The lights went up, and records fell, 23 of them in total. The Jim Irsay Collection: Hall of Fame soared almost four times (373 percent) passed its low estimate, making $84,091,350. All 44 lots sold. The saleroom was packed and applause erupted when each lot was hammered down, and even for some individual bids. “Lot after lot we felt like we were making history,” said the President of Christie’s Americas, Julien Pradels. “The Irsay sale did justice to the brilliance of the collector, and of the monumental pieces he brought together, iconic objects that tell the story of our culture and our times. The Irsay collection is singular, but Christie’s will have other amazing sales in this space moving forward.”
The records were as follows:
1 Total for a guitar auction $84,091,350
2 For any guitar: David Gilmour’s “Black Strat” $14,550,00
3 For a Fender Stratocaster: David Gilmour’s “Black Strat” $14,550,000
4 For David Gilmour: David Gilmour’s “Black Strat” $14,550,000
5 For Kurt Cobain: Fender Mustang used in “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video $6,907,000
6 For Jerry Garcia: Custom-built Doug Irwin guitar “Tiger” $11,560,000
7 For an Irwin Guitar: Jerry Garcia’s custom-built “Tiger” $11,560,000
8. For any Beatles object: John Lennon’s Broadwood Upright Piano $3,247,000
9 For George Harrison: a Gibson ‘SG’ Standard $2,271,000
10. For drums: Ringo Starr’s First Ludwig kit $2,393,000 (broken in this sale)
11. For drums: Ringo Starr’s Beatle logo drum head used in Ed Sullivan Show $2,881,000
12. For Ringo Starr: Beatle logo drum head used in Ed Sullivan Show $2,881,000
13. For Eric Clapton: the 1939 Martin 000-42 $4,101,000
14. For a Gibson guitar: Eric Clapton’s Gibson SG “The Fool” $3,003,000
15. For a literary manuscript: Original Typescript Scroll for “On the Road” $12,135,000
16. For Jim Morrison: a Jim Morrison handwritten notebook $120,650
17. For a microphone: Jim Morrison’s Electro-Voice microphone, used circa 1968-1970 $120,650
18. For lyrics: Bob Dylan handwritten lyrics for “The Times They Are a Changin’” $2,515,000
19. For a guitar owned by a woman: Janis Joplin’s Gibson J-45 $381,000
20. For a Saxophone: John Coltrane’s prototype Yamaha Nippon Gakki Alto Saxophone $431,800
21. For a Trumpet: Miles Davis Martin Committee Trumpet $1,651,000
22. For Miles Davis: Martin Committee Trumpet $1,651,000
23. For any horseracing object: Secretariat race-used 1973 Triple Crown saddle $1,524,000
The Jim Irsay Collection is one of the greatest troves of memorabilia ever assembled, meticulously compiled over decades by the late philanthropist, passionate music lover, and owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts. A portion of the proceeds of these sales will be donated to philanthropic causes supported by Jim Irsay during his lifetime. There will be three more sales: The Jim Irsay Collection: Icons of Popular Culture – Live March 13; The Jim Irsay Collection: Icons of Music – Live March 14; The Jim Irsay Collection: Online – March 3-17.
Additional objects from American history will also be offered in a dedicated auction on July 1 and on view in a free public exhibition at 20 Rockefeller Plaza from June 25-30. More information will be shared on that sale—The Jim Irsay Collection: Icons of History—later this year.
A limited-edition printed catalogue is available for purchase: Pre Order at https://store.christies.com/product/the-jim-irsay-collection-hall-of-fame