Selmer guitar

The Selmer guitar—often called a Selmer-Maccaferri or just Maccaferri by English speakers, as early British advertising stressed the designer rather than manufacturer—is an unusual acoustic guitar best known as the favored instrument of Django Reinhardt. Selmer, a French manufacturer, produced the instrument from 1932 to about 1952.

Selmer guitar
Selmer-Maccaferri and Selmer style replica guitars
ManufacturerSelmer
Period1932-1952
Construction
Body typeArchtop-Selmer
Neck jointDovetail
Woods
BodyEuropean Spruce (Picea abies) [original] or Sitka Spruce / Engelmann spruce [modern] top
Rosewood or Mahogany back and sides
NeckMahogany
FretboardEbony
Hardware
BridgeRosewood
Colors available
Natural

History
Reconstruction of a portion of the Selmer-Maccaferri guitar workshop (1933), Musée de la Musique exhibition, 2012

In 1932 Selmer partnered with the Italian guitarist and luthier Mario Maccaferri to produce a line of acoustic guitars based on Maccaferri's unorthodox design.[1] Although Maccaferri's association with Selmer ended in 1934, the company continued to make several models of this guitar until 1952. The guitar was closely associated with jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.

Construction

In its archetypal steel-string Jazz/Orchestre form, the Selmer is distinguished by a fairly large body with squarish bouts, either a "D"-shaped or longitudinal oval sound hole, and a cutaway in the upper right bout. The strings pass over a movable bridge and are gathered at the tail, as on a mandolin. Two "moustache" markers are fixed to the soundboard to help position the movable bridge. The top of the guitar is gently arched or domed—a feature achieved by bending a flat piece of wood rather than by the violin-style carving used in archtop guitars. The top is also rather thin, at about 2 mm (0.079 in). It has a comparatively wide fretboard (about 47 mm or 1.850 in at the nut) and a snake-shaped, slotted headstock. The back and top are both ladder-braced, which was the norm for French and Italian steel-string guitars of the time (unlike American guitars, which frequently employed X-braced tops by this period).

Other models can be more conventional in appearance and construction, with the Modèle Classique, for example, essentially being a standard fan-braced, flat-top classical guitar.

Early days - "Maccaferri" or D-hole guitar
Tony Green's "Gypsy Jazz" group photographed in New Orleans in 2012. The lead player (right) performs on a "petite bouche", oval hole Selmer-style instrument; the rhythm player (left) uses a modern modification of the original Selmer "grande bouche" / D-hole instrument, with 14 frets clear of the body as opposed to the 12 frets of the original design.

Early models have a large, D-shaped sound hole (the "grande bouche", or "big mouth"), which was shaped specifically to accommodate an internal resonator invented by luthier Mario Maccaferri – this was designed to increase the volume of the guitar and to even out variations in volume and tone between different strings. The scale, at 640 mm, and fretting of the early guitars was very similar to other contemporary guitars (including the Gibson and Martin guitar designs from which most modern acoustic guitar patterns ultimately derive), but with a wide fretboard more typical of a classical guitar; they also had 12 frets clear of the body, although left hand higher fret access was facilitated by a (then novel) cutaway in the upper right bout. These guitars were made in several versions, including gut string (classical), steel string, seven string (Hawaiian) and four string ("Grand" and "Ténor") versions, plus a special four string "Eddie Freeman" model (see below). Many of these guitars, produced during 1932 and 1933, were sold to the UK market via Selmer's London showroom (which also distributed the guitar to regional dealers) and it was during this period that the guitars became known as "Maccaferris" to Britons.

Post-Maccaferri or Oval-Hole guitar
Original (?) oval-hole / "petite bouche" Selmer guitar being played by Stochelo Rosenberg, 2012

Maccaferri designed the original guitars and oversaw their manufacture, but his involvement with Selmer ended after 18 months. Over the next few years, the design evolved without his input (including some transitional models with round soundholes). By 1936, the definitive[2] version of the Selmer guitar had appeared, with an oval hole in pace of the large D-shaped hole, no internal resonator, and a neck with 14 frets clear of the body in place of the original 12. It was officially called the "Modèle Jazz", but also known as the "Petite Bouche" (small mouth) or "Oval Hole". These later guitars also have revised internal bracing and a longer scale length of 670 mm (26.38 in). The vast bulk of guitars produced after the Maccaferri period were sold in Selmer's native France; these later guitars are always referred to as "Selmers" (as are the earlier guitars by the French).

