Jimmy Page gave away a guitar as a competition prize more than 50 years ago. Now it could be fetch nearly $70,000 when it goes to the auction block.
The 1957 Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120 electric guitar was offered as the prize in a competition run by New Musical Express magazine, now known simply as NME. The contest was announced on the October 12, 1974 issue’s cover with a photo of Page holding the guitar like a cricket bat.
To compete for the prize, entrants had to correctly match six guitars with the celebrity artists who played them, with the winner selected from the correct entries.
The lucky winner was Charles Reid of Hornsey, north London, who was clearly thrilled with his prize.
“Page must be mental giving away such a terrific guitar as this,” Reid said at the time. “It’s the kind of instrument that every guitar player dreams of owning but can never really afford.”
As Page explained in an interview that accompanied the contest, he purchased the electric guitar in Nashville for £200 in 1972.
Reid held onto the instrument until September 1990 when he sold it to Phil O’Donoghue, of Chessington, Surrey, for £2,000, or roughly $7,800 in 2025. O’Donoghue had performed with a rock group in the 1970s known as the Wild Angels. He held onto the guitar until his death, in early 2025.
O’Donoghue’s family is now selling the guitar, which is expected to fetch between £30,000 and £50,000 — about $40,000 to $67,000 — when it goes on the block at Gardiner Houlgate on September 9.
Auctioneer Luke Hobbs notes that few of Page’s guitars ever come up for auction. “And when they do, they attract huge interest from collectors, investors and fans of Led Zeppelin.
“What’s so wonderful about this guitar is that we have the copies of the New Musical Express showing the competition and even a photo of Page giving the guitar to the winner, Charles Reid,” he says.
The guitar is being sold with original copies of New Musical Express, receipts and correspondence.
Page reportedly owned another orange Gretsch Chet Atkins in his early years, which he traded in 1961 for a Gibson Les Paul "Black Beauty."
Interestingly, the guitar up for auction is the same year and model Gretsch owned by guitarist Randy Bachman.
