Lot 239: The first guitar that Paul McCartney was taught to play on, a REX acoustic circa 1950s

Description: The actual guitar that Paul McCartney was first taught chords on. This highly significant guitar was owned from new by Ian James, McCartney's good friend from the Liverpool Institute grammar school, where they met in the second year. Ian, an avid guitar player from a very musical family, taught Paul, on many occasions, his first set of chords and how to run the first riffs in the latter part of the 1950's, when Rock and Roll first hit the shores of Liverpool.

Mr. James recalls that, "This is how Paul and I formed a friendship - through music. More so with the arrival of Rock 'n' Roll when we would visit all the travelling fairgrounds around Liverpool to listen to all the latest records being played, he recalls further Paul would come to my house after school and sometimes I would go to Forthlin Road. We would sometimes have a session, with his brother Mike on his set of drums, Paul on piano and me on the guitar."

Ian hung out with Paul long before the Quarrymen were even an idea, and recalls he was present, with this guitar on the historical day that McCartney first met Lennon at the Woolton Church fete. He explains, "I had it on the evening of the Woolton Fete when Paul met John earlier that day and he phoned me to suggest I go to the church that night as they (the 'Quarrymen') were planning to play there. I arrived there and was introduced to John (Lennon). We all practised for a while deciding who should sing what. It was an easy decision. Whoever knew the words would sing the song. But to no avail, the vicar walked in and said the gig was off. I can't remember why. The others decided to go to a local coffee bar and play a few numbers, I think the owner was a relative or friend of John's. But by this time I'd had enough of show-business and decided to go home."

Interestingly, Mr James also elaborates on the significance of this guitar. "It's possible John may have handled the guitar that night and it's also more than possible that George (Harrison) may have played it as I went to his house on a couple of occasions to teach him a few chords. He had more of an interest in playing melodies but felt he needed to know some chords." Ian went on to form his own group, The Mateys, in which he continued to use this guitar.

The guitar is a Rex acoustic, of foreign manufacture, serial no. 459 7124, in sunburst finish, laminated wood body with single round cutaway, laminate top with f-holes, twenty fret fingerboard with dot inlays; wooden bridge, metal tailpiece; and a beige soft guitar cover.

The guitar is accompanied by: a signed letter from Paul McCartney dated 24 March 2006 on his personal headed paper which reads, "The above guitar belonging to my old school pal Ian James was the first guitar I ever held. It was also the guitar on which I learnt my first chords in his house at 43 Elswick Street Liverpool 8"; a black and white photograph of Ian James with this guitar, taken by Paul McCartney at James' house in Liverpool in 1957; and, a colour photograph taken at McCartney's MPL offices in London by Ian James on 24 March 2006 of Paul McCartney with this guitar and the aforementioned photograph of Ian James..

Estimate: £ 100,000-150,000

Additional information: It is well documented in the annals of Beatles history that Ian James was a good school friend of the young McCartney, and that he can be held responsible for being one of the select persons who turned McCartney on to the wonders of music and most notably 'Rock n Roll'. He is mentioned in the Beatles official biography by Hunter Davies, and in fact McCartney himself was quoted in press releases for his 1999 album 'Run Devil Run', when discussing the cover of 'All Shook Up', that featured on the album.

"I have the loveliest memory of All Shook Up. We were mad Elvis fans before he went into the Army. We thought the Army made him a little too grown up, but he was fantastic. Anyway, back in Liverpool me and my best mate, Ian James, who I still know, we used to go around in these draped flecked jackets. We thought they were really cool, that you could not have a more cool item of clothing, and we would wander around the fairgrounds in Liverpool trying to pick up girls. We thought the girls would come flooding to us, us being in these jackets. But of course they never took any notice of us'.

It is telling that McCartney has remained a friend after all these years and is also willing to acknowledge the significance of this particular guitar in being a catalyst to the development of one of the leading musicians of the 20th century. A truly significant instrument and probably the best authenticated Beatles' instrument, or indeed Beatle related item, to ever appear on the auction block - having a signed letter from one of the Fab Four themselves is the ultimate provenance and a rare piece in its own right.

