Evart Acuff #15

1941 Evart Acuff #15

One night I was sitting in my living room with my girlfriend Tracy and she was going through an estate sale site looking for furniture for us to refinish and sell. Her eye for furniture has really improved lately and she has found us some really great pieces. As she was going though the different locations she turned to me and said; "I've found something, but I don't know if I should show you..." Of course this peaked my interest into what on earth she could have found. She handed me her phone that had a violin on the screen. It looked like it was in good shape, the shape kind of reminded me of a viola, a little larger than a violin. The two piece back also had some nice flame patterns and a nice inlay front and back. On the back was stamped two letters... E.A. I had been buying violins for about a year and had a few of them restored for resale. This violin had my interest and I though that it would be good to go pick it up at the sale. Then Tracy told me to look closer at it and see who made this particular violin. I looked and to my surprise the maker was Evart Acuff from Maryville  Tennessee. Not more than three months earlier a violin built by Evart Acuff was in the national news because Violin #19 belonging to Roy Acuff, Evart's nephew, was being sold on the online site  shopgoodwill.com. This violin at the estate sale was #15, built four years earlier than Roy Acuff's fiddle. Ok... So now this violin has my full attention. I have to go and get this fiddle, no if, ands or buts. 

That whole week I could think of nothing else but going and getting that violin. I knew the approximate location where it would be sold, but I wouldn't know for sure until the day before. I tried to do research on the fiddle before we went, but really there is nothing out there except about #19. I did also find a photo of #36, the last one made, online, but nothing about the history of the instrument. 

Finally the day had come for me to go to the estate sale and try to get this little piece of country music history. We live in Harriman Tennessee and the fiddle was in South Knoxville close to Seymour heading toward the Smoky Mountains. The sale opened at 8:00 am and I planned on making the Hour and a Half drive so I could be one of the first ones there. Unfortunately, we were slowed down in traffic and didn't make it until 8:15. With something this huge, 15 minutes can make a big difference. Knowing that every second counted, Tracy dropped me off while she parked the car. There was a really large crowd and several people were carrying different antiques that I had seen on Tracy's phone. The fiddle had to be here somewhere. I circled the whole sale before I spotted the violin case by the cash register. I just knew that I was too late, but I at least wanted to see it because this one would probably be the only one I would have a chance to be around because there was only 36 built. I got in line and waited for everyone in front of me to buy their items. Tracy joined me in line and pointed to where I thought it was sitting. When we got to the front, I asked the lady there if the fiddle was sold. Surprisingly, she told me that no one has bought it yet and it was there in the case. So I asked her the big question... How much is it? She scrunched up her face and sucked air through her teeth hesitating to tell me the amount. She said it was pretty expensive and told me the price. The day before I sat down and talked with Tracy's daughter Sam and we had set my self a limit to spend and I told myself that there is no way that I would go over that amount. The lady gave me a really big number, but it just so happened to match my spending limit. So, even though I was 15 minutes late, I was still able to walk away with probably one of the biggest pieces of country music history I will ever own. 

As Tracy and I was walking back to the car with the fiddle under my arm, several people came up to me and asked if they could just look at it. Then this one lady came up to me, Ms. Sandra Warwick. She said to me; "I know you just bought the fiddle and thats fine, but can I just see it and get a picture of it? I'm Evart Acuff's Granddaughter." I was floored... Not only did I get to buy it but I got to meet the granddaughter of the person that built the fiddle.