According to Guitar World, the first production model Gibson Les Paul to be approved by its namesake is set to go on sale at New York-based auction house Christie’s on October 13th. The instrument was thought to be designated by Les Paul as his "Number One" around 1951 or 1952. 

Christie’s consultant Kerry Keane says: "In any creation narrative there are always multiple protagonists, but the name Les Paul ranks at the pinnacle when discussing the electric guitar. His lifelong search and development in perfecting the electric guitar would forever change the instrument. That transformation is responsible for the successful careers of generations of guitarists that performed on the Les Paul guitar. This guitar physically embodies his endless passion that produced the most iconic musical instrument in popular culture."

Les Paul’s "Number One" Gibson Les Paul will be auctioned off as part of Christie’s New York's Exceptional Sales lot, which opens on October 13, 2021. Its estimated value is $100,000-150,000 US.

Look out for a major feature on this historic instrument in Guitarist magazine soon including the untold story of how Les Paul and Gibson gave birth to the company's greatest electric guitar, plus a deep dive into the mods and specs of this iconic guitar. 

Read the complete report here. Auction details can be found here.

Les Paul was a GRAMMY award-winning musician and a prolific inventor responsible for the development of multitrack recording and the development of the solid-body electric guitar; the significance of his pioneering inventions on the history of music cannot be overstated. Les Paul is the only person to have been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

In 1950, faced with the loss of market share after the successful launch by Fender of an electric solid-body guitar, the management team at Gibson realized that the electric guitar phenomenon was here to stay. To develop one that would be both unique and excel in fulfilling the needs of musicians they sought the help of Les Paul in both the design and marketing of this new product. In 1952, Les Paul and wife Mary Ford were household names; their recording How High the Moon had reached Number 1 on the Pop Charts with thirteen other recordings charting in the Top Ten. Thanks to radio and then television, Les Paul’s prowess as a guitarist was known globally. The ‘Number One’ Gibson Goldtop was one of Paul’s most- prized possessions. It represented the culmination of his lifelong dream to electrify the guitar, and it validated his life’s work in his search for tone.

As a result, the name Les Paul became a proper noun forever linked to one of the most iconic electric guitars in popular culture, and inspired the creativity for generations of musicians worldwide. Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Peter Frampton, Pete Townsend, Keith Richards, and Slash, represent just a tiny sample of the artists who credit Les Paul and this guitar as their muse.