This old archtop guitar is like a cat with nine lives and it mixes so many legends into one tale. From being the most sought-after archtop brand to getting lost in the back of an old Cadillac, the future songs still waiting inside its soundholes must be monsterous!
This gorgeous 1942 D’Angelico Excel arch top was discovered in the back of an abandoned 1963 Cadillac. It is currently owned by Jerry Duncan of Guitars on George music store in York PA.
Somewhere in the rural backroads of Maryland several years ago, a salvage company was clearing out the property owned by a deceased man. The final item to remove was a 1963 Cadillac that was rotting away in the backyard. “All four wheels were flat,” said Duncan, “and the wheels were sunk into the muddy ground at least six inches deep.” It was obvious that the car had sat there for years and possibly decades.
The salvage company hooked the car up to a flatbed tower and, just before hoisting it out of the ground, decided to check under the seats and the trunk before taking it to the scrapyard. They found roughly $12 in coins under the seat. When they checked the trunk, they found a guitar case. Inside was the D’Angelico.
The archtop guitar was handmade by John D’Angelico and completed on May 26, 1942 in New York City. It bears the serial number 1562 and was sold to Mr. Earl Hutchins. The name, “Buddy Hutchins” is engraved in one of the inlay blocks.
Duncan has tried to track down any history of Buddy Hutchins but has been unsuccessful so far.
I asked Duncan about the guitar’s condition when first discovered. “The neck was detached from the body,” said Duncan. “Basically, the glue dried out. That’s it!” He added, “the biggest miracle is that the truck was sealed tight. The guitar stayed dry inside there for all those years!”
The salvage company took the guitar, along with the other contents of the house to a country auction where the guitar sold to an uneducated crowd for a measly $147.00! The winner, knowing he had a score on his hands, sold it to Duncan and made a major profit.
Duncan then took the rare axe to local luthier legend, Jeff Hostetter. “Jeff told me that he had to re-glue the entire guitar.” There were also minor cracks that were fixed and a new Excel logo placed on the headstock. “The salvage guys probably dropped the original logo in the trunk and never noticed it,” said Duncan.
Currently, Duncan has the D’Angelico Excel on eBay for a “buy it now price” of $15,500.
Duncan simply asks that the purchaser not put the guitar in the truck of their car when they pick it up.
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