I’m too broke for this.
The iconic guitar played by Kurt Cobain in the Smells Like Teen Spirit music video is amongst the spellbinding memorabilia items up for auction at Christies.
It is believed the same guitar was also used when recording classics Nevermind and In Utero.
The left-handed 1969 Fender Competition Mustang was described by Cobain as his favourite guitar, and if you’ve got $7.14 million AUD, it could be your favourite too.
That’s the estimated sale price listed in the Christies catalogue for their upcoming sale of the Jim Irsay Collection, a philanthropist well-known for his decade-spanning collection of cultural artifacts, with a musical focus.
So great is the collection, Guitar World Magazine described the auction items as “the greatest guitar collection on Earth.”
The million dollar guitars include Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour’s irreplaceable “Black Strat,” which became his guitar of choice for both recording and live performances.
Other instruments featured on stage include Eric Clapton’s guitar from his 1992 MTV Unplugged performance, a Rickenbacker played by John Lennon, and a custom “Tiger” guitar owned by Terry Garcia of the Grateful Dead.
Ringo Starr’s full drum kit, famously played on the Ed Sullivan Show, joins the already star-studded lineup.
Amongst the instruments lies a particularly jaw-dropping item: Jack Kerouac’s original manuscript for On The Road, which he typed on a 36-metre continuous roll of taped-together paper, no paragraphs or chapter breaks.
It previously sold at auction for $2.4 Million US, making it the most expensive literary manuscript ever sold at auction (is that what Kerouac was imagining in 1951, strapped to a tiny desk in New York?)
And there’s one more star amongst the items – Wilson, Tom Hank’s volleyball shaped best friend from Cast Away.
The collection totals over 400 items, which will be split across 4 auctions at Christie’s New York.
Cobain’s prized guitar is for sale in the Hall of Fame lots on March 12, but can be viewed for free at Christie’s public galleries, 20 Rockefeller Center.
