Fans of vintage guitars, and certainly anyone who’s ever dreamed of owning an original Black Beauty, Goldtop or ’59 Sunburst, will definitely want to check out this great article in the latest edition of Gibson’s Backstage Pass.
According to David Bonsey, musical instrument honcho for mega-auction company Skinner Inc, a ’59 Les Paul like the one pictured here not only sold for a small fortune, but it’s got a great story to go along with it as well––
“It had been pretty heavily played, but it also had nearly all its original parts,” he recalls. “The owner and his wife were retired. They were living in a trailer and were hoping to get enough money from the sale of the guitar to build a log home. The owner figured the guitar was worth around $100,000, but in fact the guitar ended up selling for $295,000. They built themselves a really nice log home. Above the fireplace there’s a plaque that says, ‘The House That Les Paul Built.’”
And if you think that price is a bit steep, wait ’til you see the rather battered looking ’58 Gibson Explorer that Bonsey brokered… it sold for a chest-clutching $600,000 in October of last year (2006.)
Ouch. Ouch. Ouch… It hurts just to say it.
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April 28th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Interesting article! Have been checking out the site and really like what I see, Great work!
April 28th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Thanks Tyler… it’s funny, I recently discovered the Intellectual Musician as well — good stuff : )
I’ve always meant to branch into some instructional posts, but it looks like you guys have got it well covered. I fully intend to point some of my readers in your direction in the near future.