Kurt Cobain mosrite guitar up for auction
The guitar owned and used by Kurt Cobain will be featured in Heritage Auction Galleries' April 15 Signature Music & Entertainment auction, which will be in Dallas, Texas.
“This instrument is unusual in a couple of ways,” Heritage's Music & Entertainment expert, Doug Norwine said. “First, it is the only known example of a Mark V style Mosrite Gospel model. While Kurt owned and smashed many cheaper (usually Univox) copies of Mosrite guitars during his career, this was one of only two actual Mosrites he owned. (The other was damaged and given away.) It was also one of his favorite guitars, which saved it from the usual fate of the instruments he used for live performances.”
Cobain purchased the guitar in San Francisco in 1990 and painted the very small Mosrite dot marks with white-out to make them more visible in a live setting. Although the previous owner removed this simple modification, residue is still visible on the instrument. This is a factory right handed instrument, so it was modified for Kurt with a strap button added to the treble side horn, and the original metal string guide has been flipped to allow it to be strung left handed.
Heritage said the lot also includes a hand-written letter from Chris Cobb, who sold Cobain the guitar in the fall of 1990.
The guitar carries a presale estimate of $75,000-up.
More info here. Thanks to Shanna for the tip. I believe the guitar was also featured in an April 2004 "Icons of the 20th Century" music auction where it sold for $117,500.
Posted in NFC news section at www.nirvanaclub.com on 02-19-2006 @ 10:54 AM (GMT).
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