Django's Levin archtop?

lucky · November 2023

Apparently the guitar didn’t sell, I’m not even sure if it got any bids.

I’m curious to know what folks think it is worth. An identical guitar is currently on eBay for about 3k, so if we take that as a baseline what value does the Fred Guy/Duke Ellington/Django connection realistically add to it?

The Django connection is the hardest to evaluate. He may only have held it for half an hour and for all we know didn’t actually play it (he’s certainly posing for the photos but its its not unreasonable to think that he had a strum). That still makes it virtually one of a kind, how many guitars are there in private collections that Django is known to have played, even briefly? That must give it some value.

billyshakes · November 2023

I think the answer to the question of "how much value is added" for the Django connection is really up to the buyer. If someone decides that they want to own the guitar that Django is holding in the photos, then there is only one of those and this one is pretty much proven to be it. The provenance is sound as can be seen from the photos and the pickguard spots, etc.

Papa John sold his '71 Camaro for $2800 to start his pizza business. Years later, he went looking for it. He put up a website, media blitz, etc (read that as spending $$$ on the search). He also offered $250,000 for the actual car. The guy that owned it had just bought it a few years prior for ~$4000. So I'd say Papa John paid quite a premium and the recent owner made a great investment without knowing it!

My guess is, the owners of this guitar are hoping that someone is willing to pay a similar premium for it. Clearly the auction results are showing that they haven't yet found that one person willing to do so.