John Lennon/Bob Dylan owned and played Gibson guitar expected to bring $200,000+ in Heritage Auction Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and a rare Academy Award all ready for July 29 auction in Dallas
acoustic guitar (estimate: $75,000+), which the King gifted to actor and Hawaii Five-O star Jack Lord in the early 1970s, and Elvis’ stage-used 1972 Martin D-28 acoustic guitar (estimate: $30,000+).
While the American Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences does not allow Oscars awarded after 1950 to be auctioned, the Academy does make occasional exceptions for pre-1950 statuettes, and Heritage has had the pleasure five times before of auctioning awards. The August event will feature another Oscar statue, this one from 1942 for Best Sound Recording, the first ever awarded in this particular category, awarded to Nathan Levinson for his work on the classic Yankee Doodle Dandy. The statuette carries a pre-auction estimate of $50,000+, and is sure to be highly coveted by high-end collectors of entertainment memorabilia.
“You simply do not see Oscars come up for auction with any sort of frequency,” said Barrett. “We’re always grateful to the Academy when they give us their blessing to sell a pre-1950 award, and we look forward to seeing how collectors respond to this offering.”
The Beatles always represent popular and highly sought-after groupings in Heritage events and the top offerings of the boys from Liverpool constitute some of the most exciting action in the entire auction. The Fab Four are represented by a rare 1962 45 of The Beatles backing Tony Sheridan, as the Beat Brothers (estimate: $6,000+), a Beatles band-signed magazine spread from 1963 (estimate: $30,000+), a Beatles 1964 Forest Hills Music Festival poster (estimate: $18,000+), one of only two known, a Beatles Melody Maker Magazine Pop Poll Award from 1965 (estimate: $7,000+) and an original pencil sketch of John Lennon, Eric Clapton, and Alan White by Klaus Voorman (estimate: $2,500+).
Heritage’s history of presenting some of the greatest and rarest Buddy Holly memorabilia continues in the July auction with the offering of a Buddy Holly and The Crickets signed contract for their Apollo Theatre engagement in New York City in August of 1957 (estimate: $20,000+), a set of three Buddy Holly and the Crickets signed checks (estimate: $3,000+), a Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and Big Bopper signed autograph book (estimate: $3,000+) and a very rare set of documents authorizing payment to Buddy Holly and the Crickets for their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in December of 1957 (estimate: $3,000+).
Hollywood royalty is well-represented in the auction in a variety of lots, with several prime standouts, including Marilyn Monroe’s signed Home Town Story contract, estimated at $10,000+, a single-page, double-sided freelance player's contract, dated March 22, 1950 and signed by Monroe on the reverse in black ink, engaging her for her role as Iris in the 1951 film, a Marilyn Monroe signed Norma Jeane Dougherty model release form, 1946, including the first photo taken during that session, a rare image of a fresh-faced young Monroe posing in a ski lodge tableau (estimate: $7,000+) and a collection of Orson Welles hand drawn Christmas notecards from the 1940s to his then-wife Rita Hayworth, one of the most interesting and
