A Gretsch given away by Jimmy Page in a 1974 NME Magazine competition is headed to auction – and could fetch up to £50,000
A guitar once owned by Jimmy Page and given away by the Led Zeppelin man as part of a competition – hosted by none other than our sister title NME in 1974 (then New Musical Express) – is headed to auction.
As the story goes, the guitar – a 1957 Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120 electric – was the prize in a competition titled ‘Win Jimmy Page’s Own Guitar’. That edition of the magazine featured a photo of Page in cricket whites holding the competition guitar like a cricket bat.
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The guitar was originally bought by Jimmy Page in Nashville in 1972 for £200, approximately £2,373.78 in today’s money, according to the Bank of England.
But the guitar found itself to be the prize of the NME competition two years later. The rules of the competition were such that entrants had to match six iconic guitars with the famous guitarists who owned them. The ultimate winner was Charles Reid of Hornsey, north London.
Credit: Gardiner Houlgate
At the time, Reid was quoted as saying: “Page must be mental giving away such a terrific guitar as this. It’s the kind of instrument that every guitar player dreams of owning but can never really afford.”
After owning the guitar for over 15 years, Reid sold it to Phil O’Donoghue of Chessington, Surrey in 1990 for £2,000. The guitar remained with O’Donoghue until his death earlier this year, and is now being sold by his family.
While £2,000 in 1990 would be worth approx. £4,956.28 today, the guitar’s provenance means it’s expected to fetch quite a bit more than that when it sells in the near future through Gardiner Houlgate. The Corsham auction house estimates that the guitar could sell for between £30,000 and £50,000.
Credit: Gardiner Houlgate
Auctioneer Luke Hobbs explains: “Very few of [Jimmy Page’s] guitars come up for auction and when they do, they attract huge interest from collectors, investors and fans of Led Zeppelin.”
The winning bidder will not only receive the guitar, of course, but also a copy of NME showing a photo of Page giving the guitar to Reid, as well as correspondence and receipts linked to the giveaway.
The auction itself will take place at Gardiner Houlgate, 9 Leafield Way, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 9SW on Tuesday, 9 September, but will also be available for public viewing on 5 and 8 September from 9am-5:30pm, too.
For more information, head to Gardiner Houlgate.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
