The vendor purchased this guitar directly from The Jam on 15 August 1980, after his sister arranged a meeting to interview Weller for a punk magazine she wrote for called Rising Free. Prior to the interview she asked Weller if there was a spare Rickenbacker going, as requested by her brother. Surprisingly, Weller offered her this guitar.
This guitar with the phrase I AM NOBODY scratched into it, believed to have been done by Weller himself, is very distinctive and can be clearly seen in images of Weller using it as shown in the illustration. He used the guitar during 1977-1979 and it is believed he inscribed the body at some point between The Jam's first tour of America in October 1977 and their appearance on Top Of The Pops where they performed The Modern World, circa November 1977. During the US tour, which was not seen as a huge success for The Jam, this guitar was Weller's principal instrument and can be identified by individual marks and scratches prior to Weller's engraving.