Fans of vintage guitars can spot a Wandré from miles away. The rare and cherished instruments were built by Antonio Vandrè (aka Wandre) Pioli in Italy from 1957 to about 1969—and their distinct shapes and finishes make them pieces of playable art. (Pioli added the acute accent mark to Wandré, the brand.)
The Paris-based shop Guitare Collection and its owner Daniel Zeiller have acquired an unprecedented collection of Wandrés—and this month, they listed them all on Reverb.
With more than 70 guitars in total—the result of 50 years of collecting—Zeiller says his Wandrés include "all models and colors" of the strange and vibrant wonders, including a Bikini, four hand-painted BBs, four Selenes, three Soloists, five Waids, and many more.
"I have built this collection over nearly 50 years. I bought my first Wandré when I was just 18 years old. At the end of the 1960s, it was in flea markets that you had to go to find them," Zeiller tells Reverb. "No one wanted these guitars, but I did. I caught the virus and kept looking for it and buying it."
A few years back, his collection was even larger. Zeiller says he sold some of his guitars to an American collector, "which really boosted the prices." And even after this sale of nearly 80, he'll still have some in his private collection.
Asked about his favorite models, Zeiller says, "I have a lot of them but I think the one I like best, because it's the rarest, is the Bikini. There are also the hand-painted models. Wandre was friends with Brigitte Bardot and Salvador Dalí—if you compare the signatures, it makes you wonder where Antonio Wandre learned to paint."
Check out some of Zeiller's most eye-popping Wandrés for sale in the gallery above. And find them all at Guitare Collection.