~1973 Cat Stevens Owned and Used Ovation 1617-4 Natural

Cat Stevens - used Ovation 1617-4 electro-acoustic guitar, made in USA, circa 1973, ser. no 13317; Back and sides: Lyrachord bowl back; Top: natural spruce, various minor dings and marks; Neck: mahogany and maple, repair to head, lacquer stress hairline to neck heel; Fretboard: ebony; Frets: light wear; Hardware: good; Case: original hard case; Overall condition: good

*The vendor’s father, Thomas Hornsby, was an architect with Keith Harrison and Associates in Camden during the mid-1970s and worked closely with Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) on several projects, including renovations to his home and a major development in Islington. One such project was the St Mary’s Neighbourhood Centre on Upper Street, for which Yusuf Islam generously donated £20,000—a substantial sum at the time.

See Photographs that show Thomas Hornsby with Yusuf Islam and the then-vicar of St Mary’s Church, Peter Johnston, along with the vendor as a young child.

Following Yusuf Islam’s conversion to Islam, he gifted the vendor a small Martin acoustic guitar around 1977, recognising the vendor’s early interest in playing. Around the same time, this Ovation guitar was donated by Yusuf to St Mary’s Primary School, where the vendor was a pupil; it was later given to the vendor’s father when he left the school in 1985.

The guitars have remained in the vendor’s family ever since and are now being offered for sale to support the musical aspirations of the vendor’s son, continuing a legacy that began nearly fifty years ago.

Cat Stevens owned and played numerous Ovation guitars throughout the 1970s, and was regarded as one of the brand’s most notable artists of the era. He is frequently seen performing live with similar Ovation models (see accompanying images). The original case features pen annotations consistent with those found on other guitars formerly owned by Stevens, including examples previously sold through Gardiner Houlgate and at the artist’s charitable auction held at Bonhams, London, in 1981.