The 60’s were a turbulent decade. The assassination of JFK kept us fixated on the TV for days and gave us an insecurity that other decades had not felt before.

Those of us growing into our own during the 60’s were also very much affected by the war in Vietnam. We would all watch the "war lotto" to see which of our friends and loved ones would go across the world to fight in a country that we had not even known had existed.

For me, like other teens my age,  the lotto was especially painful as I had a brother that was just 2 years older than I was and I wasn’t ready to let him or my other friends leave our safe, secure Long Island town.

The 60’s was also showing pains from the growing racial issues that faced us all. Segregation, desegregation, marches on Washington. We all needed to become equals.

Many families were separated by what has been termed the "generation gap". Parents not knowing what their children were doing and children learning not to trust anyone over 30.

There was confusion and mis-trust between the "straight" and the "heads", music was going in directions that most didn’t understand.

The world was spinning out of control and we were all angry about something.
 

Then for 3 days in 1969 the world stood still

DISTRIBUTED WORLD WIDE EXCLUSIVELY BY JK LUTHERIE

BLACKGUARD- Telecaster Style Guitars from 1950- 1954 By: Nacho Banos

The Blackguard is a book about the earliest Fender Telecaster style guitars produced from 1950 to 1954 by Fender Musical Instruments in Fullerton California. The book is written in English and comes in a large 12" x 12" coffee-table format with beautiful color photos throughout, totaling nearly 2000 photos in all (aprox. 10lbs), of classic Tele’s, including Broadcasters, Nocasters, Telecasters, and Esquires. About 50 guitars are disassembled and photographed in detail, and another 20 more are pictured in beautiful settings. Along with the photos, each model year is explained in detailed text. The book is limited to 5500 number copies. All books are numbered from 0001 to 5500 in the same style as the original Blackguard Tele serial numbers (stamped on the bridge plate of front cover photo and inside the book as well). All come with a protective case. 412 pages, hardbound book. For more info see theblackguardbook.com  
Here are some pictures from inside the book. This book is incredible, the nicest guitar book we’ve ever seen. Take a look at these few photos from inside the book, and you’ll get an idea of detail and quality of photos that are throughout the book.

The Blackguard Fests in Dallas & New York
Were Great Successes

New Telecaster Book
Limited edition The Blackguard goes into great detail about early Telecasters

The Blackguard

is an appreciation book by author Nacho Baños about the earliest Fender Telecaster® guitars, those produced between 1950 and 1954. The large (12” x 12”) coffee table-style book is a limited edition of 5,500 copies, all numbered in “Tele serial number” fashion—0001 to 5,500.

The book comes in an individual hard case, and features a beautiful color presentation, with more than 2,000 images of early Telecasters. About 50 guitars are disassembled and pictured in detail. Included are a few non-truss Esquires from early 1950, a large group of Broadcasters and Nocasters, and a good selection of ’51, ’52, ’53 and ’54 Esquires and Telecasters.

At 419 pages,

The Blackguard

is divided into five chapters, one for each year from 1950 to 1954, plus a final “nitty gritty” technical section in which every component of the Telecaster is pictured and explained in detail. Most secrets pertaining to the manufacturing techniques used for these parts are revealed here, supported by factory documentation, Leo Fender’s personal cost notes, patent prints, Radio-Tel inventory sheets, invoices and other historical documents.

Great pictures of legendary Blackguard players in action abound in the book—players including Redd Volkaert, Waylon Jennings, John Beland, Jim Weider, Bill Hullet, G.E. Smith, Keith Richards, Danny Gatton, Roy Buchanan, Jimmy Bryant, Bruce Springsteen, Arlen Roth, Vince Gill, Mike Stern, Marty Stuart and others. There are forewords by Volkaert, Weider, Beland and Ole Fuzzy, plus special contributions by Hullet and luthier David Eichelbaum.

Baños, a native of Spain, has been passionate about electric guitars since childhood. His father bought him his first real electric, a brand-new 1983 top-loader blonde Telecaster, an event that marked the starting point of an intense love affair with one of the first and best guitar designs. He discovered the magic feel, beautiful looks and unique sound of the early Blackguard Telecasters and started to develop a real passion for them.

Baños conceived of the book in 2001, and finished it after three painstaking years of work. He self-edited and self-published it, and all proceeds from its sale are being donated to Intermon Oxfam (

www.oxfam.org/eng

) to fund Aquaria, a water-supply development program for Ethiopia.

Specific details on the progress of the project and its evolution are given through a direct link on the Oxfam website so that buyers and contributors to the book will know exactly where the money is being used and what for.

The Blackguard

is available worldwide exclusively from JK Lutherie (

www.jklutherie.com

), by serial number and on a first-come-first-served basis. The distributor lists available serial numbers so buyers looking for a given number can know what’s left to choose from. Contact JK Lutherie directly through the website above for price and shipping rates.