Django's Guitar
Above is the guitar immortal, Jean "Django" Reinhardt. The instrument is a Selmer Modele Jazz. It was made by Selmer in conjunction with Maccaferri. Only 885 were made, production ceased in 1952. This guitar could cut through background music with a loud, sharp edge to the sound. In the pre-electric days guitars were drowned out by the other instruments, even resonators could not completely overcome background music. This is the very reason electric guitars were invented. Django endorsed Selmer, they gave him some of the guitars he later sold or gave away.
Because Reinhardt was extremely generous, it is thought that many of these were given to friends. Today there are only two known for sure that he owned. This is number 503, he played it until his death in 1953.
This is 704, confirmed shipped to Reinhardt in 1948. (The clerk wrote 'Django Raynal' in the records). Somewhere it got the top crushed and the distinctive oval sound hole has been replaced. It was recently restored using 50 year old spruce.
There are plenty of Selmers that Reinhardt may have owned, but these are the only two known for sure. But if you find one, for God's sake hang onto it, or better yet send it to me.
Look at his left hand. When he was a young man just married, his wife had a hobby of making artificial flowers out of nitrocellulose. His trailer (or caravan, as the English call it) caught fire. Nitro C. burns like a roman candle. He saved his wife but was injured so badly that doctors wanted to amputate one of his legs. Those two fingers on his left hand were paralyzed for the rest of his short life, and he is regarded as one of the best guitar players of all time. Here is a link to some of his music. I think you will agree that this is not bad for a man who only had two working digits on his left hand.
Sheer determination.
Au revoir, monsieur le génie.
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