A guitar once owned by Led Zeppelin legend Jimmy Page is expected to fetch up to £50,000 ($70,000) when it goes under the hammer this September.
The instrument in question is a 1957 Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120—a vintage gem Page bought in Nashville back in 1972 for just £200. What makes this guitar so unique, however, is not just its sound or its history—it’s that Page gave it away for free in a 1974 New Musical Express (NME) magazine contest.
At the time, readers were challenged to match musicians with their guitars, and one winner, Charles Reid, got the lucky break. Reid later recalled thinking, “Page must be mental giving away such a terrific guitar as this.”
Reid eventually sold the Gretsch in 1990 for £2,000 to Phil O’Donoghue, guitarist for the rockabilly band The Wild Angels. After O’Donoghue’s passing earlier this year, the guitar was consigned to Gardiner Houlgate, a UK auction house known for handling music memorabilia. The auction is scheduled for September 9, 2025.
Accompanying the guitar is a collection of original materials, including:
- The original NME magazine issues
- Letters and correspondence from the competition
- A signed photo of Page holding the guitar, famously posing with it like a cricket bat
Auctioneer Luke Hobbs noted that instruments connected to Jimmy Page are extremely rare and highly prized by collectors. “When a Page-owned guitar comes to market, it creates real excitement,” he said.
While Page is best known for his work with Gibson Les Pauls, this Gretsch represents a quieter piece of Zeppelin history—one with a story that spans five decades, a magazine giveaway, and now, a chance for one lucky bidder to own a true rock relic.
