It's an astonishing story from the guy for sure. Personally I don't buy the PR stunt, as several things don't sound right. The colour photos would have probably been faked as no-one realistically would have had colour cameras or access to colour photography in that era. The pictures are too sharp. Early colour photography was somewhat soft. The Black and white photos show a family of dare I say humble origins, and I somehow disbelieve that a Fender Stratocaster figured high on that family's budget and daily needs of survival post war years no different to England.
The serial number explanation is very iffy, the body colour as a black is very unlikely. as to my knowledge there are no examples of coloured Strats from that period. Maybe white, but there again Bruce had a Black Jazzmaster so am unsure about much of this.
Finally the price tag is likely if it was a guitar owned by a celebrity player, but a simple guy from a simple background, asking this sum is a non starter. I also think ebay charge fees on listings based on the reserve price. With an obvious failed sale likely this guy could be seriously out of pocket on a whimsical listing and perhaps doesn't realise it yet
LOL
Am ready to accept more substantive authentication such as the shop owner who could be in his 90's stating he remembered the customer or something more substantive, bearing in mind how sophisticated some scams can be and many examples of FrankeinStrats about that are supposed to be real Strats and not just body parts and a good measure of wishful thinking in the origin.
Posted: 02 Jun 2010, 21:28