USA: Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton items fetch high prices, while a Jimi Hendrix piece fails to sell at Christie's rock memorabilia auction in New York

A manuscript of Bob Dylan's poems, written while he was still at college, was the best performer at the Christie's rock memorabilia auction on Monday (November 21). The document, called "Poems Without Title", sold for $78,000 (USD). The 1960 collection is the first known occasion in which the singer used his pseudonym, Bob Dylan. Another Dylan item, an autographed harmonica, sold for far more than the estimated high of $1,200 (USD) and went for $12,000 (USD) at the fall of the hammer. One of the surprises at the auction was a 1959 Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, previously owned by Eric Clapton and complete with a cigarette burn on the neck. The rock guitarist had the habit of placing lit cigarettes between the strings and neck of his guitars while on stage. It fetched $36,000 (USD), which is more than seven times the maximum estimate of $5,000 (USD). "Seventy-eight thousand (US dollars) for the Dylan manuscript, for the poems, is a fantastic price. I mean, it's an outrageous piece, but it's a really strong, very robust price, healthy market sign for sure. Again the Stratocaster price is very strong for Clapton, it's a really good price for the guitar," explained Christie's specialist, Cathy Elkies. Perhaps the most disappointing show of the day was a medallion worn by Jimi Hendrix at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, a concert during which he set his guitar alight. It was expected to sell for between $60,000 (USD) and $80,000 (USD), but at a maximum bid of $50,000 (USD) the item wasn't sold. Said Cathy Elkies, "I was a little surprised. It's an incredible piece and someone just didn't step up, but my guess is somebody will 'cos it's like a really spectacular, rare, Hendrix iconic item." Also on sale was memorabilia from The Beatles and Jim Morrison of The Doors.

ITN Source | November 23, 2005

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