“Leo Kottke used this guitar and described it as ‘the best‑sounding New Yorker I’vepersonally played’”: This 1942 New Yorker proves why D’Angelico’s acoustic archtops are widely regarded as the peak of Jazz Age lutherie

1942 D’AngelicoNew Yorker: the vintage archtop has a handsome brass tailpiece and decorative headstock that the NYC company would riff on in years to come.

D’Angelico guitars have always been rare beasts. John D’Angelico and his various apprentices completed approximately 30 guitars per year between 1932 and his death in 1964. From company ledgers, it’s estimated that around 1,164 guitars were built, with approximately 300 of those being D’Angelico’s New Yorker model.

D’Angelico mostly built guitars to order, and this example from auctioneer Gardiner Houlgate is no exception. Originally commissioned by a jazz guitarist called Connie Wainwright, the New Yorker was collected from D’Angelico’s workshop on 26 December 1942. Wainwright was a professional player who was described by his bandmate Cliff Smalls as “a little, short fellow”.