Christie's to Auction Bill Carson's 1959 Stratocaster

On October 13, 2006, the New York office of Christie's auction house will offer the 1959 Fiesta Red, custom-built Stratocaster that Fender made for Bill Carson, a Western Swing guitarist and Fender employee whose career with Fender spanned more than 40 years. Carson began his association with Fender as a part-time assembly person and product development field tester and had a significant influence on the evolution of the Stratocaster.

Among the custom features are the use of the Fiesta Red finish, the matching headstock, gold hardware, a thick rosewood slab fretboard, and a custom shaped neck with a shallow profile and a 1 7/16" nut width. According to Christie's Lot description, "This instrument, partially made by Carson, was for his own personal use. Carson states that the guitar was later passed to the guitarist Neil LeVang for product placement purposes."

Provenance includes two letters from Bill Carson dated February 9, 1996 and February 15, 1996, both of which are included in the sale (as is the instrument's case).

The Carson Strat is Lot 1 of Christie's October 13, 2006, Musical Instruments auction (Sale 1714) that takes place at their Rockefeller Plaza office in New York. There are five different ways interested parties can participate in the sale, including the relatively new Christie's Live online method whereby you place bids via your computer during the actual live auction.

Two other Stratocasters will also be auctioned: Lot 7, which is a 1963 Stratocaster in a custom sparkle finish (originality of finish is not stated in the Lot description as of this writing); and, Lot 8, a 1962 Stratocaster.

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