Les Paul's Personally Owned Gibson Guitar Case That Carried First Les Paul Guitar in 1952 - This incredible piece of guitar history is the original Gibson guitar case in which the infamous Les Paul carried the first Gibson Les Paul guitar. In 1952, Les Paul and his wife Mary Ford sailed from the United States to England to play for the Queen Elizabeth II, who at the young age of 25 had just become the head of the Commonwealth after the death of her father. This case is where Les Paul carried his first Les Paul guitar made for him by Gibson, while sailing from New York City to Southampton, England aboard the Cunard White Star Queen Elizabeth. Incredibly, the guitar case retains the original label that reads: "NAME: Lester Polfuss/SHIP: Queen Elizabeth/SAILING FROM: New York/SAILING TO: Southampton". Upon Les Paul's return from England, this case remained at the Gibson plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan until it closed in 1984. At the time of the closure all of the remaining guitars and cases were sold to Gibson employees, and this particular case was purchase by a lifetime employee with a Les Paul Jr guitar in it. She later sold the guitar and this case to a vintage guitar dealer from Detroit, Michigan named Gordon Lupo, who eventually took it to Les Paul who played regularly at Fat Tuesday's Nightclub in New York City. The story was written about by Vintage Guitar Magazine, as shown in the included reference photos. This case and its story was also featured in a book titled "The Les Paul Legacy," written by Les Paul's closest friend Robb Lawrence. This case was then purchased by our seller approximately 12 years ago from Gordy's Guitars, and it has been in a private collection since. This is truly a one of a kind, iconic piece of guitar memorabilia that has garnered a multitude of compliments, admiration and envy over the years.