Bozo Podunavac 'Baby Blue Standard Archtop'

1996 Bozo Podunavac Baby "Standard" Archtop.

This very fine 'Baby' Standard Archtop 8 1/4 inch wide, 1 5/8 inch deep archtop was built by Master Luthier Bozo Poduavac in 1996 for the late world renowned collector Scott Chinery of New Jersey. This fine work of art features a 'select' close-grain spruce top with herringbone marquetry and two unique sound-holes also with herringbone marquetry. Two-piece book-matched, highly flamed back with herringbone marquetry. The sides are maple with triple black lines on the top and bottom. One-piece highly flamed maple neck with a nut width of just under 1 5/8 inches, a scale length of 14 inches and a thin profile. Specific shaped headstock with black veneer and "Bozo" and a decorative flower ornament inlaid in abalone. Individual Schaller 'Rotomatic' tuners with five-sided metal buttons. Indian rosewood fretboard with 21 original small frets, inlaid Abalone triple rectangle position markers and pearloid dot side markers. Specific three-layer wood pickguard with similar herringbone decoration around perimeter. Bone bridge on height-adjustable Indian rosewood base. Specific shaped brass tailpiece secured to edge of body with three screws. Inside the bass sound-hole is the original rectangular label printed in red "Bozo Guitars / Bozo Podunavac". Additionally, above the label is a small blind stamp "Bozo Podunavac" preceeded by "508-006" stamped in black (larger letters). There is yet another identical small blind stamp "Bozo Podunavac" beneath the label. This very fine instrument is in mint (9.50) condition. Housed in the original 'zipper' shaped black hardshell case with blue plush lining (9.25).

Bozo Podunavac is now 86 years old, living in Florida and still making guitars for specific clients…
We sent him detailed photographs of the guitar and he has confirmed that he made this instrument specially for Scott Chinery in 1996. He currently charges between $4,000 and $8,000 depending on the amount of work involved.

Bozo Podunavac (pronounced bo-zho pod oo nav ack) is a Serbian born master luthier / guitar builder who emigrated to the U.S. in 1959. He was raised in Belgrade, Yugoslavia and served his apprenticeship with master luthier Milutin Mladenovic and graduated in 1950. He moved to Chicago, when he came to the US and for a time worked in the repair department of a musical instruments dealer and manufacturer. In 1964 he opened his own shop and began building guitars with his name "Bozo" on the peghead. Bozo apprenticed in the old world tradition of his homeland, and relishes building highly ornate instruments. Whether plain or fancy, his guitars have a very distinctive "voice," and tone. They are particularly well balanced and have a commanding presence. He is best known for building a few guitars (6 & 12 strings) for Leo Kottke back in the early 70's. Bozo left the Chicago area in the mid 70's and moved to Southern California and opened up his shop in San Diego along with a school of lutherie. During this time he "licensed" several of his designs to a Japanese firm that proceeded to build several hundred "Bozo" guitars, some with laminated back and sides, some all solid wood construction. Bozo had some health problems and stopped building his handcrafted instruments. He was then "rumored" to have died in the early 1980's, and as the Mark Twain saying goes, the rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated. Bozo is now in his 70's, and lives in Lindenhurst, Illinois with his wife, Mirjana. He has resumed building custom order guitars again, both ornate and plain, all with that unique "Bozo" sound. Many of his guitars, especially from the 1960's and early 1970's were Brazilian Rosewood, of course. Now he prefers to build with East Indian Rosewood or some beautiful Koa from one of his old students now in Hawaii. He builds 6 to 8 guitars a year and his hand built masterpieces now number over 500 and each is unique and wonderful. The works of a great master will live on. His instruments are already treasured by collectors and players for their quality, style and design. They are truly playable works of art.

The Man with the Blue Guitar by Wallace Stevens…  
“They said, 'You have a blue guitar, / You do not play things as they are.'  
The man replied, 'Things as they are / Are changed upon the blue guitar.'"

Wallace Stevens was himself inspired by Picasso's 1903 painting, “The Old Guitarist"