One of the best (and free) things to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon in the City is check out what's being previewed at the big auction houses -- exactly what a friend and I ended up doing yesterday.
Today, Christie's hosted its Punk/Rock auction. The collection featured memorabilia from punk/rock legends like The Ramones to The Clash and The Sex Pistols, including posters, records, clothing, autographed material and ephemera, as well as rare guitars owned by Bob Marley and Kurt Cobain, studio tapes with written orchestration notes by Jimi Hendrix, and the original artwork for the cover of Beastie Boys License to Ill album.
John Lennon's keyboard was sold for $182,500. According to the auction site, it was a "Vox Continental Portable Organ used by John Lennon at the historic August 15, 1965, Shea Stadium concert, as well as the Beatles' August 13, 1965 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show and on the studio recording of I'm Down."
Elvis Presley's handwritten quote on a Las Vegas Hilton postcard, PHILOSOPHY FOR A HAPPY LIFE, SOMEONE TO LOVE, SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO, AND SOMETHING TO DO!, fetched $7,250.
The size and scale of the Punk/Rock auctions were, in comparison to other Christie's auctions, fairly modest, but it allowed me a trip back into time -- particularly revisiting bands that I used to love in high school -- The Cure, The Smiths, The Beastie Boys, The Clash and New Order.
What makes auction previews even more compelling is the knowledge that a lot of these rare items will end up in a private collection somewhere, possibly on display in someone's home. And it affords the public an opportunity to steal a peek before the items are going, going, gone!
Here's a link to a Flickr stream (better pics) posted by another auction previewer.