Gibson Offering $59,000 Reward to Find Missing Shipping Ledger

Gibson Guitar is ponying up to see if than can recover a bit of music history, putting forth a $59,000 reward in hopes of uncovering their missing shipping ledgers from 1959-1960.

That period was an especially great one in the 126-year-old history of Gibson, with some of the company’s top guitar models being created during that year span. The 1959-1960 shipping ledgers in question disappeared from Gibson’s archives around thirty years ago and may have never made the move with the company from Kalamazoo, Michigan to its hometown of Nashville, Tennessee.

The Gibson family is currently seeking assistance in finding the missing ledgers, and upon authenticity of the 1959-1960 ledger’s return, the person who uncovers and safely returns the books will receive a $59,000 cash reward, no questions asked.

In addition, Gibson is also looking to recover pre-1970 documents, blueprints and unique historical assets. They’ll evaluate and examine any relevant items, determining the reward on a case-by-case basis. The guitar company reserves the right to validate the information provided and to authenticate the materials submitted before issuing the rewards, which may include cash, Gibson gift cards, instruments and experiences.

Have you got some info or think you might have access to these items? First, send your validation request to: 59Ledger@gibson.com or Ledger@gibson.com. Emails must include a written description, photograph(s) and/or videos of the items and a contact email and phone number. The validation email will then be reviewed within 15 business days by Gibson’s Historical Committee and based on their analysis, the submitting party will be contacted with the next steps and instructions.

“As a custodian of Gibson, I am very excited about this search. I hope we can recover these ledgers as they contain important information about the pinnacle of our Golden Era,” says Gibson Historical Committee member Cesar Gueikian. “It will be interesting to see where in the world they surface, given that the last time they were seen was in Michigan. While they are dusty old books to anyone else, these ledgers are part of our history, DNA, and our iconic past. These ledgers contain the shipping information, including the serial numbers and shipping party, for the most valuable guitars in history; the Gibson 1959 and 1960 bursts.”

“It’s no wonder that for the last 62 years, many of the top players, collectors, and dreamers have dubbed the original Gibson Les Paul, produced in Kalamazoo Michigan by some of the greatest instrument builders, ‘The Holy Grail’,” says Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen. “It held an unparalleled value back then with a price tag of $245; today, the value is 1,000 times that, and, in some cases, worth so much more – monetarily, historically, artistically, and most importantly…musically cool.”

Fellow guitarist Joe Bonamassa adds, “To find the original ledgers is to unearth knowledge of a pivotal point in America’s contribution to not only guitar manufacturing but to Rock ‘n’ Roll itself.”

1957-1960 is considered a golden era for Gibson, with their Les Paul standard guitars among some of the most valuable instruments in rock history. Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Joe Perry, Slash, Rick Nielsen, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Walsh, Kirk Hammett, Mike McCready and more have all adopted guitars from this era.

Get a closer look at the 1958, 1959 and 1960 models and check out the gallery below for an idea of what the shipping ledger may look like.