A Sears model bass guitar once owned by Kurt Cobain sold at auction on this week for $43,750.
The guitar, which was used by Cobain to record early demos for the songs “Fecal Matter” and “Organized Confusion,” was one of several items that drew heavy bidding at Christie’s most recent pop and rock memorabilia sale.
Among the other items sold were a Tokai Stratocaster once owned by Stevie Ray Vaughan ($22,000), a pair of song-lyric notebooks that belonged to late AC/DC frontman Bon Scott ($35,000), and a 1967 official Beatles Fan Club poster signed by all four members of the band ($52,000). Even a scrap of paper on which Bob Dylan had scrawled partial working lyrics for the 1964 song “With God On Our Side” sold for a staggering $25,000.
With regards to the winning bids, which in many instances far exceeded expectations, Christie’s Head of Pop Culture Simeon Lipman told Rollingstone.com : “I think that with any kind of collectibles auction it’s more nostalgia driven than investment driven.”
Lipman cited, as an example, a series of autographed publicity photos of Alice In Chains that went for $4,375.
“That’s what happens,” he said. “It’s not because people think it will be worth X in any number of years; it’s because those people really want it.”
To view the Sears model bass that belonged to Cobain, along with a photo of a young Cobain playing the instrument, click here.