Christie's Fine Musical Instruments Auction to Include 1954 Fender Stratocaster

by Tom Watson

On April 29, 2004, Christie's Rockefeller Plaza location will hold a Fine Musical Instruments auction. Although the core of the 145 lot auction is rare violins, several guitars are featured, including a 1954 Fender Stratocaster (see image and info below), a 1950 Gibson ES-350 (see image and info below), a 1977 D'Aquisto New Yorker Special (see image and info below), several important C.F. Martin acoustics, and European classical guitars by Hermann Hauser II and José L. Romanillos.

Visit Christie's Fine Musical Instruments overview web page for further information, including viewing dates and times, and browse the auction catalog for information regarding the lots to be offered.

1954 Fender Stratocaster Lot Number 2 Labelled at the peghead Fender STRATOCASTER/WITH SYNCHRONIZED TREMOLO/ORIGINAL/Contoured Body, serial number 0203, the body of ash with 'Sunburst' finish, the maple neck with 'skunk-stripe' routing, with original 'tweed' case. Estimate: $12,000-18,000

1950 Gibson ES-350 Lot Number 3 Labelled Style ES-350/Gibson guitar/Number A-5041/is hereby/GUARANTEED/against faulty workmanship and materials./GIBSON Inc./KALAMAZOO, MICH./USA, with two P-90 pickups, length of back 21 inches, width of lower bout 17 inches, with original case Estimate: $3,000-5,000

1977 D'Aquisto New Yorker Special Lot Number 11 Stamped internally 1107 and signed James L D'Aquisto/2-22-77, length of back 20.25 inches, width of lower bout 17 inches, with original case. Estimate: $30,000-40,000

[Images: all images copyright 2004, Christie's, courtesy of Christie's. All rights reserved.]