Chinery, Scott

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(b 1960; d Oct 24, 2000). American fretted-instrument collector, based in Toms River, New Jersey. During the 1990s he amassed more than 1000 vintage and 20th-century guitars, harp-guitars, banjos, mandolins, ukuleles, and other types representing a broad spectrum of designs, many by outstanding American luthiers and some previously owned by famous performers. His collecting activity, concentrated in a few years, drove up prices for fine fretted instruments generally and brought attention to guitars as works of art. Chinery lent generously for exhibitions and to performers, and intended to build a museum to house his holdings. His ‘Blue Guitar’ collection was inspired by a D’Aquisto Centura Deluxe model with a blue finish; Chinery commissioned 22 contemporary makers to build archtop guitars of their own design but all with a blue finish like D’Aquisto’s. Chinery also collected Cuban cigars, watches, automobiles, and comic books, among other hobbies supported by a fortune made from marketing nutrition supplements and other physical fitness products through Cybergenics, a company he sold in ...