A signed fragment of Pete Townshend's 1965 Fender Stratocaster Guitar that was played and smashed by Townshend on-stage during a live concert performance of the classic anthem by The Who, "My Generation," on August 22, 1968 at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. Together with a sheet of paper that was signed after the show by all four members of the band: Keith Moon, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Roger Daltrey.

The guitar piece is comprised of the entirety of the guitar's pickguard, including the two "Tone" control knobs and the one "Volume" knob, the pickguard's interior electrical components, and a sizeable piece of tri-toned ("Sunburst") wood from the back of the guitar. Affixed to the pickguard is a sticker of the United Kingdom flag with the caption, "I'm Backing The Who." The pickguard has additionally been signed in black marker, and reads, "For Vance, Pete Townshend."

Also included are seventeen vintage color photographs taken by Vance Rabius featuring The Who at the Kansas City, Missouri concert, showing Townshend playing and then smashing the guitar during their iconic song "My Generation," as well as a ticket stub from the venue and a ticket receipt from Jenkins Music Company for the show. The stub is for the Orchestra level, Sec. RGHT CNTER, Row A, Seat 1 and good only for Thursday Aug. 22 at 8:30 P.M. Written in pink marker on the back of the stub is "WHO." The receipt is from July 29, 1968 for Vance Rabius. Blue ink on the receipt indicates that the order was for seven tickets for The Who concert at $7 / ticket, totalling $35, as well as other information.

The seventeen photographs feature all four members of The Who performing in concert. Five of the photographs capture Townshend swinging around and smashing his Fender Stratocaster Guitar onstage. Pete Townshend appears in fifteen of the photographs, Keith Moon appears in 10 of the photographs (unobstructed), Roger Daltrey appears in five of the photographs, and John Entwistle appears in one photograph.

Townshend used Fender Stratocasters from 1966-1968. He started using them because they were the same guitar that Jimi Hendrix used and because they were durable and repairable. Despite Townshend's notoriety for destroying his guitars, he regularly repaired them as well. According to The Who's photographer and tour manager, Tom Wright, in his book Roadwork, "I’d heard that when music stores in England learned Pete was busting up guitars, they wouldn’t even sell them to him anymore. Destroying a perfectly useful instrument was sacrilege, plain and simple. To me, it was a brilliant expression of frustration; it took guts. And actually, it was far from wasteful. Pete was always repairing smashed guitars... Pete learned early on that if you split a solid piece of alder you’d wind up with two pieces that could be joined back together perfectly, not a zillion shards like if you shattered a china plate... Since all Fender necks were interchangeable, Pete had boxes of necks, new and repaired, as well as boxes of bodies, extra pickups, and knobs and switches. Each guitar would be smashed multiple times, and when it became clear that the guitars never, ever broke where they’d been glued, the glue manufacturer used that fact as a product endorsement."

Accompanied by two metal plaques. One plaque features the classic logo for The Who originally designed by Brian Pike, sans the red, white, and blue target background. The other plaque reads: "Pete Townshend stage used, smashed & signed 1965 Fender Stratocaster guitar from The Who's August 22, 1968 concert at Municipal Auditorium Music Hall in Kansas City, MO. Guitar was caught by Vance Rabius after Townshend smashed the guitar during 'My Generation.' Rabius took seventeen photos of Pete playing and smashing this guitar during the show. Rabius got Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, & Keith Moon to sign this piece of paper after the show. Rabius was able to get Townshend to personalize the guitar to him thru a mutual friend in 1989. Rabius kept the original ticket, ticket receipt, 17 photos, signatures, & guitar for over 47 years."

Additionally accompanied by a notarized letter of provenance signed by Vance Rabius.

Piece: 8 x 11.5 x 2 inches; Photos: 3.5 x 3.5 inches; Receipt: 6.5 x 4 inches; Cardstock: 11 x 13 inches; Band Logo Plaque: 8 x 8 inches; Description Plaque: 8 x 6 inches

Signed, Guitars & Instruments, The Who