Note: similar guitar (arched top with f-hole) can be seen on 1959 Casbah Coffee Club photograph on English Wikipedia
   (color version can be found on PaulOnTheRunTour.blogspot.com)

               Zenith Model 17 Acoustic Guitar  One of Paul McCartney's first guitars, the Zenith model 17 was used regularly up until the Beatles first trip to Hamburg. Paul is supposed to have swapped his trumpet for the Zenith when he realised that he couldn't sing and play at the same time. At first he tried to play the guitar right handed but was unsuccessful; it was only when he saw a picture of Slim Whiteman playing left handed that he realised he could switch the string around. Paul composed many early songs on the Zenith including his first song, ‘I Lost My Little Girl’.  This model has been kindly donated by Rod Davies of The Quarrymen. He found this guitar in a music shop in Uxbridge near London. Sadly there is no Zenith logo or badge on the guitar; however on the inside, the paper label which gives the model name and number sais that it was ‘tested and approved’ and personally signed by Ivor Mairants.  Mairants was a famous jazz and dance band guitaists who also owned the prestigious Ivor Mirants Musicentre, a specialist guitar store in London. German manufacturers Framous were chosen to make his Zenith guitars, whilist Boosey & Hawkes become their sole distributor.  If you look to the left you will see a picture of the Quarrymen on stage at New Clubmoor Hall in November 1957. Paul is on his modified Zenith; the scratch plate can be seen above the sound hole as it was still positioned for a right handed player.