If there were a piece of plastic on the ground, most would ignore it. At best, they might pick it up to recycle or throw it away. Rock concerts are different. Should a performer toss anything off the stage including a tiny plastic guitar pick, fans will jump over themselves to retrieve it as a souvenir. Just the fact a performer touched it makes it precious.
That’s the unique curiosity about we humans. Unlike any other species, we have a sentimental compulsion for artifacts owned or touched by a luminary we admire or idolize.
Baseball is the best example. Fans risk life and limb to catch or retrieve a ball hit by a player. Ironically, the batter who hit the ball never physically touched it. He hit it with a bat but never actually handled it. A recent example of stratospheric worth for such a ball was for Mark McGwire’s 1998, 70th home run ball. Not long ago, one collector paid $3 million for that....
In the late 1960s, fans (primarily young girls) would all but kill for artifacts connected to the Beatles. Anything from autographs to Beatle-used flatware sold for a fortune. Still today, small cut squares from bedsheets one of the Beatles slept on carries a hefty price tag.
As I wrote a while back, original handwritten lyrics by a famous musician can sell for an absolute fortune. Of course, that’s for the original deal. For a sheet of lyrics written down long after the song was composed is a different matter. Some of those “after-the-fact” written lyrics are now sometimes offered for charity auctions to raise money. Those don’t count. They’re not original, original.
This month, from May 20 – 22, Julien’s auction firm in New York is holding another of its famous “Music Icons” sales. In the past, they have auctioned music memorabilia from The Beatles to Frank Sinatra. The current sale pays special attention to items from “The Boss,” Bruce Springsteen.
Among the artifacts are original handwritten lyrics by Springsteen for the song, “Prove It All Night” on lined notepaper. Estimates for that are $4,000 to $6,000. I predict it will go for far more. Also, on the block are two pages of lyrics in Springsteen’s pen (with edits) for the iconic “Born To Run.” Estimates for that are in the $40,000 to $60,000 range.
Clothing and stage-worn apparel is always a draw. No different than a performer throwing his hat into the audience (an action sure to cause a riot), several items including a concert-worn tweed cap and the black jeans he wore on the cover of his “Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band LIVE 1975 – 1985” album are slated to go for $4,000 and $8,000 respectively. Even the belt and signature red bandana he wore on the “Born In The USA” tour are estimated to bring $1,000 to $2,000 each.
From that same tour, an acoustic/electric guitar on which he played “Born In The USA” and “This Land Is Your Land” has an estimate upwards of $60,000.
The auction is sure to garner wide attention for items from other musical luminaries such as Bon Jovi; Guns ‘n Roses; Iggy Pop; Sex Pistols; Red Hot Chili Peppers; and an original plastic red hat from Devo. Add to that signed items from U2; Stray Cats; The Police; Pearl Jam and dozens of other rock acts and the music draw is substantial.
There are an interesting number of items from country music star Johnny Cash. One of those lots includes specially canceled First Day of Issue envelopes by the USPS bearing postage stamps honoring Cash on his signature envelopes. Those may also be of interest to stamp collectors.
Possibly the most notable item to hit the block is the red dress, stole and gloves Madonna wore in her music video “Material Girl.” The description suggests it is offered as a “Non-Fungible Token” but also includes the dress. I continue to be absolutely confused by that “non-fungible” stuff. At least, in this case, the dress is actually included. That estimate is between $100,000 and $200,000.
As for a few of those aforementioned pieces of plastic – two of Bruce Springsteen’s concert-played guitar picks are in the sale. The sale estimate is $600 to $800. I suppose it may pay to dive for those tiny items tossed into the crowd.
For more info about the sale log onto: www.juliensauctions.com.
For more collecting advice, visit www.prexford.com