Paul Kossoff's 1959 Gibson Les Paul to be auctioned

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Kossoff's original '59: note the wear to the maple top…

Paul Kossoff's 1959 Gibson Les Paul

Legend of the Les Paul, Free's Paul Kossoff, will have his famed 1959 Gibson Les Paul put up for auction later this year.

Once recreated by Gibson's Custom Shop in 2012, Kossoff's LP has a certain degree of wear and tear on its maple top, which displays a green-ish tint, while the pickups are original PAF humbuckers.

Kossoff owned the Les Paul from 1970 until his death in 1976, after which his close friend Arthur Ramm acquired the guitar - now, almost 30 years later, it's being put up for auction for the first time.

Paul Kossoff's 1959 Gibson Les Paul is being offered for auction on 10 December at Bonhams Knightsbridge - see Bonhams for more.

Mike has been Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com since 2019, and an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict for far longer. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and 15 years' experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. His writing also appears in the The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock as Maebe.