NO RESERVE. Henri Miller was a stringed instrument manufacturing company located in Poussay, France, in Vosges near Mirecourt, where numerous luthiers and violin makers still build instruments today. The company is probably best known for the moderately priced classical guitars they made during the 1960s, but they also made a few rather good gypsy jazz guitars inspired by the Selmer models that Django Reinhardt played.



This black guitar was obviously inspired by the design of Selmer’s “petite bouche” guitars, but the distinctive oval soundhole was rotated by 90 degrees. It appears to date from the 1950s and has a white plastic pickguard, ivoroid binding, bridge, rosette, and block fretboard inlays that beautifully contrast the black finish and ebony fretboard. The Selmer-style tailpiece is decorated with an engraved ballerina figure.




Serial number: none
Top: Spruce, black finish
Back and sides: unknown
Neck: unknown
Fretboard: Ebonized with zero fret
Frets: 20
Bridge/tailpiece: Ivoroid, metal Selmer-style trapeze
Tuners: Enclosed slotted machine with embossed flower covers and white plastic buttons