While Maccaferri may no longer have been around (and his resonator had been abandoned), the later guitars retain many unusual characteristics of his original innovative design, including the cutaway, the world's first sealed oil-bath machine heads and a top that is bent, mandolin-style, behind the floating bridge - something that contributes to the guitar's remarkable volume when played.

Use

Before the advent of amplification, the Selmer guitar appealed to European players the way archtop guitars did in America: it was loud enough to hear over other instruments in a band. The "petite bouche" model has an especially loud and cutting voice, and remains the design preferred by lead players in Django-style bands, while the accompanying rhythm players often use D-hole instruments. (This was the lineup in Django's Quintette du Hot Club de France during its classic period in the late 1930s, and it remains the pattern for bands that emulate it.) Modern exponents of the style often amplify their instruments in concert, but may still play acoustically in small venues and jam sessions. Gypsy jazz players usually couple the guitar with light, silver-plated, copper-wound Argentine strings made by Savarez (or copies of these), and heavy plectrums, traditionally of tortoiseshell.

Today, the Selmer guitar is almost completely associated with Django Reinhardt and the "gypsy jazz" school of his followers. From the 1930s through to the 1950s, however, Selmers were used by all types of performer in France and (in the early days) in the UK. The first Selmers sold in the UK were used in standard dance bands, and were associated with performers such as Len Fillis and Al Bowlly.

In France, the Selmer was the top professional guitar for many years, and is heard in everything from musette to the backing of chansonniers. Leading players included Henri Crolla and Sacha Distel. More recently, the style of guitar (albeit a modification developed by Favino) has been associated with Enrico Macias.

Other Selmer guitars

Though best known for its steel-string D-hole and oval-hole guitars (known initially as the "Orchestre" and later the "Jazz" model), during the Maccaferri period Selmer also made and sold Maccaferri-designed classical guitars, harp guitars, 6- and 7-string Hawaiian guitars, tenor guitars, a 4-string "Grande" model and the "Eddie Freeman Special", a 4-string guitar with the scale-length and body-size of a standard guitar, designed to use with a special reentrant tuning that was briefly successful in the UK market. Most of these instruments featured Macaferri's distinctive D-shaped sound hole and cutaway design, and many contained the resonator. Production of all but the Modèle Jazz ended by the mid-1930s. Selmer also contracted the well-known American luthier John D'Angelico to construct a small number of archtop guitars to be sold under the Selmer brand for the U.S. market; this arrangement was short-lived and apparently only three instruments were constructed, of which a single one (from 1934) is known to survive (see DjangoBooks website).

Copies, replicas and similar guitars
Copy of a Selmer Maccaferri guitar.

Selmer did not make many guitars—fewer than 1,000—and the company stopped all production by 1952. Playable original Selmers are rare and command high prices. Before the current rise in interest in Django and his guitars, other European builders produced instruments that emulated the Selmer design with their own variations. These instruments began to appear in the 1930s with Busato, Di Mauro and—from the 1940s—Jacobacci, Favino, Anasatasio, the Gérôme Brothers, Olivieri, Rossi, Bucolo, Patenotte, Siro Burgassi, and a few others.[3] In the 1970s, Selmer copies were produced in Japan for CSL and Ibanez, and in the 1980s for Saga Musical Instruments under the "Saga" brand. Meanwhile, a few French luthiers continued production. These include Jean-Pierre Favino and, more recently, Maurice Dupont. Elsewhere, some high grade luthiers have offered Selmer-style guitars. These include Marco Roccia, Jerome Duffell, AJL (Ari-Jukka Luomaranta), John Le Voi, David Hodson, Rob Aylward, Chris Eccleshall, and Doug Kyle in the U.K., Michael Dunn and Shelley D. Park in Canada, Leo Eimers in the Netherlands, and Rodrigo Shopis in New York City. More recently, inexpensive factory instruments from Asia have become available under the Gitane and Dell'Arte/John S. Kinnard brands.

Common departures from the original designs include omitting the internal resonator, adding a scratchplate, using solid (non-laminated) woods, and building D-hole models with a 14th fret neck-join rather than the original 12th fret join.

Surviving original Selmers

The number of surviving original Selmer guitars is not known exactly. Fewer than 200 are publicly known, and appear on the list below. Previously unknown instruments surface from time to time, and some no doubt remain undocumented in the hands of gypsy players or in private collections. (Note in the Selmer sales logs as reproduced in the F. Charle book, the sequence starts at 085 in 1932 and ends at 885 in 1952, also a few numbers appear to have been repeated).

  • Number 085 (D Hole), 1932, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as of February 2011.
  • Number 093 (D Hole), 1932, illustrated in the JWC Guitars website "Selmer Gallery" as of April 2013.
  • Number 097 (D Hole), illustrated on p. 80 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 098 (D Hole), listed for sale on djangobooks.com as at March 2018, asking price $35,000, now sold.[4]
  • Number 099 (D Hole), illustrated on p. 242 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition) as owned by Féré Schedegger.
  • Number 103 (D Hole), previously owned by collector Scott Chinery, George Cole and, allegedly, Django's brother Joseph Reinhardt.,[5] also illustrated in the "sold" section of www.djangobooks.com; presently owned by Michael Bauer;[6] listed for sale on djangobooks.com as at March 2018, asking price $50,000
  • Number 126 (D hole, no cutaway), 1933, currently owned by the "Cité de la musique" museum of Paris, France
  • Number 130 (D Hole), 1932, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 132 (D Hole Concert model - cutaway plus "classical" bridge for gut stings), illustrated on p. 58 and 190 (label) of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition), auctioned in Vichy, France, on 12 December 2008 according to vichyencheres.wordpress.com/catalogues. A very similar guitar, dated 1932, no serial number given except that it is the range 100-150, is documented on this 2011 YouTube video
  • Number 135 (D Hole Hawaiian model, with resonator), listed for sale on ebay.com, December 2014. Stated on the DjangoBooks forum to be the instrument played here.
  • Number 137 (D Hole 7-string Hawaiian model, with resonator), c.1932, listed for auction on 16 May 2020, by Vichy Enchères, France, as per full page advert in May/June issue of "Acoustic Guitar" magazine, pre-auction estimate €6,500
  • Number 142 (D Hole), owned and played by Ian Date[7]
  • Number 150 (D Hole, originally 7 string Hawaiian, converted to 6-string), auctioned in Vichy, France, on 14 December 2013, according to vichyencheres.wordpress.com/catalogues
  • Number 152 (D Hole, 7 string Hawaiian), 1932, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number ??? (D Hole, 6 string Hawaiian), 1932, for sale at https://palmguitars.com as at September 2018.[8]
  • Number ??? (D Hole, originally 7 string Hawaiian with later added cutaway and converted to 6-string), previously belonging to Francis-Alfred Moerman, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number ??? (D Hole), 1932, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 162 (D Hole 4 string Grand Modèle), 1932, illustrated on p. 92 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition); listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 163 (D Hole), 1932, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011; believed to have originally belonged to Joseph Reinhardt according to description on www.gypsyguitars.com.
  • Number 175 (D Hole Orchestre model), label illustrated on p. 190 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 181 (D Hole), 1932, listed and illustrated as for sale on the Reverb website [9] as at July 2019.
  • Number 197 (D hole, erroneously given as number 719 however the latter is a later oval hole model) illustrated with Nils Solberg in the JWC Guitars "Selmer Gallery" as at April 2013.
  • Number 199 (D Hole 4 string Grand Modèle), illustrated on p. 97 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 214 (Espagnole model - round hole, no cutaway, gut strings, fixed bridge), illustrated on p. 68 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 216 (Espagnole model - round hole, no cutaway, gut strings, fixed bridge), listed and illustrated in the "for sale" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at October 2016, since sold.
  • Number 218 (D Hole 4 string Grand Modèle, converted to oval-hole 6 string instrument with extended fingerboard by Marco Roccia), 1933, listed and illustrated in the "for sale" section of the Djangobooks website [10] as at November 2015.
  • Number 219 (D Hole 4 string Ténor model), 1933, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at January 2019.
  • Number 221 (D Hole 4 string Ténor model), 1933, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at April 2013; listed as for sale on www.rfcharle.com as at July 2017.
  • Number 226 (D Hole 4 string Ténor model), 1933, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 233 (D Hole 4 string Ténor model), 1933, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at April 2013, currently owned by the "Cité de la musique" museum of Paris, France
  • Number ??? (round hole Ténor model, possibly prototype for Eddie Freeman model as shown in contemporary advertisements, no label), c. 1933, description and illustration model here
