Les Paul loved Bob Dylan. When he was in his 20s he would play an acoustic guitar with a harmonica holder he had crafted himself out of a coat hanger and some wood, he also felt a kinship between Dylan's early music and his own playing in the 1930s. According to the consigner, Les was enthusiastic about the idea of giving this acoustic flattop to Dylan. Les played the guitar in his kitchen, checked it out, and then said, "make sure you hand it to him, it's a nice guitar!" Les at first misspelled Dylan's name as "Dilan," then corrected the mistake. Under Dylan's name he wrote, "Howdy!" and signed. Unfortunately the guitar never reached Dylan, but it stands as a testament to Les's respect for one of his favorite musicians.

Lester William Polsfuss was an inventor and musician. A talented musician as well as inventor, Les Paul is credited with various recording innovations and his skilled guitar playing, however he is probably best known for helping to design the Gibson Les Paul.

The consigner of these items, Ron Lovely, worked directly with Les Paul and was the one to bring various guitars that Les had signed to the artists they were meant for. The two men, who were friends for 20 years, began their "guitars to stars" tradition over a beer one night. This started off a tradition of artists giving guitars to each other _ something Les did frequently _ as well as artists signing and giving guitars to Ron Lovely, as he was a part of the network of friendly artists.