#0001 – Les Paul’s Personal 1977 Gibson 25/50 Anniversary Les Paul Prototype
Carter Vintage is honored to announce the upcoming sale of a truly historic instrument: We are offering the first special commemorative guitar – Gibson’s #0001 25/50 Anniversary Les Paul, a limited-edition Custom designed for 1977 to commemorate 25 years of success with the Les Paul model, and the milestone also coincided with 50 years of Les Paul’s career in show business.
This is Les Paul’s personal prototype #0001 for the 1977 Gibson 25/50th Les Paul guitar. This rich tobacco-sunburst guitar is more than a collectible – it was owned, played, and signed on the back of the headstock by Les Paul himself. This guitar has been preserved just as Les left it from the last time he played it. The strings are the last set Les played and nothing has been touched since he put it in the case. For decades, this Gibson stayed in Les Paul’s possession. It was part of the legendary collection sold at Julien’s Auction in June 2012 – an event co-hosted with the Les Paul Foundation on what would have been Paul’s 97th birthday.
Lester “Les” Polfuss, Les Paul was the inventor of the solid-body electric guitar and collaborated with Gibson to design the most iconic and top selling guitar in Gibson’s history. Les was a gifted entertainer, guitar wizard, genius mind, and a pioneer of recording technology. Every detail of this guitar reflects that legacy. The headstock bears the commemorative inlay and a beautiful 25/50th logo on the headstock and is inscribed on the truss rod cover Les Paul Anniversary, confirming its identity as Gibson’s 25th-anniversary tribute to the Les Paul model and Les’s 50th year in music.
The tobacco burst finish over a figured maple top has aged beautifully under Les Paul’s care, and the gold hardware – including Gibson-branded tuners and bound ebony fingerboard with unique split-block inlays – remains in exceptional condition. The back of the headstock features a Gibson Prototype stamp, serial number 71318041 – #0001 as the first of 1,842 produced, Les Paul’s Signature in gold paint, and the G-35 sticker representing Les Paul’s personal inventory number for the guitar.
Key features of Les Paul’s personal 25/50 prototype include:
- Prototype Status: Serial #71318041-0001 is literally the first 25/50 guitar ever made – a historic starting point in Gibson’s anniversary series.
- Commemorative Inlays: Bold split-block fretboard inlays and a “25 over 50” mother-of-pearl headstock motif highlight this model’s tribute nature.
- Premium Hardware: A TP-6 tailpiece and coil-tap switches (cutting-edge in 1977 to grant extra tuning finesse and tonal versatility – upgrades that Les personally oversaw on these guitars.
- Signature Pickups: The humbucking pickups are custom high-impedance units chosen by Les Paul, delivering the warm, singing tone he favored in studio sessions.
- Les Paul Branding: Beyond the “25/50” logo, the headstock is engraved “Les Paul,” literally stamping Les’s name on prototype #1. No detail more clearly ties this guitar to its maker.
- Complete Provenance: It comes with its original hard-shell case (as seen in the Julien’s catalog), Les Paul’s estate sale tag, Photo of Les Paul holding the guitar, letter from Les stating his ownership, and documentation verifying its history.
This is an opportunity of a lifetime to own Les Paul’s own prototype. Don’t miss this chance to add a living legend’s instrument to your collection – a guitar that played a role in shaping music history itself.