  • Number 238 (D Hole Eddie Freeman model), 1933, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 241 (D Hole 4 string Ténor model), illustrated on p. 102 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 248 (D Hole), illustrated on p. 91 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 252 (Round hole, no cutaway, movable bridge + tailpiece), illustrated on p. 84 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 253 (Eddie Freeman) 1933, presently owned by UK guitarist Ade Holland....listed in the Selmer Maccaferri guitars book by Francois Charle as 4 cordes.
  • Number 254 (D Hole), 1933, previously owned by Louis Gallo, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 256 (D Hole Eddie Freeman model converted to 6-string), 1933, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 258 (D Hole Eddie Freeman model transformed into 6-string), illustrated on p. 199 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 261 (D Hole Eddie Freeman model), 1933, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 266 (D Hole Orchestre model), 1933,
  • Number 269 (D Hole Orchestre/4-string model converted to 6-string oval-hole by Marco Roccia in the 1960s), 1933, previously owned by Louis Gallo and then his son Ray Gallo as in this YouTube video,[11] listed for auction by Gardiner Houlgate here[12] as at October 2016.
  • Number 271 (D Hole Orchestre model with original internal resonator), 1933, listed for auction by Gardiner Houlgate here[13] as at August 2018, estimate £8,000 – £12,000 (plus buyer's premium).
  • Number 272 (D Hole), presently owned by Paul Vernon Chester (restored by Jeongwoo Cho of JWC guitars), as per this YouTube video.[14]
  • Number 273 (D Hole Eddie Freeman model) "circa 1934", currently (April 2018) at Palm Guitars Amsterdam.[15]
  • Number 275 (D Hole Harp guitar with 3 extra bass strings, fixed bridge, gut strings), 1932, previously owned by Mario Maccaferri and illustrated in the for sale section of www.retrofret.com as at September 2013.
  • Number 276 (D Hole Eddie Freeman), "circa 1933", Owned by Brian Vance converted to 6 string by RY Aylward Guitars
  • Number 277 (D Hole Harp guitar with 3 extra bass strings, fixed bridge, gut strings; includes internal resonator), illustrated on p. 67 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition), subsequently auctioned in Vichy, France in 2008 December 12.
  • Number 278 (D Hole Harp guitar with 3 extra bass strings, fixed bridge, gut strings; includes internal resonator), illustrated on p. 62 and 67 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition) currently owned by the "Cité de la musique" museum of Paris, France.
  • Number 279 (D Hole Harp guitar with 3 extra bass strings, fixed bridge, gut strings; includes internal resonator), 1933, restored in 2012 by Lukas Milani (illustrated here[16]) and subsequently offered for sale via www.vintageandrare.com.[17] According to the sale listing, this guitar was originally a gift from Maccaferri himself to the highly esteemed French pastry chef P.J. Franchiolo, father of the present vendor.
  • Number 281 (D Hole), 1934, owned at one time by UK guitarist Ade Holland and subsequently by Stan Adleman (Stan Gordon).
  • Number 282 (D Hole Eddie Freeman model), 1933, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 284 (D Hole), 1934, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 285 (D Hole), 1934, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011; on sale at R.F. Charle (Paris) as at December 2018, price €32,000.
  • Number 286 bis (D Hole), 1934, listed and illustrated in the "for sale" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at June 2019, price $38,500.
  • Number 315 (D Hole Eddie Freeman model converted into 6-string), illustrated on p. 196 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 317 (D Hole Eddie Freeman model), 1933, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 320 (D Hole Eddie Freeman model converted into 6-string), 1933, illustrated in the JWC Guitars "Selmer Gallery" as at April 2013.
  • Number 338 (D Hole 4 string Eddie Freeman model), illustrated on p. 98 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 348 (Oval hole), illustrated on p. 119 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 350 (D Hole), 1934 previously owned by Francis-Alfred Moerman, Sarane Ferret's rhythm guitarist, illustrated on p. 145 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition); listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 372 (D Hole), 1934, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 378 (D Hole), 1933, Left by Eddy Christiani to the Dutch Hot club de France foundation on his death in 2016; he claimed to have got it from Joseph Reinhardt, trading it for a Gretsch. Shown on the Eimers Guitars Facebook page, 13 July 2017.
  • Number ??? [erased serial number] (Oval Hole, 12 fret transitional), 1934, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011; for sale again at DjangoBooks.com (2015)
  • Number 391 (?), 1937, mentioned in this forum post
