( Rolling Stone ) -- On July 25th , 1965 , Bob Dylan walked onstage at the Newport Folk Festival , plugged in his 1964 sunburst Fender Stratocaster and tore through a scorching three-song set . It was a crucial turning point in his career , and it quickly became rock & roll legend -- the moment when Dylan transformed from a protest folkie to a rebel genius . But the guitar Dylan played on that mythic afternoon went missing for the next 47 years -- until recently , when a team of PBS researchers told New Jersey resident Dawn Peterson that she had it in her home . Peterson 's late father , Victor Quinto , was a private pilot who worked for Dylan 's manager , Albert Grossman , in the mid-1960s . `` After one flight , my father saw there were three guitars left on the plane , '' she says . He contacted the company a few times about picking the guitars up , but nobody ever got back to him . '' Last fall , Peterson asked PBS 's History Detectives to help verify her find . The 1964 Stratocaster came with 13 pages of typed and handwritten song lyrics tucked inside its guitar case -- but host Wes Cowan was skeptical at first . `` It 's so important , historically and culturally , that I could n't have imagined Bob Dylan would have just left it on an airplane , '' he says . In fact , Dylan says that 's not what happened . `` Bob has possession of the electric guitar he played at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 , '' his attorney , Orin Snyder , said in a statement . `` He did own several other Stratocaster guitars that were stolen from him around that time , as were some handwritten lyrics . '' But experts make a strong case that the guitar in question is the same one Dylan played at the festival in 1965 . Vintage-instrument specialist Andy Babiuk was convinced after PBS asked him to compare it to close-up color photos from Newport . `` The more I looked , the more they matched , '' Babiuk says . `` The rosewood fingerboard has distinct lighter strips . Wood grain is like a fingerprint . I 'm 99.9 percent sure it 's the guitar -- my credibility is on the line here . '' History Detectives also called in Dylan memorabilia collector Jeff Gold , who often helps auction houses authenticate items for sale . ' A vast percentage of the stuff I get shown is n't real , ' he says . 'By nature , I 'm a defeatist . But this was obviously real . ' The lyrics that came with the guitar are evocative fragments : `` There 's bullets in my eyes but I still can see/It 's just these headaches that are killing me . '' A handful of lines appeared on tracks that Dylan recorded for Blonde on Blonde in 1965 and 1966 . `` I own a manuscript of 'Absolutely Sweet Marie , ' and there 's this line , 'the six white horses , ' `` Gold says . `` In one of these manuscripts , Dylan had written 'six flying horses , ' and then above 'flying ' he 'd written 'white ' and 'the . ' It was obvious the same person had written both of them . '' Other fragments within the lyrics wound up on `` Medicine Sunday , '' an early version of the Blonde on Blonde song `` Temporary Like Achilles . '' The episode of History Detectives ( which also includes a brief interview with this reporter ) airs on PBS Tuesday July 17th at 9:00 PM EST . If it 's real , the guitar is estimated to be worth as much as $ 1 million -- but does Peterson legally own it ? Maybe not . `` It 's his guitar until he makes an affirmative act to give it to someone else or sell it , '' says lawyer Josh Grier , who represents artists including Wilco . `` I think if they put it up to auction , Dylan has a claim to the proceeds . If he finds out beforehand , he might be able to stop from from doing it . '' In 2005 , Peterson wrote to Bob Dylan 's management and requested that he waive any claim to the guitar . Dylan 's team declined , and said that the guitar should be returned . For now , Peterson is keeping the guitar in a secure , climate-controlled environment ; she has not decided whether to sell it . `` I have to discuss it more with my husband , '' she says . `` Things have crossed my mind . '' See full story at RollingStone.com . Copyright © 2011 Rolling Stone .
New Jersey resident Dawn Peterson has a guitar experts claim belonged to Bob Dylan . The Gibson Stratocaste is believed to be the guitar played at the 1969 Newport Folk Festival . Dylan says the guitar he played at that gig is in his possession .