1958 GIBSON FLYING V

Gibson only made 98 Flying Vs during the 1950s, so when Wiltshire auctioneers Gardiner Houlgate told us it had a 1958 example, we dashed straight over

- Huw Price

Researching and authenticating guitars is clearly an enjoyable part of the job for Gardiner Houlgate's guitars and musical instruments auctioneer, Luke Hobbs, and it's clear that he got his teeth into a certain 1958 Flying V. "The guitar was purchased by the vendor in late 1990," he tells us, "and it had been imported from America to the UK in 1989 by a collector called Julian Marsh. He used to travel to the US with vintage Vox and Marshall amps and trade them for American guitars. This Flying V had come into a shop called the American Guitar Center in Washington [DC] that was run by a guy called John Sprung, and Julian got the guitar from him, along with some of the guitar's history.

"It was originally sold by a shop called the Thomas Piano Company in Newport News, Virginia," he continues. "Washington is sort of the closest big city, so the assumption is that it only travelled a short distance, but whether John Sprung got it from the original owner, we don't know.

"When he got the guitar back to the UK, Julian sold it on to Jed Johnson, another collector, but he only kept it for about six months. He contacted our seller and offered him the choice of two Flying Vs, the 1958 and a 1959 that also had some issues. After trying both, he chose the 1958 because he thought it sounded a lot better and it had its original case. But most of all he preferred the smaller neck profile."

Neck & Numbers

Mention of the neck leads us onto the most significant modification that has been made to the guitar. A previous owner decided to have the fretboard width reduced, and it now measures 40mm at the nut rather than the 42.8mm typical on Gibsons from this era. We'll refrain from commenting on the wisdom of this decision, but we can report that whoever performed the work had some skills.