The Les Paul Estate and the Les Paul Foundation tied in with Julien's Auctions in downtown Beverly Hills for a two-day auction of guitars, amps, recording gear, memorabilia and lots more from the electric guitar and multi-tracking pioneer's personal collection on June 8-9, 2012. Paul died Aug. 12, 2009, and the auction coincided with and celebrated what would have been his 97th birthday on June 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.
