Paul Reed Smith "Dragon I" Electric Guitar: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This electric guitar was made by Made by Paul Reed Smith (PRS Guitars) in Annapolis, Maryland in 1993. It is serial #3 1557 and has a composite solid-body maple top and mahogany back and neck, all stained green, and features two humbucking pickups. This Dragon I model is distinguished by its distinctive mother-of-pearl dragon fretboard made from 201 pieces of abalone, turquoise, and mother of pearl. It had a limited production run of 50 guitars.

When he started building his instruments, Paul Reed Smith was steeped in the traditions of the classic electric guitars of the 1950s and 1960s. Ted McCarty, the past president of Gibson and designer of the Les Paul model, was his mentor. In 1994, Paul Reed Smith's company, PRS Guitars, launched the McCarty model as a tribute to this electric guitar pioneer.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1993
• maker: Smith, Paul Reed
• Object Name: guitar
• Measurements: overall: 38 in x 13 in x 2 in; 96.52 cm x 33.02 cm x 5.08 cm
• place made: United States: Maryland, Annapolis
• ID Number: 1993.0156.01
• catalog number: 1993.0156.01
• accession number: 1993.0156
• Credit Line: Gift of Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center through C. Levin
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.