美国12弦吉他的起源可以追溯到19世纪末的一系列专利和制造创新。[1]卡尔·布朗（Carl E. Brown）在1896年2月8日申请了一项10弦"竖琴吉他"的专利，专利号为#568,108，并在同年8月22日获得批准。[1]布朗的原始设计目的是"结合竖琴和吉他的特征"，面向业余吉他手，采用"低音独奏"演奏风格。[1]
随后这项创新得到了商业化推进。[1]1896年秋，布朗与汉密尔顿·戈登公司和雷内·格鲁内瓦尔德公司签约制造该乐器。[1]格鲁内瓦尔德公司随后将设计改进为12弦版本，并在1902年12月于《The Cadenza》杂志刊登全页广告推广这款12弦"竖琴吉他"。[1]与此同时，其他制造商也独立开发了类似产品：霍尔茨亚佩尔和贝特尔公司在1900年12月23日有12弦吉他的委托记录，布鲁诺父子公司则在1901年的目录中推出了12弦颈竖琴吉他。[1]通过这些不同制造商的共同努力，12弦吉他从新奇发明逐步演变为主流乐器。[1]
The origins of the American 12-string guitar trace back to Carl E. Brown's pioneering design in the 1890s.[1] Brown filed a patent application on February 8, 1896, for a 10-string "harp guitar" (Patent #568,108), which was approved on August 22, 1896.[1] The instrument was conceived to "combine the characteristics of a harp and guitar,"[1] and by autumn 1896, Brown had contracted with Hamilton Gordon and Rene Grunewald's companies to manufacture the instrument.[1] The design was originally targeted at amateur guitarists and employed a "bass solo" playing style.[1]
The transition from Brown's original 10-string concept to the 12-string configuration emerged through parallel development by multiple manufacturers.[1] Holzapfel & Beitel held a commission record for a 12-string guitar dated December 23, 1900,[1] while C. Bruno & Sons introduced a 12-string neck harp guitar in their catalog in 1901.[1] By December 1902, Grunewald was prominently advertising the 12-string "harp guitar" with a full-page advertisement in The Cadenza magazine,[1] marking the instrument's transition from novelty invention to mainstream production.