Stanley Jay

George Hergen grew up during the folk boom in New York of the mid 1960s and fell in love with the luthiers of guitars and banjos as well as some of the colorful dealers in his area. He became friends with the legendary builder Jimmy D’Aquisto, and Stanley Jay, whose music store on Staten Island sold some of the most incredible instruments George had ever seen. His friendship with Stan not only led to working behind his counter when needed but traveling to NAMM Shows, guitar conventions and guitar workshops and factories. Luckily for us, George took photographs of many of his trips

Stanley Jay always admired rare and special fretted musical instruments, so it came as no surprise when he and his friend, Haf Kuffner, opened a guitar shop on Staten Island in New York. They named the store the Mandolin Brothers. Over the years the store has become a hub for vintage instruments and Stanley became a world-renowned expert of all things related to fretted instruments. More than that, Stanley brought his own passion for the instruments to each person who walked in his doors.  It was personally rewarding for him to help a player find an instrument they enjoyed.  He  w

Hap Kuffner was eleven years old when he was given his first guitar during the folk music boom of the early 1960s. As he learned to play the instrument he also taught himself to repair guitars and to teach. In 1969 he teamed with friend Stanley Jay and opened a vintage instrument shop in New York, naming it Mandolin Brothers. The store allowed Hap to use all of his interests and was in the right place to watch the enormous popularity in vintage guitars, which began to take form in the 1970s. Since his introduction to the industry, Hap has been very active in the business working w

Harry West was the founder of Fine Musical Instruments located in Statesville, North Carolina.  The store was an early pioneer in vintage stringed instrument sales and in fact, Stanley Jay once called Harry, "the father of us all."  His store was later renamed Harry and Jeanie West's Fine Musical Instruments to provide credit to his loving and supportive wife who helped run the store.  Their son, James, does much of the repair work as well as purchasing and selling.  This family operated, small town retail store has influenced the vintage market around the world.  Harry's amazing