the craftsmen who immigrated to the United States around the turn of the century, including Americo Magliani, Enrico Guerrini, Colombo Piatanesi, Francesco Serenelli, and Egisto Pancotti, in addition to Paolo Guerrini, were already skilled and seasoned builders looking to expand into untapped markets in North America. Guerrini’s workshop was initially located at 1251 Dupont Street in San Francisco, however the area was severely damaged by the famed 1906 earthquake and was later renamed Grant Street. Guerrini was one of many accordion manufacturers to settle in San Francisco, and the city is recognized as having been an important location during what is regarded as the “golden age” of the accordion between 1910 and 1960. In the first few decades of this era, San Francisco played host to a number of manufacturers who had emigrated from southern Italy between 1880 and 1903 and settled in the city’s North Beach neighbourhood, many of whom helped to further technological developments for the instrument. Castelfidardo, a small Italian town perched on the coast of the Adriatic Sea was once regarded as the accordion building capital of the world, dominating the industry throughout the nineteenth century and producing a large majority of the diatonic accordions that were in use in the United States throughout the century. However, tensions associated with Italy’s wars of independence severely affected production output in the region, and Castelfidardo eventually found itself unable to meet the increasing demand for instruments in the United States. Following the emigration of a number of manufacturers to San Francisco, the city became the new leader in accordion production. At the time, San Francisco’s North Beach was also a hub for newly developed theatres that greatly helped nurture the careers of a number of accordion performers, many of whom were involved in Vaudevillian acts. This, in turn, largely helped popularize the piano accordion, which had previously been less used than the button accordion, throughout North America. Following the 1906 earthquake, Guerrini relocated to 277 Columbus Avenue, where it remained active until ceasing operations in 1968. Although it is no longer the centre of accordion manufacture that it once was, Castelfidardo does still maintain very active production of the instrument today.