  • Number 403 (Oval hole with "transitional" 12-fret neck), illustrated on p. 116 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 417 (D Hole 6 string Hawaïen model, no cutaway), 1933 illustrated on p. 111 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition), auctioned in Vichy, France on 2008 December 12 and illustrated in the catalogues section of vichyencheres.wordpress.com
  • Number 418 (D Hole 7 string Hawaïen model, no cutaway), circa 1934, illustrated on p. 106 and p. 111 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition); listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 423 (D hole) belonging to Nous'che Rosenberg, recently repaired by Leo Eimers. No 423 is currently owned by Velja Mijatovic.
  • Number ??? (D hole), composite of Maccaferri body and Selmer neck, restored by Rob Aylward, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 430 (Oval hole), recently restored by Leo Eimers
  • Number 441 (Round hole, transitional), illustrated in the JWC Guitars "Selmer Gallery" as at April 2013, also offered on reverb.com by Palm Guitars as at March 2016.
  • Number 442 (Round hole, transitional), 1938, listed and illustrated in the "for sale" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at April 2013; on sale at R.F. Charle (Paris) as at December 2018, price €18,000.
  • Number 445 (Round hole, transitional), 1938, label illustrated on p. 191 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition); listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011 and www.rfcharle.com as at April 2013 (http://www.rfcharle.com/HTML/GalerieA.html).
  • Number 447 (Round hole, transitional), illustrated on p. 114 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 448 (Round hole, transitional), 1938, listed and illustrated in the "for sale" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at April 2013, since sold.
  • Number 451 (Oval hole), originally bought by Challain-Ferret and now owned and played by Stephane Moriou. Unique left handed Selmer guitar, perfectly preserved.
  • Number 453 (Oval hole) bought by Henri Crolla in 1938, kept by his wife, Colette Crolla, in Paris. Perfectly preserved.,[18] illustrated on p. 207 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 475 (Now with a "rectangular" hole) used by Oscar Alemán c,1954-1980, donated by Alemán to the CECUAL, Chaco, Argentina. Modified.[19] Noted in p. 248 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition) as sold to Casa America, Buenos Aires in 1939, now carries (?repair) label of Antigua Casa Núñez in soundhole.
  • Number 485 (Oval hole), illustrated on p. 244 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition) as played by Raul Reynoso.
  • Number 494 (Oval hole, maple body, flat [non-slotted] headstock, no cutaway), illustrated on p. 140 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 501 (Oval hole), previously owned by Fapy Lafertin and Nils Solberg, illustrated in the JWC Guitars "Selmer Gallery" as at April 2013.
  • Number ??? (Oval hole), "serial number adjacent to django's own", listed for sale at https://palmguitars.com as at September 2018[20]
  • Number 503 (Oval Hole, "Django Reinhardt" on headstock). Django used a number of Selmer guitars in his life, but #503 is considered "the" Django guitar, used by him almost exclusively from 1940 until his death.[21] It is now in the Musée de la musique, Paris, having been donated by his widow, Naguine Reinhardt.;[22] illustrated on p. 134 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 504 (Oval hole, "Django Reinhardt" on headstock), the "sister" of Django's favourite guitar, owned and played by Stochelo Rosenberg from 1993-2010, subsequently sold;[23] illustrated on p. 137 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 505 (Oval hole, "Django Reinhardt" on headstock) the other "sister" of Django's favourite, owned by Kees van Oorschot
  • Number 507 (Oval hole), owned and played by Ian Date[7]
  • Number 510 (Oval hole, "Modèle Django Reinhardt" on headstock), mentioned in this forum post
  • Number 511 (Oval hole, "Modèle Django Reinhardt" on headstock), illustrated on p. 137 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 520 (Oval hole), 1940, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011, also subsequently in the "sold" section of www.djangobooks.com.
  • Number 525 (Oval hole, maple body, flat [non-slotted] headstock), illustrated on p. 138 and p. 158 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 526 (Oval hole), 1941-2, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 529 (Oval hole), 1942, listed for sale ("coming soon") at www.gypsyguitars.com as at June 2020.
  • Number 530 (Oval hole), 1941, owned by Troy Harmer passed down by grandfather Stanley
  • Number 536 (Oval hole, birdseye maple back and sides), 1942, listed and illustrated for sale (in Germany) here[24] as at October 2016.
  • Number 543 (Oval hole), 1941, on sale at R.F. Charle (Paris) as at December 2018, price €26,000; previously mentioned in this forum post.
  • Number 547 (Oval hole), illustrated on p. 118 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 548 (Classique model - round hole, no cutaway, gut strings, fixed bridge), 1942, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011; illustrated in the JWC Guitars "Selmer Gallery" as at April 2013.
