Richard C. Allen (1934 - 2014) was a legendary Southern Californian luthier who started building guitars in 1951, with help from his friends Paul Bigsby and Merle Travis. He was making guitars in the era when Leo Fender and Lowell Kiesel of Carvin were also just starting out. He worked many years as a warehouseman but also did repair work for guitar wholesalers and distributors. He finally went full time as a guitar maker in 1972 - concentrating mainly on hollow and semi-hollow bodied guitars, with some solid body instruments. In the later years of his career he focused on making archtop guitars.

Source: NAMM Oral History - R.C. Allen (16 February 2022)