Home » Santa Clarita News » Peeples Place » Peeples Place At KHTS: Auction Of Historic Gear From Les Paul Collection Raises Nearly $5M For Foundation

Peeples Place At KHTS: Auction Of Historic Gear From Les Paul Collection Raises Nearly $5M For Foundation

 

paul_les_auction_posterVisit the Peeples Place at KHTS portal.

The Les Paul Estate and the Les Paul Foundation tied in with Julien’s Auctions in downtown Beverly Hills Friday and Saturday, June 8-9,  for a marathon auction of guitars, amps, recording gear, memorabilia and lots more from the electric guitar and multi-tracking pioneer’s personal collection.

According to Julien’s, the auction was a record-breaker, raising nearly $5 million. Big-ticket items included a 1927 Gibson L5 sunburst guitar which sold for $87,500; a Les Paul Touring Rig ($81,250), the 1982 Gibson Les Paul prototype recording model ($180,000), a collection of Les Paul research notes($28,125), a Gibson Les Paul Custom 80thbirthday guitar ($75,000), the Les Paul Recording console ($106,250), a 1950s white Gibson Les Paul flat top with extensive technical notations ($75,000), a custom vintage Les Paul NY license plate ($10,000), the Les Paul Iridium Club sign ($40,625) and various Les Paul guitar schematics ($40,625 – $22,500).

Other highlights included a 1950s Elam 251 Telfunken microphone belonging to Les Paul ($28,125), a Gibson Les Paul recording model ($56,250), Les Paul Gold record awards ($10,625), a Les Paul sound panel ($11,875) and the Les Paul “Paulverizer,” a custom switching device created by Paul in 1956 ($22,500).

In addition to the 1982 Gibson which sold for $180,000, other highly anticipated guitars won by bidders included Paul’s 1940s Epiphone Zephyr known as “Klunker #3” ($144,000) and his 1951 Fender No-Caster ($216,000).

Paul died Aug. 12, 2009, and the auction coincided with and celebrated what would have been his 97th birthday on Feb. 9.

When I visited Les at his home and studio in Mahwah, N.J., in May 1991, to interview him for the book I wrote to accompany his four-CD Capitol boxed set, “The Legend & The Legacy,” he showed me rooms and rooms with with dozens of guitar cases stacked high. They were production models, prototypes sent to him to check out, gifts, his own experimental models, and more.


 Sign up for the Peeples Place at KHTS email alert. Get a heads-up on the latest post.


The Julien’s auction pulled them out of their darkened cases so the rest of us could see what they look like. And it was mind-boggling, a guitar-player’s wet dream, and a real 

paul_les_auction_skp_8tracktreat for anyone interested in Les Paul, recording history, or electric guitar design and development.

Les Paul, the author, and the world’s first eight-track recording machine, not included in this auction, mug at Paul’s home studio in Mahwah, N.J., May 1991. Photo: Russ Les Paul Jr.

It was also the last time these items would ever be in the same place. Now, the guitar players, collectors, museums, investors, fans and others who bought parts of this historic collection will scatter these items to the far corners of the planet.

Julien’s (www.juliensauctions.com) did a first-class job curating and staging the event, with beautiful displays, a full-color inch-thick catalog suitable for any coffee table and smooth integration of bidding between those in the room and those online. Bidders and fans were able to participate by watching the stream at www.julienslive.com and Julien’s was posting the winning bids for each item (http://ow.ly/bsYYN) in real-time.

paul_les_auction_060812What will never come through the pics, video or stream is the aroma.

The Mahwah house and studio was nearly four decades old by my 1991 visit, and it had a certain musty but not unpleasant smell, in part because of all the gear.

At Julien’s, walking into the various rooms where similar gear was sorted and stacked, the same aroma was omnipresent.

The smell goes with the gear. So whoever won the bids on that stuff got not only the hardware, but also the authentic Mahwah studio aroma as a bonus.

Proceeds from this auction will benefit the nonprofit Les Paul Foundation and its events and programs designed to keep Les’s legend and legacy alive and thriving.

Find out more at www.lespaulfoundation.org.paul_les_auction_skp_rp_ps_060912

Above photo:
(c) Stephen K. Peeples – www.stephenkpeeples.com.

For many more SKP photos from the auction, click here.

For exclusive Peeples Place videos from the auction:

On what would have been his father’s 97th birthday, Russ Les Paul Jr. chats with Stephen K. Peeples at Julien’s. Links to the interview videos are just above. Photo: Peter B. Sherman/Getty Images.

Visit the Peeples Place at KHTS portal.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
In addition to his “Peeples Place” blog, Stephen K. Peeples is a writer/reporter for KHTS News (www.hometownstation.com) and SCVNews.com in the Santa Clarita Valley, and host, writer and co-producer of the WAVE-nominated “House Blend” music and interview television series on SCVTV, community television for the SCV (www.scvhouseblend.com). A former SCV music/entertainment columnist for The Signal (2004-2011), Peeples is a Grammy-nominated record producer (“Monterey International Pop Festival,” MIPF/Rhino, 1992), an award-winning radio producer (“The Lost Lennon Tapes,” Westwood One, 1988-1990) and an award-winning online editor (The Signal website, 2007-2011). For more information, email skp@stephenkpeeples.com or visitwww.stephenkpeeples.com.

 

Peeples Place At KHTS: Auction Of Historic Gear From Les Paul Collection Raises Nearly $5M For Foundation

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About KHTS FM 98.1 & AM 1220

As Santa Clarita’s only local radio station, KHTS FM 98.1 & AM 1220 mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, along with your favorite adult contemporary hits by artists such as Rob Thomas, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Maroon 5. We are vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community. Our broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. We stream our talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience.