Historical workshops

[sebastiaan56]

I dont know hot I got there but check out D'Angelicos workshop, http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/Tours/Lillibrid ... kshop.html

There are also collections of historic tools for those who like that sort of thing,

[simonm]

Interesting. So sad the guy was killed so young. Didn't mention anything about how.

[Lillian]

John was 59 when he died. I do remember reading about it, but for the life of me I can't find the article. I want to say it was a heart attack, but I'm probably misremembering.

Here's a bit of background.

[simonm]

It was Paul Gudelsky I was thinking of - it says he was 33 when he was killed. Car accident or murder? Not mentioned.

[JJ model]

I was told at the GAL when Paul gave a presentation about John's work, John died at the age of 49, later Jimmy D Aguisto his student also live up to 49 and finally Paul a student of Jimmy was shot also at that age, sounds spooky?

[Lillian]

I was told at the GAL when Paul gave a presentation about John's work, John died at the age of 49, later Jimmy D Aguisto his student also live up to 49 and finally Paul a student of Jimmy was shot also at that age, sounds spooky?

George Gruhn's Frets Magazine, The Vintage Catalogue, April 1980 article about D'Angelico Guitars.
JOHN D'ANGELICO (1905-1964) built arch-top guitars and mandolins that have come to represent one of the highest standards of excellence in instrument making. D'Angelico, bom in New York City, began his training at the age of nine in the workshop of his uncle, one Signor Ciani who was noted for his fine, traditional-style Italian mandolins and flat-top guitars. D'Angelico also studied violin making, which later influenced his arch-top guitar designs. After his uncle died, D'Angelico ran the workshop for his aunt and managed approximately 15 employees until 1932, when he set up his own shop.

From the Ariausa site.

James D'Aquisto was born on November 9, 1935 in Brooklyn, New York. His grandfather was a custom tailor who originally emigrated from Palermo, Sicily in Italy during the first decade of the 1900's. His father, Vincent, was a skilled caster/toolmaker and his mother, Mary, was a highly skilled crafter. At age four Jimmy began displaying amazing abilities to create almost anything with his hands. One day a doctor found the very sick, six-year-old with a fever of 103 degrees carving a model at the kitchen table all wrapped in blankets.

James D'Aquisto had dealt with epilepsy throughout most of his life, and the symptoms started to become severe as he got older. During a visit to Fender in Cornoa, California, James suffered a fatal epileptic seizure and was pronounced dead on April 18th, 1995. He was 59, the same age as John D'Angelico when he passed away.