I was reminded recently of a photo that was taken in 2005 when I visited the Classical Guitar Centre in Birmingham run by Brian Whitehouse. Amongst the wonderful collection of instruments from around the world there was one very special guitar.
It was an 1827 Louis Panormo guitar. Earlier I had played two similar instruments in Auckland and heard plenty about the history relevant to New Zealand. The Panormo family including Louis Panormo himself in retirement, emigrated to New Zealand and settled in Awhitu near Auckland in the 1850s.
Brian's Panormo guitar is in great condition and sounds wonderful. One detail that isn't authentic Panormo is the headstock which was a later replacement.
There are two known authentic Panormo guitars in New Zealand in the care of Panormo descendants.
More recently, a Panormo copy was made for me by Auckland luthier Rod Capper. The guitar is featured on my Tonewood & Bear Claw album (July 2015) alongside a copy of a period instrument by Antonio Torres of Andalucía, Spain.