Lot 117: Frank Zappa, Gibson Les Paul Gold Top Guitar, 1952/53

Description: This guitar was customised by Frank Zappa who used it on stage and in studio during the mid-1960s. According to his interview with Steve Rosen of the Guitar Player magazine in 1977, this was his main guitar before he acquired his famous mid-60s SG.

A 1952/53 Gibson Les Paul model, in gold/natural finish, single cutaway mahogany body with maple top, bound mahogany neck, twenty-two fret rosewood fingerboard with crown inlays, headstock facia with Les Paul MODEL, one P-90 single coil pickup, one single coil pickup, one humbacking pickup, six rotary controls, toggle switch, pick-up selector switch, metal bridge with Bigsby tremolo tailpiece; and an original brown Lifton hardshell contour case painted green with pink plush lining.

Estimate: £ 80,000-100,000

Additional information: With his trademark moustache and goatee, Frank Zappa was controversial, original and provocative leader of The Mothers of Invention. Composer and guitar hero, Zappa recorded the Mothers 1966 debut 'Freak Out' one of rock's first double albums, on which he used this guitar.

The vendor of this guitar was living in the San Francisco Bay area in 1967 an hanging out with bands like Big Brother and Quicksilver Messenger Service. It was during this period, as a keen guitarist, that he acquired the guitar. It has been in his possession until this day.

Lot 183: The Quarrymen, an acoustic guitar used by members of the first incarnation of the Beatles, circa 1958

Description: A Spanish-style acoustic guitar, make unknown, steel strung, pine-coloured top, the rest of body and neck light oak-coloured. The guitar is accompanied by copy of letter of provenance from Mona Best explaining, "This guitar was bought by me in Liverpool for the benefit of my Son Peter. He was learning to play prior to taking up playing drums. The guitar was frequently and regularly used by the Group as The Quarrymen, later to become the Beatles, then consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison at the Casbah Coffee Club in the basement of my house No. 8 Haymans Green. Although they owned their own guitars, John, Paul and George used my guitar at my house."

Estimate: £ 25,000-30,000

Additional information: Overall length approx 31 inch (94 cm).

Lot 91: Pete Townshend - a Gibson SG Special broken guitar body, 1969

Description: A broken rosewood body from a Gibson SG Special guitar smashed by Pete Townshend, when playing on the North American leg of the Who's 1969 tour. The body has the holes where the original Vibrola would have been removed prior to being used, a standard modification by Townshend. The full black wraparound pickguard with white binding is still held in place by just two of its original screws, (these full pickguards usually appear on 1966–1970 models). The corner of the body, where the knobs and switches usually are, has broken completely off, along the line of the backplate to the electrics. No electrical parts are present except a single wire poking out from the hole where the lower pickup would have been. One cutaway point at the top of the body has also completely snapped off.

The guitar piece is accompanied by a letter from Tony Haslam, a former lighting engineer for the Who. He explains how the, "S.G. Special broken guitar body was owned, played and smashed by Pete Townshend of The Who on the North American tour in 1969. This guitar body was retrieved and kept by myself after one of the gigs from this tour."

Estimate: £ 8,000-10,000

Additional information: The earliest appearance of Townshend's use of the Gibson SG Special (other than one he borrowed in 1966 from a support group the Tages) is July 1968, likely purchased at Manny's Music, New York. Throughout his use of this guitar from 1968–1971, he usually used 1966–1970 models, which feature the full black wraparound pickguard. He did, however, occasionally use pre-1966 models, which feature the small pickguard, especially in 1971 as the available supply began to dry up. Pete stopped using these guitars in 1971 when Gibson had changed the production specification and the existing supply dried up.

Lot 119: A Martin acoustic guitar M-21 played by Carl Perkins, 1996...

Description: with Martin & Co. Limited edition The Martin Guitar Company label inside, signed by two Martins - CF Martin III (now deceased) and CF Martin IV. This guitar, a 1984 Martin M-21, serial number 452534 was played by Carl Perkins on his 1996 album titled Go Cat Go on which Perkins was accompanied by headline acts such as Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, and others. The beautiful guitar has the same cosmetics as the more common OM-21 but with a larger body. The depth of the body is the same as an OM or 000 Martin. The guitar has a Sitka spruce top with a D-28 (Dreadnought model) style rosette and scalloped internal bracing. The back, sides, fretboard and bridge are all solid East Indian Rosewood. The guitar is fitted with chrome enclosed tuners, bone saddle and corian nut, and comes in an original Martin hard case.