  • Number 550, 1942 or earlier (Classique model - round hole, no cutaway, gut strings, fixed bridge), illustrated on p. 70 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition). Listed for sale on https://palmguitars.com as at September 2018.[25]
  • Number 552 (Jazz model oval hole - no cutaway), previously owned by Loulou Gasté and currently owned by his widow Line Renaud. Was shown in the Paris exhibit "Swing de Paris" from October 2012 to January 2013.
  • Number 565, 1942, presently owned by Michael Bauer[6]
  • Number 566 (Jazz model - oval hole) currently owned by Thomas Dutronc. Was shown in the Paris exhibit "Swing de Paris" from October 2012 to January 2013.
  • Number 569 (Oval hole), "c.1942", sold at auction by Lombrail-Teucquam Maison de vente, Paris, November 2016, sold price €22,940.[26]
  • Number 573 (Oval hole), illustrated on p. 125 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition) in the possession of Marcel Bianchi (photographed in 1942), present whereabouts not recorded.
  • Number 574 (Oval Hole) owned by John Jorgenson, illustrated on p. 243 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 575 (Oval hole, subsequently enlarged to round hole), 1942, formerly belonging to Roger Chaput, listed and illustrated in the "for sale" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at April 2013, and subsequently on reverb.com[27] by LEON Guitars of New York, asking price $35,000
  • Number 585 (Oval hole), illustrated on p. 128 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition) in the possession of M. Van Crauwenberghe ("Texas Dan") of Ghent, Belgium (photographed in 1940s?), present whereabouts not recorded.
  • Number 589 (Oval hole), illustrated on p. 122 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition). Listed for auction (but unnsold) by Gardiner Houlgate, May 2016, see http://guitar-auctions.co.uk/portfolio-post/lot-171-1943-selmer-maccaferri-petite-bouche-gypsy-jazz-acoustic-guitar/, also subsequently offered on reverb.com by ATB Guitars of Cheltenham, U.K.,[28] apparently now sold.
  • Number 593 (Oval hole), mentioned and illustrated in this forum thread
  • Number 596 (Oval hole), owned by Neil Andersson (of "Pearl Django") according to this forum post
  • Number 607 (Oval Hole), rediscovered recently and shared by a group of young musicians called "Selmer 607"[29]
  • Number 612 (Oval Hole), 1946, Owned By Brian Vance uk model acajou, 6 strings
  • Number 617 (Oval Hole), 1946, was auctioned in Vichy, France, on 2006 December 16 as shown on vichyencheres.wordpress.com/catalogues/
  • Number 619 (Oval hole), 1946, listed and illustrated in the "for sale" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at July 2015, since sold.
  • Number 625 (Oval hole), 1946, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 629 (Oval hole), stated as being played on rhythm by Nous'che Rosenberg in this Youtube video (instrument mostly obscured); a similar/the same oval-hole guitar is visible being played by Nous'che in other recent pictures
  • Number 634 (Oval Hole), 1946, model acajou, 6 strings, Christophe Lartilleux - Latcho Drom (Photo in the Book of François Charles), also mentioned in this article
  • Number 636 (Oval hole), illustrated on p. 130 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 645 (Oval hole), 1947, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 648 (Oval Hole), 1947, auctioned in Vichy, France on 2008 December 12 and illustrated in the catalogues section of vichyencheres.wordpress.com
  • Number 652 (Oval hole, rosewood/spruce), 1947, previously owned by Stochelo Rosenberg, listed and illustrated at tfoa.eu as at January 2014.[30] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RGd8reElUQ
  • Number 657 (Oval hole), recently repaired by Leo Eimers
  • Number 662 (Oval Hole), 1947, previously owned by Sarane Ferret,[31] listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 665 (Oval hole), 1947, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 670 (Oval hole), mentioned in this forum post
  • Number 678 (Oval hole), 1947, mentioned in this forum post
  • Number 681 (Oval hole), 1947, this guitar was purchased in France from well known Gypsy Jazz musician Frederic Belinsky for www.artguitars.co.uk collection. Additional information here.[32]
  • Number 687 (Oval hole), 1947, This guitar was listed, illustrated and subsequently sold by Francois Charle in Paris, 2016.
  • Number 698 (Oval Hole), 1948, previously owned by Matelo Ferret,[31] listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 703 (Oval hole), 1948, listed as sold on www.gypsyguitars.com, for sale on www.rfcharle.com as at July 2017.
  • Number 704 (Oval hole), 1948, collected and used by Django Reinhardt just before his tour to Rome; registered in the Selmer book as going to Django Raynal. The top of this guitar was crushed during this tour, and later replaced with an old top by Maurice Dupont; for additional information see http://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/13138/djangos-selmer/p3.
