Auction Bargains

BillDaCostaWilliams · January 31

Regarding the "tortoise-shell" here is a response from mandolin café expert, Richard500:

"Nearly all of these are nitrocellulose plastics, also called celluloid, q.v. Invented by about 1860, and considered the first commercial plastic, used in a vast number of products till replaced by later, less explosive materials. Persisted in photographic films til early 1950s. Early imitation ivory and tortoise shell and later all sorts of colorations, like marble. Still available, mostly overseas, for instrument restoration.

As far as I’ve found, there are no known chemical processes to reverse or prevent the decay of this material on antiques."

billyshakes · January 31

I've seen photos of celluloid pickguards on old guitars left in cases. As it off-gases, it emits a caustic gas that, when trapped in the case, can cause corrosion of parts. You see this sometimes on old Gibsons. Here's one example:

https://www.gtstulsa.com/workbench/2013/11/8/ziba2fs3w5a9hcbpw3oneazptuzsd6

I think if it is left out on a wall or frequently played, then it isn't an issue. A lot of collectors seem to take the pickguards off when storing their guitars.

It's a neat mando. Nice sound and great style!

JasonS · January 31

Yep it is common practice to remove original celluloid pickguards on archtop guitars from the 50's or earlier. The main problem is the damage it can do to the upper frets directly adjacent to the pickguard. I have never read that it is safe to leave them on as long as the guitar is left out in the open but you usually see this discussion in the context of higher end archtops where they'd be stored in a case anyway.

My suspicion is that this phenomenon isn't as much of an issue for pickguards mounted directly to the top far away from the frets. You may see the pickguard crack and deteriorate but I don't think the off-gassing will harm the instrument otherwise.

flaco · January 31

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/116719#Comment_116719

Of course it was celluloid flowers that caused the fire that burned Django. It all comes full circle!

AndyW · February 16

Gypsy-jazz wise, there’s nothing particularly jumping out amongst the guitars in the latest quarterly big Gardiner-Houlgate sale, but this lot has the rather rare Francois Charle Selmer book if anyone is looking for it.

murrayatuptowngaller · February 17

A guy who did some work on a Gibson archtop for me kept calling celluloid 'cellulite'. I grimaced and said No, no,no, I can't unsee that vision on a guitar

AndyW · August 23

one nice ( & expensive) Favino in the UK Gardiner Houlgate sale this Autumn, but also this curiosity - surely it's had a replacement neck, but what's the body from ?

Castelluscia petite-bouche, maybe ??

-A-

Jangle_Jamie · August 24

That's quite nice looking. The press-formed back is interesting. Shame there aren't more photos. The bridge is quite a way up the soundboard (about 2cm beyond what you'd expect) and the shape of the body is not quite the same as a Selmer - quite sharp incuts between the bouts. The soundhole is also a bit larger than standard, more like a Hodson. The body reminds me of Di Mauro's St Louis Blues. I wonder what it sounds like?! I'm not in a position to take a risk on this, though it could well be a good guitar.

billyshakes · August 24

Re: the position of the bridge. I remember talking with Shelley Park about this when she was building mine. A 12-fret guitar would have the bridge almost centered in the middle of the lower bout. However, to make the longer scale length work on the same guitar, you need to compensate by moving the bridge up closer to the "waist" of the guitar. Maybe that is what is at play here, especially if you agree with Andy that it has had a new neck? Perhaps someone changed the scale length? I don't pretend to understand it completely, but I remember it making sense when she explained it to me. Here's a photo of her 14-fret D hole with a similarly positioned bridge?

What I noticed first was the amount of space in the lower end of the case. The rub mark on the top (where the lining is torn) seems forward of the bridge (could also just be parallax), but I'd guess the guitar slides back and forth in that case causing the bridge to rub on the top. Could perhaps use a little extra padding.