Paul McCartney's '59 Les Paul

[cookieman15061]

here's another pic with the 2 legends and a les paul

 

[L5Larry]

As I posted previously in this thread, a guitar dealer friend of mine was very involved in the history and public offering of this guitar. I spoke to him at length last week regarding this guitar, and thought that everyone might find the FACTUAL history of this guitar interesting. He also tells me there has been various articles published about this guitar, most notably in Vintage Guitar Magazine, but this information has only been partially factual at best. He has also offered to let me see his file on this guitar and make copies of any and all documents and photos he has. As the history and ultimate destination of this guitar could be a book in itself (which I may write), and it has traveled around the world, before and after Mr. McCartney purchased it, I will give you the condensed version.

 

This beautiful 1960 Lefty ‘Burst (serial number 0 1482), was owned by a schoolteacher in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who liked to dabble in vintage guitars. He consigned it to a local vintage guitar dealer to sell for him. Being a “lefty” this guitar had a very limited market, and the local dealer wanted to “turn” it quickly for something he thought he could get better money for through a broader market (right handed guitar players). This is where my friend, the St. Louis vintage guitar dealer, comes in to the picture, we’ll call him Ed (because that’s his name). Ed traded him an early 70’s Les Paul Deluxe, and other “considerations”, for a total cost of about $4500.

 

Being a very notable vintage guitar dealer, Ed then began to shop it around to various well-known lefty “rock stars”. This guitar was offered to, and declined by Beeb Birtles of The Little River Band, and eventually shipped to Elliot Easton of the Cars at the selling price of $8500. Easton shipped it back saying that the price was too high. Easton also stiffed Ed on the shipping cost in both directions, which in the business is standard procedure to reimburse if the item is declined. During this time Ed had loaned some vintage pieces (including a right handed burst) to an advertising agency that used them in an advertisement for Hamilton Guitar Stands that ran in Guitar Player magazine. Seeing the ad, a European dealer eventually tracked Ed down and asked if the burst was for sale. He told him “no”, but he had a lefty for sale. By chance, the European dealer was able to contact Paul McCartney. McCartney told him he was not interested in the lefty burst since he already had a goldtop that Linda had given him for his birthday (there’s the guitar that was given to him by his wife, the goldtop).

 

Running short of “lefty” clients, Ed then offered the guitar to noted collector and guitarist Rick Neilson of Cheap Trick fame. They eventually worked out a deal in which Neilson got the lefty burst in trade for a ’63 Epi, ’65 EDS-1275 doubleneck, ’59 gold Strat, ’53 LP Std, and a ’60 sunburst LP (right handed) with a bad headstock repair. Ed was able to market these guitars to members of Heart, REO Speedwagon and others, and figures he made about $10,000 out of the deal. Rick Neilson then offered this guitar to Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos, who also declined. Neilson also had this guitar on consignment at Gruhn’s at some time, but it was a consignment deal, at no time did George Gruhn ever own this guitar, nor did he “find it”. At some time later a “deal” was brokered by a couple of other middlemen, in which the 1960 Lefty ‘Burst was sold by Rick Neilson to Paul McCartney.

 

Selling Price: $9000.00

[cookieman15061]

Why would Mccartney decline it and then by it from Nielson?

Why would Neilson trade away 5 guitars for this one?