About 10 years ago I bought a brown rectangular Gibson guitar case from a guy who had a pallet full of cases he was liquidating. It had a tag on the end of it which said Chet Atkins electric-gut A064. I thought it was cool and maybe it had belonged to Chet. It also had Japanses Airlines stickers around the latches where they had at one point covered the latches and hinges. I never really thought about it much more and just used it for other guitars I had lying around.
Yesterday I decided to Google the serial number and found that it matched a Chet Atkins model guitar sold at the 1999 Eric Clapton guitar auction at Christie's in New York. In the lot description it even described the case and tags.
Lot Description
A 1982 Gibson Chet Atkins Standard
Serial No. A064, in natural finish, mahogany body with single round cutaway, spruce top with round soundhole, mahogany neck, nineteen fret rosewood fingerboard, slotted headstock, wooden tie block bridge with transducer pickup, two upper bout roller controls; and a rectangular brown hardshell case with green plush lining and Lee Dickson's handwritten tie-on label E.C. Chet Atkins Gutstring A064 and adhesive paper label similarly inscribed
The Gibson Chet Atkins Standard model was introduced in 1982.
Eric Clapton played this guitar on stage in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Gibson Chet Atkins Standard/Natural
Literature
MARTEN, Neville Would You Buy A Used Guitar From This Man? Article in Guitarist, 15th Anniversary Special, Clapton Issue, June, 1999, p.67
Lot Notes
This guitar was apparently used for a stage rendition of Blind Faith's Can't Find My Way Home featuring Nathan East on lead vocal during the late '80s/early '90s concerts.
In a recent interview with Neville Marten for Guitarist, Lee Dickson said Eric used to use the Chet Atkins guitars quite a lot when he needed a gut-string for stage use...
This guitar is also pictured in the Terry O'Neill backstage shot on p.79.
I believe the guitar was purchased by the Hard Rock Cafe', which I understand sells off the cases by the pallette full. I'm more intriged by the fact this was Clapton's case. I only wish I had the guitar that goes in it.
Anybody have any idea of the value of the case given it's providence? It sold with the guitar for $40,250, but i realize that was essentially for the guitar.
