For some collectors, passion for a specific object can lead to an entire lifetime spent acquiring new specimens, ultimately creating an expansive inventory of the object’s history. Such is the case with a new auction of over 250 guitars from a single collection taking place at Guernsey’s on April 2 and 3 in New York City. “The historical importance of these guitars is unparalleled—these are the instruments that laid the foundation of the guitar industry as we know it,” said Chris Gill, editor-in-chief of Guitar Aficionado. “This collection captures the transition as old-world handcraftsmanship merged with Industrial Revolution production techniques, creating very rare, high-quality instruments that showcase the various manufactures’ creativity when they were really emerging and reaching their peak.” From extremely limited produced styles to guitars owned by Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger, take a look at some of the most precious instruments from one man’s life-long collection.
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Francisco Simplicio, a Spanish luthier, began crafting this style in 1927, increasing the size and scale of the guitar as well as using rosewood and hand signing the guitar’s label. Simplicio’s guitars are distinctive for their carved ebony overlays—this version includes a Greek goddess playing a lyre with gold-painted details.
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Considered an achievement of Martin’s Golden Era, this guitar is often regarded as “the most beautiful, collectible, and valuable guitar that Martin ever made.” Due to the collapsing economy of the Great Depression, manufacturers were forced to undergo extensive lay offs, only keeping their most skilled craftsman. Because of this, they were unable to produce large quantities of their best guitars. The 1930 Martin OM-45 Deluxe is possibly the finest example up for public sale in the last 30 years.
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The year 1939 was a big one in guitar making. While progress was made in archtop guitar design, the year also saw craftsmen beginnig to use a natural finish, which, due to the material’s inability to hide natural flaws, allowed them to use only the finest materials. Along with its signature Art Deco design and distinctive shape, this guitar’s 18-inch body produced a volume of sound that made it a quick success among well-regarded guitarists of the era’s big band orchestras. The Synchromatic 400 only had a limited production run, and the intruments with blonde finish are the rarest of the bunch.
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This rare guitar is one of only about 100 produced in this style. The pre-war instrument was crafted using East Indian Rosewood, which, in later versions, was substituted for maple. This guitar, however, has some added credentials that improve its value—the guitar once belonged to Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
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This is one of John D’Angelico rare true electric guitars in which he placed the pickups directly on the top. This model has a cutaway body, 22-fret neck, and the signature gold-plated tuners and stairstep tailpiece.
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This was one of the early instruments used by jazz guitarist Nick Lucas. As if that doesn’t make it one of the highlights of the collection to begin with, it is also uniquely finished with depictions of pinup girls. This piece of musical art is named “Nick’s Bordello,” a title that was used on the headstock instead of the Gibson logo, referring either to the guitar’s famous owner or to a brothel in New Orleans.
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This version of the Gibson Style O, crafted beginning in 1908, signaled a change in direction for the iconic guitar maker. The new style, often called the Style O Artist, features an upper bass bout with a mandolin-style scroll and a stark right angle where the body’s upper treble meets the neck. The fleur-de-lis design rather than the Gibson logo is also a feature of the guitar maker’s style during the 1910s.
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This instrument’s highly elegant design causes this mandolin to stand out among its rivals. With a Domino decal rosette, illustrations, fretboard inlays, and overall black-and-white motif, this mandolin is a classy alternative for an instrument that was normally seen as low budget.
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This mandolin is crafted in the signature style of Gibson’s early 20th-century work. With a Florentine shape for the body of the guitar, the Gibson F-2 Artist Mandolin has a distinctive design on its inlaid tortoiseshell pickguard that sets it apart from similar Gibson instruments of the time.
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