Django, the Epiphone guitar and Eugene Vees

PapsPier

Hello I invite you to have a look to a new series of pictures offered by the courtesty of the grand son of Eugene Vees.
It confirms without a doubt that the Epiphone guitar played by Django on the Rodeo Club footage of 1946 belonged to Eugene: you can see him play this guitar in different contexts.
There are also a quite rare picture of Django with Eugene Vees and Jean Guiligou Vees a violinist (pere d Eugene et oncle de Django) and a beautiful picture of the cousin trio: the sons of Django, Joseph and Eugene playing for Naguine, in Django's trailer.

Hope you'll enjoy these pictures

Page dedicated to Eugene Vees (scroll down to a special diaporama of the new pictures

spatzo

I finally understood how to thumb something...

Eugène Vees is and has always been one of my favorite guitarists among Django's rhythm men.

I also think that the Epiphone of the Rodeo Club in 1946 was Vees's one. We can also notice that knobs on Django's one are different (left is black and right is white or transparent) one with the other. The position of the knobs is also different as Django's ones are orientated leftwise when on later models that are orientated rightwise.

The photo of the Epiphone played by Loulou without any knobs could indeed match Django's one with three holes (two for the knobs and left one for the jack) in the same position.

I always have had serious doubts that Django when he arrived in NYC in 1946 bought an old Epiphone that was produced in 1939 (almost 7 years before) as was Epiphone #3442 as indicated in The Epiphone database

New York Plant (Epiphone), USA,
(Produced) in 1939
Production Number: 3442

Here's the database for Early Electric Epiphone guitars (from http://www.guitarhq.com/epiphone.html#serial)

" Serial Numbers, 1935 to 1944, electric instruments only.
With the start of the Electar model line in late 1935, Epiphone began a new serial number system for their electric instruments only. These numbers are die-stamped and are between 3 and 5 digits in length. Usually they are located on the top rear of the peghead. Since these numbers were applied before the instrument was painted, the serial number only gives an approximate age (especially on less popular instruments such as electric banjos and electric mandolins).

Year Number Range
----

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1935 001 to 249
1936 250 to 749
1937 750 to 1499
1938 1500 to 2499
1939 2500 to 3499
1940 3500 to 4999
1941 5000 to 6499
1942 6500 to 7499
1943 7500 to 8299
1944 8300 to 9999"

Django-Vess's Epiphone was probably setted exactly like this one:
hkjs-collectables.com/kjs_detail.php?picid=image1&id=150&prodtype=ttp://

Tks for the new photos Paps!!!

Teddy Dupont

I doubt that Django ever actually owned an Epiphone.