Julien’s Auctions and the Les Paul Foundation Announce More Memorabilia and Events for Estate of Les Paul Auction

By: Staff 

Julien’s Auctions, the world’s premier entertainment and celebrity estate auction house and the Les Paul Foundation have partnered for an auction of extraordinary property and collection of guitars, equipment, musical artifacts and personal effects from the legendary musician, engineer and inventor Les Paul. The auction event will take place on June 8-10, 2012 in honor of what would have been Paul’s 97^th birthday.

Additional highlights have been added to the extraordinary auction event and can be viewed online at www.juliensauctions.com beginning today.  Added to the already remarkable collection of guitars, amps, inventions and professional equipment from the Les Paul estate are personal items such Les Paul research notes all in his own handwriting (Lot #125, Est: $300-$500), A Mickey Mantle signed baseball to Les (Lot #200 Est:$500-$700), Les Paul guitar schematics (Lot #205 Est:$300-$500), A Les Paul handcrafted harmonica rack and vintage Hohner harmonica along with photos of a young Les Paul as a young musician Rhubard Red and notations of his own explanations (Lot #463 Est:$1,000-$1,500), A Les Paul signed passport (Lot #333 Est: #00 – $500) A hat from guitar legend Slash gifted to Les Paul (Lot #363 Est: $4,000-$6,000), Several lots of letters written between Mary Ford and Les Paul, (various estimates), Three Gold Les Paul Record awards (Lot $286, Est: $600-$800) and vintage furniture pieces from his New Jersey home, photographs, correspondence, jewelry, clothing and many other items.

In addition to the hundreds of guitars in the auction other highlights include a pair grey Altec playback monitors used in Les Paul’s main studio in his Mahwah home (Lot #99 Est: $1,000-$1,500), a Gibson 3GI Violin Bass with handwritten history and notes by Les (Lot#116, Est: $1,000-$1,500), A sixteen by one mixing console built by Les’ brother-in-law Wally Kamin onto a support desk with casters. This was the mixing table in Paul’s main studio (Lot# 728 Est: $6,000-$8,000), Late 1930s, early 1940s Kalamazoo KM11 Mandolin (Lot#629, Est: $400-$600), Les Paul acoustic wall panel which was created, hand-cut, stained, lacquered and mounted by Les Paul in his Mahwah home. Paul created these innovative panels for his Mahwah home main studio (Lot#217-281, Est: $300-$500 and several microphones used by Les Paul or Mary Ford personally on stage or in studio, some with photos of the artists.

Les Paul, born Lester Polsfuss in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 1915, was on his way to making his mark on the history of 20^th Century music at an early age.  He was born with an inquisitive streak that he described as, “…curiosity and I got a double dose of it.  I’ve never stopped trying to figure out what makes things work or how to make things work better.”  It was this curiosity that spurred his lifelong quest to find the perfect sound in his instruments, recordings and performances.

His efforts produced one of the first solid-body electric guitars, which went on to become one of the most widely played and recognized guitars in the world, the Gibson Les Paul.  Paul not only revolutionized the sound of the electric guitar, but also the technology behind modern day sound recording.  Les Paul pioneered innovative techniques with sound-on-sound recording and commissioned the first 8-track tape recorder, which would become the core technology behind multi-track recording still used today. Although many, some of the guitar highlights include:

