1946 Selmer Petite Bouche #618

Selmer Petite Bouche #618 from 1946, in very nice original and restored condition.

Here is a superb example of the timeless model produced by Selmer, manufactured in the last years of its guitar production period. It condenses all the elements developed and refined over almost two decades preceding its construction, which made this type of guitar quickly dominate the European jazz scene from the 1930s onwards, particularly thanks to the intervention of Django Reinhardt. We find the typical folded top in the style of Neapolitan mandolins, the small oval mouth to which the model owes its nickname, the body and neck joined at the 14th fret, a width at the nut reduced compared to that of the first period… The instrument also presents its tuners and tailpiece stamped with the Henri Selmer brand.

It is interesting to note that this guitar is one of the very first instruments built in the post-war period, as production was laboriously starting up again: under the Occupation, the output from the factory was in fact absolutely minimal since there was only one worker left, Lucien Guérinet, to work in the workshop up until 1942, after which no instrument seems to have been completed until the Liberation. According to the factory ledgers, orders began to be completed again in September 1946, a month before the construction of #618. Another particularity of this guitar is the construction of its body, where the usual spruce of the top is complemented with sides and a back in veneered wood whose outer sheet is mahogany – whereas the majority of Selmers have a outer sheet made of rosewood. In total, only 34 petite bouche / 14 fret models are listed as having been built with a mahogany body, a particularly rare feature among the approximately 900 Selmers ever built! In any case, we note that this particular construction gives the guitar a particularly pronounced power and resonance; the character of this instrument is very different from that of the Selmers that we usually come across.

Expertised, prepared and adjusted in our workshop with complete refrettage and making of a new string guiding nut, this Selmer is perfectly optimised for playing.

Sold in a modern shaped case, accompanied by its certificate of authenticity made by Jérôme Casanova.