Estimate: £ 2,000-3,000

Additional information: The guitar is accompanied by a receipt dated Jan 1985 for its original purchase. A letter from Jim McCullough to a Mr Daniel Terry dated 11th December 2003, confirming that the guitar was played by Carl Perkins during the recording of the 'Go Cat Go' album and a photo of Carl Perkins playing the guitar in the studio.

Lot 120: David Bowie / Trevor Bolder / Ziggy Stardust - Spiders From Mars, Gibson EB3 Bass Guitar

Description: The Gibson EB3 guitar owned and played by Trevor Bolder whilst a member of David Bowie's band The Spiders From Mars, serial number 956416. Used when playing with Bowie on his The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars albums and tours. Bolder can be clearly seen playing the guitar in the 1983 film Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - The Motion Picture.

Estimate: £ 12,000-16,000

Additional information: Trevor Bolder's first real break in the music business was in 1971 when he played on David Bowie's Hunky Dory album. He also played with Bowie on his The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars recordings and tours. He also played on Dana Gillispie's album Weren't Born As a Man before joining the Mick Ronson Band in 1973. The band broke up in 1974, but not before releasing Slaughter on 10th Avenue. Bolder went on to form the Spiders From Mars in 1975. They released one self-titled album. Next up, Bolder was John Wetton's replacement in Uriah Heep. This move was in 1976 and he stayed with that band until 1981. They recorded four albums during his tenure. When Heep essentially broke up in 1980, Bolder played on Ken Hensley's solo album. By 1981 he hooked up with Wishbone Ash, ironically again as Wetton's replacement. He only stayed with Wishbone Ash for a short time, though, returning to Uriah Heep in 1983, this time as Bob Daisley's replacement. Literature: www.ubl.com.

Lot 121: A Zemaitis acoustic guitar, in case, 1980

Description: A 1980 Zemaitis acoustic guitar, in natural finish, maple body, spruce top, mahogany neck, twenty-one fret maple fingerboard with red dot inlays, maple headstock face, 'D' shaped soundhole with two black pickguards; and black contoured hardshell case with green plush lining. Signed inside by the Zemaitis luthier 1980.

Estimate: £ 3,000-4,000

Additional information: Tony Zemaitis, 1935-2002, became a cabinet maker working on high quality furniture at the Chelsea Studio to which some of his items finished up in Windsor Castle. Since making guitars in the 60's, Tony's guitars featured various sound holes, heart shaped, moon shaped (for Donovan), D-shaped and others. Tony was making around 6 to 10 instruments a year for customers like Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Ronnie Wood, Dave Gilmour, Donovan, Spencer Davis, Long John Baldry, Tony McPhee, Marc Bolan, Peter Frampton, Greg Lake and many more. Tony retired from guitar making in 2000, but continued to be active contributor to the Zemaitis guitar owners club.

Lot 215: George Harrison / Spike Milligan owned Ltd Edition Silver Series Fender Stratocaster guitar

Description: A Fender Squier Stratocaster, Serial No. L-036415, given as a gift from George Harrison to Spike Milligan. In black finish, double cutaway body, maple neck with skunk-stripe routing, twenty-one fret fingerboard with dot inlays, three pickups, selector switch, three rotary controls, tremolo bridge/tailblock, six adjustable saddles with white pickguard; and original tweed hardshell case with orange/red plush lining.

Estimate: £ 15,000-20,000

Additional information: The guitar is accompanied by a letter on Fender musical instruments Europe headed paper from Jamie Crompton, artist relations manager, Fender Europe, dated 16/3/03 that reads 'To whom it may concern History of Fender Stratocaster no l-036415. This guitar was delivered from Fender Europe to legendary Beatles guitarist George Harrison he personalised the instrument and had it "set up" to his specification. George Harrison gave the guitar to the genius comedian/poet/author, and musician Spike Milligan. Spike passed the instrument on to international Session Guitarist based in London Troy Tempest.