• 1968 Prototype Gibson Les Paul Custom Recording Model (Est. $60,000 – $80,000).  White flat top with Bigsby tail piece and note in Paul’s hand reading, “Reward this is the property of Les Paul A.K.A. Lester William Polfuss…Mahwah, New Jersey USA…”  The guitar is featured on page 350 of his autobiography Les Paul In His Own Words.
• 1951 Fender Nocaster serial number 1751(Est. $40,000 – $60,000). Butterscotch with black pickguard, neck date “5-10-51 T.G.”, no body date, with original thermometer case.  Guitar has replaced volume and one tone pot but originals are present.  This guitar was personally gifted to Les Paul by Leo Fender who signed the back of the headstock “Leo Fender.”  The guitar is uncharacteristically light weighing only 7.4 pounds.
• Early 1940s Epiphone Zephyr serial number 7133– Klunker #3 (Est. $14,000 – $16,000) Blonde, electric trap door model arch top with two chicken head knobs, one volume and one a toggle switch, with bard door opening in the back and Paul’s aluminum support system which led him to use solid body construction.  This is one of three early experimental models called the “Klunkers” by Paul, featured on pages 120 and 121 in his autobiography Les Paul In His Own Words.
• 1927 Gibson L-5 Sunburst Cremona serial number 87230 (Est. $10,000 – $15,000) Hole drilled through the original pickguard, back re-finished, no original case.  This is one of the two L-5s purchased by Les Paul, then going by the name Rhubarb Red, at Gibson in Kalamazoo Michigan with his friend and band mate Sunny Joe Wolverton in 1933.  Paul discusses the trip and purchasing this guitar extensively in his autobiography.  He later gave this guitar to a friend Dave Moran requested the guitar be returned to Paul upon his death.
• 1952 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop(Est. $14,000 – $16,000) No serial number, Trapeze tailpiece, tuners have been changed to Grover’s, pat. Pending with original case.  This is one of the very first Les Paul guitars produced.   The back of the headstock is hand signed, “Les Paul.”  The guitar is pictured on page 238 of Paul’s autobiography Les Paul In His Own Words.
• Boss BCB-6 Pedal Effects In Case (Est. $3,000 – $5,000).  Six Boss pedals including: chromatic tuner TU-2 white, super chorus ch-1 blue, digital delay DD3 silver, digital reverb/delay RV3 grey.  The case also contains tools including a pair of Les Paul’s sunglasses and has all of his settings recorded on masking tape.  This is the gigging case used by Les Paul during his weekly shows at both Fat Tuesdays and the Iridium Jazz Club for decades. 3 ½ by 25 by 11 inches
• 1955 Steinway B Grand Piano In Ebony (Est. $20,000 – $30,000) Steinway & Sons New York original piano, serial number 348128-B (NA-K1304  3035), from Les Paul’s legendary main recording studio in his home in Mahwah, New Jersey, this is the only piano used for recordings made in the house and was a personal gift from Henry Z. Steinway, great grandson of the company’s founder and the last Steinway president of the company from 1955 to 1977.
• Early 1970s Ampex MM1000 (Est. $3,000 – $5,000) Sixteen track recording machine using two inch tape, with custom VSO, serial number 260, with AC cable and side block.  Has been re-built in good condition.  This was the first Ampex sixteen track machine and is one of the most sought after sixteen track machines to this day.  This machine was used in the downstairs recording studio at Les Paul’s Mahwah, New Jersey home. 65 by 41 by 27 ½ inches
• Late 1960s API Recording Mixing Console (Est. $40,000 – $60,000)  Twenty eight by sixteen console believed to be one of the first few made with the desireable configuration of twenty eight mic line input channels and sixteen buss.  Originally a twenty-channel mixer with an eight-channel side car added later, three 12 point patch bay main console and 144 patch bay on side car. Modules include: five – 558 EQs, one – 550 EQ, four – 553 EQs, 9 – Aengus 8 band EQs, one – old school audio mic pre 580 series size, two – 525 compressors, one – 575 oscillators, one – talk back module, four – 553 EQs, sixteen buss BU meters, and an elaborate master section with buss and cue system.  The board is made by Automated Processes Inc. of Farmingdale New York, one of the most notable American made mixing consoles.  Original masking tape label with channel identifications in Les Paul’s hand including, “channel 1 Les Guitar.”  45 by 99 1/8 by 35 ½ inches
• Les Paul’s Touring Rig (Est. $5,000 – $7,000) Gibson LP1 guitar amplifier pre-amp controller serial number 1038.  A prototype designed by Les Paul featuring Plexiglass panel on front with “Les Paul” two channel amplifier with a normal and box switch, crossover switch, vibrola switch.  Les Paul’s markings in red nail polish indicated his settings on the knobs and Plexiglass panel.  Single fifteen Altec Lansing speaker with high frequency horn and a power amp both built into the cabinet.  This was Paul’s long-time tour rig and is features on page 291 of his autobiography Les Paul In His Own Words. Head 5 ½ by 21 by 15 Cabinet 24 by 24 by 15 inches

Exclusive Press Call at Beverly Hills Gallery:

Monday, May 29, 2012 beginning at 10am PST

Public exhibitions May 30, 2012 – June 8, 2012, 10am – 3pm PST daily, not including Sundays

Registering to Bid

Registration is required to bid in this live auction and can be done either in person at the exhibitions and auction or by visiting JuliensLive.com before the sale or by calling (310) 836-1818.

Placing Bids

There are four ways to bid in this sale:

1.Bid through Julien’s Auctions Online Live in Real Time at JuliensLive.com.

2.Place bids in the room by attending the auction.

3.Bid over the telephone through an auction house representative, who sits in the room and conveys the bid to the auctioneer.

4.Enter Absentee bids. Absentee bid forms are printed in the back of each catalogue, and are also available by calling Julien’s Auctions at (310) 836-1818 or online at our Register to Bid page.

About Julien’s Auctions

With expertise specializing in entertainment memorabilia, Julien’s Auctions has quickly established itself as the premier auction house in high profile celebrity and entertainment auctions. Julien’s Auctions presents exciting, professionally managed and extremely successful auctions with full color high quality auction catalogues unlike any other auction company. Previous auctions include the collections of Cher, U2, Barbara Streisand, the estate of Marilyn Monroe and many more. Official website is www.juliensauctions.com.

About Les Paul Foundation:

Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Les Paul Foundation. Les Paul formed his foundation as a means to encourage young people to puruse their curiosity and innovation about music, sound and engineering. Recent grants from the Les Paul Foundation including funding multiple music education programs and to museums that tell the Les Paul story. The foundation’s comprehensive website, www.lespaulfoundation.org connects viewers to numerous resources. The mission of the Les Paul Foundation is to honor and remember the life, spirit and legacy of Les Paul by supporting music education, engineering and innovation as well as medical research.