  • Number 709 (Oval hole), 1948, currently owned by the "Musée des musiques populaires" in Montluçon, France.
  • Number 717 (Oval hole), 1949, listed and illustrated in the "for sale" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at April 2013, since sold.
  • Number 719 (Oval hole), previously owned by Henri Crolla, illustrated in the JWC Guitars "Selmer Gallery" as at April 2013. (Note a D-hole guitar illustrated with Nils Solberg is also stated to have this number, however the latter is an error for 197)
  • Number 731 (Oval hole), 1948, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.rfcharle.com as at April 2013 (http://www.rfcharle.com/HTML/GalerieA.html).
  • Number 744 (Oval hole), 1949, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 757 (Oval hole), 1948, previously owned by Bert Niblett of the 1950s "Club Django" in London and then by Roy Stevens, listed for sale (no price given) in February 2014 by Paul Stevens at https://www.facebook.com/groups/527733247341630/about/; more information on Bert and this guitar available at https://gypsyjazzuk.wordpress.com/36-2/bert-niblett/
  • Number 760 (Oval hole), mentioned in this forum post as in Japan with the lead player of "Note Noire"
  • Number 763 (Oval hole), 1949, listed and illustrated in the "for sale" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at April 2013, since sold.
  • Number 786 (Oval hole), 1949, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 793 (Oval Hole), was auctioned in France, Enghien les Bains, on 2012 October 28 as stated on http://www.enghien-svv.com.
  • Number 795 (Oval hole), 1949, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 807 (Oval hole), illustrated on p. 133 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number 813 (Oval hole), 1950, given by Django's widow Naguine to Les Paul, and retained by his estate. Extensively repaired by John Monteleone. On display at Mahwah Museum in Mahwah, New Jersey; additional information available at http://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/13138/djangos-selmer.
  • Number 817 (Oval hole), 1949, table repaired by Jacques Favino, fingerboard repaired by Jean Barault in 2020.[33]
  • Number 822 (Oval hole), 1949, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at April 2013.
  • Number 823 (Oval hole), 1948, mentioned in this forum post
  • Number ??? (Oval hole), 1949, listed and illustrated for sale at Carter Vintage Guitars[34] as at June 2020.
  • Number 824 (Oval hole), 1950, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 828 (Oval hole), recently restored by Leo Eimers
  • Number 831 (Oval hole), 1949, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 832 (Oval hole), illustrated on p. 242 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition) as owned by Féré Schedegger.
  • Number 833 (Oval hole), 1950, previously owned by Ken Sykora, illustrated in the JWC Guitars "Selmer Gallery" as at April 2013.
  • Number 849 (Oval Hole), 1951, previously owned by Loulou Gasté, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 851 (Oval hole), 1951, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 859 (Oval hole), 1951, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011; on sale at R.F. Charle (Paris) as at December 2018, price €28,000.
  • Number 861 (Oval hole), 1952, used on recordings in Australia by Ian Date. Listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 862 (Oval hole), 1951, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011, also subsequently in the "sold" section of www.djangobooks.com; presently owned by Michael Bauer[6]
  • Number 863 (Oval hole), 1951, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.djangobooks.com as at February 2011.
  • Number 865 (Oval hole), 1948, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.rfcharle.com as at April 2013 (http://www.rfcharle.com/HTML/GalerieA.html).
  • Number 866 (Oval hole), 1950, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at February 2011, also subsequently in the "sold" section of www.djangobooks.com.
  • Number 872 (Oval hole), 1952, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at April 2013, also subsequently in the "sold" section of www.djangobooks.com.
  • Number 879 (Oval hole), illustrated on p. 243 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition) as played by a member of "The Rhythm Brothers".
  • Number 881 (Oval Hole), illustrated on p. 243 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition) as owned by Raul Reynoso.
  • Number 882 (Oval hole), 1951, listed and illustrated in the "sold" section of www.gypsyguitars.com as at December 2014.
  • Number 884 (Oval hole), illustrated on p. 241 of "The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" (English edition).
  • Number ??? (Oval hole), 1952, listed for sale at https://palmguitars.com as at September 2018.[35]

