CNN:

The crusade to find a home for a sacred electric guitar is reverberating like a thundering encore through the music business as innovator Les Paul’s Black Beauty from the ’50s is going up for auction.

The Gibson-made instrument, called the Holy Grail of Guitars by some, is being sold by Tom Doyle, the late Paul’s longtime friend, engineer, co-inventor and guitar tech.

“This happens to be the first prototype of what we call the Black Beauty. It was sent to Les in 1953, 1954,” Doyle told CNN, holding the instrument with shiny pearly inlays on the guitar neck glinting back overhead lights. “This is the beginning of the proper Les Paul guitar. “

Here’s the auction page.

And here’s a video of Tom Doyle talking about this very special black custom Les Paul.