Favilla Deluxe Model Arch Top Acoustic Guitar, c. 1939, made in New York City, serial # 1091, sunburst lacquer finish, maple back and sides, spruce top; laminated maple neck with ebony fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
This is one of the most interesting acoustic archtops we have seen in a while, a very fancy nearly 17" wide fully carved instrument labeled "Favilla Deluxe" on the headstock. The Favilla name was a familiar sight on instruments in the NYC area from the beginning of the 20th century through the 1970s, with several generations of the family running the operation at various times before finally retiring the name in 1986. While mostly remembered now for flat top guitars and ukuleles, in their earlier incarnation the Favilla Brothers made "anything with strings" including mandolins (early on) and a small number of pro-grade archtop guitars.
The original Favilla Brothers company was formed by brothers John and Joseph Favilla after arriving in New York City from their native Italy in either 1890 or 1894, depending on which source is credited. They joined a large interconnected fraternity of Italian -American luthiers there and were well established by the 1920s in the fertile NYC-Italian market, having had facilities in lower Manhattan on the Bowery and then on Grand Street before moving to Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn. By 1930 they were back in Manhattan, settled into a larger location on West 16th Street where they would remain until 1959 when John's son Herk Favilla moved the company back to Brooklyn, then on to Long Island.
This very elaborate fully carved guitar looks to have been built sometime just before WWII, at least based on the first generation Kluson Sealfast tuners that were fitted as original equipment. Very few Favilla archtops exist, and there is little concrete information on them. Favilla branded carved top guitars were usually described as "Model A" but this instrument is much fancier than any of those we have seen. One similar guitar surfaced not too long ago recorded as built in 1953 for Philadelphia broadcasting guitarist Hal Columbo
According to his grandson Tom all carved top Favillas were personally built by hand by John Favilla, in small batches every couple of years. Some were made for individual players, including one for John's son Herk. Many of the features are very similar to John D'Angelico's guitars, hardly surprising as he and the Favilla family were very friendly. Tom Favilla wrote in the early 2000s: "Over the years there was a close relationship between the Favilla family and John D'Angelico and Jimmy D'Aquisto, truly the Stradivari of guitar builders."
It is also recorded that the last batch of Favilla archtops were partially finished out by John D'Angelico after John Favilla fell ill in 1953. While we believe this guitar likely dates earlier than that, it has a number of D'Angelico-like features. The body is 16 3/4" wide, with a proportionally wider waist than most archtops of this pattern, more like the 18" New Yorker or Gibson Super 400. The lovely even grained spruce top and subtly flamed maple back are hand carved, the sides have some discreet flame figure as well. The top and back are finished in a deep reddish sunburst and bound in multiple-ply Celluloid in a style identical to period D'Angelicos, the F-holes are triple bound. The top is parallel braced, with slimmer pieces than some builders used.
The laminated maple neck is very similar to early D'Angelico practice, with large flame maple sections flanking a thin ebony-maple-ebony center piece. It is carved to a fairly shallow "C" profile with the hint of a "V" in the first position and also finished in a shaded sunburst. The ebony fingerboard is triple bound with extremely elaborate split pearl block inlay; these are not engraved blocks but individual cut shaped pearl pieces with thin wooden inserts separating the sections, an incredibly labor-intensive way of creating this effect. There are strap hooks at the top of the heel and on the back of the headstock.
The somewhat Gibson-like headstock is also very fancy, triple bound with a large inlaid pearl Favilla crest logo, shaped pearl "DeLuxe" logo block and a large abstract engraved inlay with a very Art Deco look. The headstock is fitted with original gold-plated Kluson Sealfast tuners with metal buttons which first appeared in 1938. The gold plated metal tailpiece has six individual string tubes cast in; it is engraved Favilla at the base; at least one D'Angelico has been seen with an identical tailpiece with his logo on it. The hand carved adjustable ebony bridge is lightly built, as early D'Angelicos were. The large pickguard is triple bound in a distinctive Favilla shape.
This is the fanciest Favilla guitar we have seen, and the only one denoted as a "DeLuxe" we are aware of. It does not carry any date marks we can find, just an ink-stamped "1091" under the bass side soundhole, in a spot similar to the place D'Angelicos were serialized with a die stamp. While we can't say if John D'Angelico actually had a hand in helping his friend John Favilla build this particular guitar, there are many distinct similarities in the instruments; it is possible that components like the rough top, back and especially neck blanks were provided to Favilla from Kenmare Street, about a 20 minute walk downtown from their 16th street shop. In any case this is a superbly made, beautiful looking and great sounding Deco-era orchestra guitar fully worthy of comparison to the other great makers of the period, a much more genuinely "Deluxe" instrument than the fairly plain flat tops the Favilla family are remembered for. John Favilla died in 1956; the Favilla name continued but nothing like this was ever built again; this guitar is a testament to his unfortunately largely forgotten skills as a world-class archtop builder.
Overall length is 42 in. (106.7 cm.), 16 3/4 in. (42.5 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 5/16 in. (8.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This guitar shows evidence of some serious play along the way, well worn but with but no major damage or repair. The deep sunburst finish is original with a few minor touched up spots, most notably a large scratch on the top near the back edge. There are areas of the lacquer topcoat worn through on the top and sides and quite a few pick marks and scratches to the top, mostly into but not fully through the lacquer. The back has a number of deeper dings and dents but no large areas worn away. The back of the neck is heavily worn through to the wood over much of its length from play and feels great.
There are no visible cracks or structural repairs. The hardware appears all original except the pickguard, recently re-created with love by luthier James Carbonetti using the original 3-ply binding as a frame. There is general plating wear overall but everything is intact and functional. The guitar was recently perfectly refretted with period appropriate wire and a couple of small holes were patched in the heelcap. The strap hangers on the heel and headstock are typical New York fittings but were likely added along the way; otherwise the guitar appears original and unaltered through decades of use. It feels and sounds fantastic, a superb piece of NYC musical history resting in a modern HSC. Very Good + Condition.