Other Maccaferri guitars

Prior to his association with Selmer, Maccaferri had acquired a reputation for building classical guitars with some of the features incorporated into his Selmer design including the cutaway, possibly the D-shaped sound hole, and in some cases, additional bass strings (harp guitars); photographs survive of Maccaferri himself performing on such instruments during the 1920s.

Following his severance from Selmer, in 1939 Maccaferri moved to the United States and became interested in plastic manufacturing. He produced plastic classical and steel-string guitars — of similar shape to his Selmer designs, albeit with F-holes — in the 1950s and 60s, along with many musical and non-musical plastic products. Produced first under his own name, and after 1964 under the name "Mastro", the guitars were of short scale, but accurately fretted and intonated. These instruments were not a huge success at the time and are now considered oddities.[36] However, the many variants of Maccaferri's plastic ukulele enjoyed a considerable vogue in the 1950s and sold in large numbers.[37]

Maccaferri also collaborated with Ibanez guitars in the late 1970s and early 1980s to produce 440 updated versions of his original D-hole design (additional information here[38]). They were individually signed by him and are considered quite playable and collectable.

Sources
  • Charle, François. L'Histoire des guitares Selmer Maccaferri. Paris: François Charle, 1999. ISBN 2951351607.
  • Charle, François (trans. Karslake, David). The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars. Paris: François Charle, 1999. ISBN 2951351615.

References
  1. https://www.vintageguitar.com/1742/maccaferri-history/
  2. Charle, Story of... p.123
  3. Charle, Story of... p.217
  4. http://www.djangobooks.com/Item/selmer-98
  5. http://guitarbench.com/index.php/2009/06/05/selmer-maccaferri-sn-103-guitar-database/
  6. http://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/12643/selmer-guitars-background-and-observations
  7. http://datebrothers.com/selmer/
  8. Palm Guitars: Selmer Hawaiian 1
  9. https://reverb.com/item/19599396-selmer-maccaferri-1932-natural Selmer maccaferri 1932 no.181
  10. http://www.djangobooks.com/Item/selmer-conversion 1933 Selmer Conversion
  11. Ray Gallo playing Maccaferri guitar,his own comp, Song for Louis..MP4
  12. https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/gardiner-houlgate/catalogue-id-srgard10054/lot-6e85c344-5e30-4da7-91a9-a69b010e05ca
  13. https://guitar-auctions.co.uk/portfolio-post/lot-505-1933-selmer-maccaferri-orchestra-model-acoustic-jazz-guitar/
  14. Selmer 'Maccaferri Medley' - Paul Vernon Chester
  15. Palm Guitars: Selmer Eddie Freeman Special
  16. http://www.milaniguitars.com/maccaferri2012.html
  17. http://www.vintageandrare.com/showroom/product/Selmer-Maccaferri-634
  18. http://www.djangostation.com/Henri-Crolla,317.html
  19. http://oscar-aleman.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-rare-guitar.html
  20. Palm Guitars: Selmer 3 Petit Bouche
  21. What is a Macc?
  22. Django Reinhardt's guitars
  23. https://web.archive.org/web/20110829203429/http://www.eimersguitars.com/selmer504.html "!! SOLD !! Selmer 504, owned and played by Stochelo Rosenberg" (Archived page)
  24. http://www.vintageandrare.com/showroom/product/Selmer-Maccaferri-Gypsy-Jazz-No.536-1942-1705
  25. Palm Guitars: Selmer 5 Classique 1
  26. http://www.lombrail-teucquam.com: Lot 216 Selmer: Rare GUITARE jazz à petite bouche, Numéro 569, circa 1942
  27. Selmer - Oval Modele Jazz - (#575, 1942) - DREAM Gypsy Guitar!
  28. Original 1942 Selmer Maccaferri Django petit bouch Gypsy Jazz Guitar 1942 natural
  29. Selmer 607
  30. The Fellowship of Acoustics Archived 2014-01-28 at the Wayback Machine
  31. Gypsy Guitars
  32. ARTGUITARS: SELMER GUITAR N 681
  33. https://www.facebook.com/barault.jean/posts/10221761069753059
  34. cartervintage.com: Selmer petite-bouche 1949
  35. Palm Guitars: Selmer Petit Bouche 2
  36. Plastic Maccaferri
  37. Wright, Michael (3 March 2002). "Maccaferri History: The Guitars of Mario Maccaferri".
  38. http://www.djangobooks.com/Item/csl-maccaferri
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