Les Paul's "NUMBER ONE" Set to Shatter All Records

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Now that worldwide buyers and collectors have had a chance to absorb the magnificence and unbelievably historic significance of Mr. Les Paul's "NUMBER ONE" 1952 Les Paul Goldtop guitar, high-end buyers, collectors, aficionados, museums curators, and historians alike are simply astounded, clamoring, and ready to spend millions to attain the Masterpiece. The legendary Les Paul is being offered by Christie's Auctions in New York on October 13, 2021, at The Exceptional Sale, which features the very best of the best that the famous auction house has to offer. This is the guitar that started it all… The Les Paul Guitar that changed the world, literally!

Despite the very low and conservative starting estimate figures Christie's posts on the historic guitar, industry insiders, collectors, aficionados, and well-known musicians alike are expecting Les Paul's "NUMBER ONE" to break all previous auction records. All are hailing this seminal ground breaking instrument as so much more than a guitar, and beyond iconic. The very physical manifestation of the beginning of the beginning of Rock & Roll, and rock stardom as we know it over the last 50+ years. This guitar represents the very foundation and creation of an entire era of music. It isn't often that one can specifically pinpoint and actually hold the beginning of a phenomenon, but here it is for the entire world to see, appreciate, and marvel at the contribution of Les Paul, his life's work, and the magic of the Les Paul guitar. A tangible legacy of music and sound throughout the world.

"It would not surprise me at all if this dislodges the Kurt Cobain Martin guitar for the top honors as the highest selling guitar at auction at $6.2 Million. It's Les Paul's Les Paul! It's more comparable to Paul Newman's Paul Newman Rolex [which sold for $17.8 million dollars] except Paul Newman didn't personally design the Paul Newman Rolex!" says auction expert Sheila Gibson Stoodley of The Hot Bid.

Venerated, world renowned vintage guitar dealer Rudy Pensa of Rudy's Music New York City says, "There is no other guitar like this… it's the only one in world, it is THE ONE! This guitar is way beyond a guitar at this point. To say that it's iconic is such an understatement. Its value both historically and monetarily, is beyond imagination."  

Jeff "Skunk" Baxter of Steely Dan & Doobie Brothers fame said, "This is the Genesis, the 'singularity' of all Les Paul guitars. I cannot imagine rock & roll without the Les Paul guitar. Les' NUMBER ONE is beyond valuable and will most likely shatter every record known at auction, a fitting tribute to my friend Les."

"There are rare guitars and there are legends. Les Paul's cherished "Number One" Goldtop is the latter: Truly an historic instrument… The fruit of nearly three decades of labor, it was Les' most cherished possession… The Jewel in the Crown," says acclaimed industry leader Guitarist Magazine UK.

LES PAUL IS THE ONLY MAN ON EARTH TO BE INDUCTED INTO BOTH THE
ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME AND THE NATIONAL INVENTORS HALL OF FAME

"My father spent a lifetime chasing his dream. It took almost three decades from his first experiments to finally receiving this Gibson Les Paul Goldtop in 1952. Getting this guitar officially made by Gibson was his crowning achievement. This is "THE ONE" that started it all for Dad… and is probably the most historically significant, iconic, valuable, and culturally significant guitar that the world has ever seen. The very genesis of the world renowned Les Paul guitar, and the very essence of my father. In my opinion, this guitar belongs in the Smithsonian next to Neil Armstrong's boot from the moon landing, it is a National Treasure," says Gene Paul, Les' son.

This guitar is THE Guitar that Les Paul himself, Gibson, and the world over would now call "The Les Paul" from here on out. Les Paul's "Number One" 1952 Goldtop is the seed from which all our favorite music and musicians grew. This guitar was the birth and inspiration for all the other Gibson Les Paul guitars that came after. The one that started it all... The guitar that Mr. Les Paul got busy modifying, testing, tinkering on, transforming and experimenting on, and used well into his career until the early 1970's - at which time he bestowed it to his trusted confidant, Tom Doyle. Of course, this is the guitar that Les Paul posed with for all of those early photo ops, news reels, promo shots, press releases, advertising pieces, and probably most famously demonstrated on the Omnibus Television Series hosted by Alistair Cooke in 1953. It was considered revolutionary.

This Les Paul Guitar made all the rest possible... Countless rockstars, combined with this guitar's inimitable sound have made the music that set the benchmark and tone for Rock and Blues music for the last half century... and for generations. It is simply impossible to separate the Les Paul guitar from the Les Paul guitarist at this point. The Les Paul guitar has changed the music world forever!

Les Paul's "NUMBER ONE" is expected to garner perhaps the most ever paid for any guitar up to this point…and rightfully so, given its importance, cultural significance, and place in the pantheon of musical history, which is unparalleled. There has never been anything like this offered at auction before. Simply incomparable and incalculably valuable, a celebration of the genius that was Mr. Les Paul, and the beginning of the Gibson Les Paul guitar.

For more information please visit:  www.lespaul1.com

Christies auction info: www.christies.com/lot/lot-6338680

To arrange an interview or for more info contact
Kate Richardson: [email protected]

MEDIA CONTACT:
Kate Richardson / Richlynn Group
Phone: 615-970-7474
[email protected]

SOURCE Tom Doyle & Gene Paul