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Lot Essay
Born in 1900 in Cento, in the center of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, Mario Maccaferri was apprenticed to the luthier Luigi Mozzani by the age of 11. Having excelled in both the performance and production of classical guitars Maccaferri was not above bringing new ideas to guitar construction. In 1932 he partnered with the Parisian firm, Selmer & Cie, to design a guitar that would be tonally loader and bolder than any on the market.
Though Maccaferri's contractional relationship with Selmer was short lived the company continued to produce guitars based on Mario's overarching designs while dispensing with other aspects synonymous with his acoustic ideas. The exceptionally large body was fit with a canted soundboard, movable bridge with strings that terminated at a floating tailpiece much as in violin or mandolin setup. This combination attributed to the extraordinarily loud volume and sustain the guitar produced. By 1936 the large "D" shaped soundhole gave way to a smaller oval hole, dubbed the "Petite Bouche". With an increased string length and innovative cutaway allowing access to the 14th fret, the guitar became the indispensable tool for European jazz guitarists needing to be heard, whether over an orchestra or in a raucous Parisian club.
The outcome would be Selmer’s Modèle Jazz guitar made famous by the Parisian Gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Recognizing the growing fame of the Gypsy guitarist, Selmer rebranded the guitar the Modèle Django Reinhardt in 1939 until dropping that moniker later in 1940. It is estimated that only forty of these named guitars were ever produced.
Though Maccaferri's contractional relationship with Selmer was short lived the company continued to produce guitars based on Mario's overarching designs while dispensing with other aspects synonymous with his acoustic ideas. The exceptionally large body was fit with a canted soundboard, movable bridge with strings that terminated at a floating tailpiece much as in violin or mandolin setup. This combination attributed to the extraordinarily loud volume and sustain the guitar produced. By 1936 the large "D" shaped soundhole gave way to a smaller oval hole, dubbed the "Petite Bouche". With an increased string length and innovative cutaway allowing access to the 14th fret, the guitar became the indispensable tool for European jazz guitarists needing to be heard, whether over an orchestra or in a raucous Parisian club.
The outcome would be Selmer’s Modèle Jazz guitar made famous by the Parisian Gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Recognizing the growing fame of the Gypsy guitarist, Selmer rebranded the guitar the Modèle Django Reinhardt in 1939 until dropping that moniker later in 1940. It is estimated that only forty of these named guitars were ever produced.