“I struggle to think of any Fender that surpasses a Mary Kaye Strat in value or collector appeal”: Body dated January 1956, the first of its kind, played on an Aerosmith album – is this the holy grail of all holy grail Fender Stratocasters?

Fender Mary Kaye Stratocaster: As the very first ‘Mary Kaye’ spec Stratocaster, it’s fitting that it came with a small collection of the guitarist’s ephemera.

Gretsch had the Chet Atkins 6120, and Gibson offered various Les Pauls – but Fender’s most famous artist signature model was never officially anything of the sort. It’s maybe because the guitars were selling like hot cakes that Fender is better remembered for its manufacturing processes than marketing strategies.

Unlike all the other big US guitar manufacturers, Fender never bothered with artist signature models during the pre-CBS era. Even so, the Mary Kaye Stratocaster eventually acquired that status in a de facto sort of way and has become the ‘holy grail’ of vintage Fenders for many serious collectors.