The nut appears to may be newer. It seems whiter that it should be, but it may be original. Also pickguard holes near neck pick-up, arecut thru guard, maybe the original holes had a crack. Pickguard appears very old and does look original though.
Now, the interesting features. The bridge pieces are threaded and this is a top loader as consistent with a late '58. The number of pickguard screws leads me to think 1959. The body also has a cream binding! This struck me as odd, but after some research on the web, 1959 began a custom telecaster option with a binding. I wonder if this is a transitional '58-'59 guitar??? Thoughts??? Questions?
Thanks in advance!