Robert Johnsons Gibson Guitar - for sale!!!

[Deleted]

Nearly choked on my cereal this morning when I saw in The Times (25Jul06, p30), that a New York website claims to have the Gibson L1 guitar that Robert Johnson was photographed with & apparently played. Well it's up for auction with the price at $6million! The article says that buyers "can bring their own experts" to examine it. How on earth can they authenticate it?
Another guitar to end it's days in a bank vault?
The site is "Momentsintime.com".

[lee holliday]

This sale makes me think of Archery and canal travel.

Bow & Locks

Regards Lee Holliday

[Michael Messer]

Hi Charlie,

I have read a few articles about this guitar & its history. I think there may be some truth behind the story, but it is impossible to authenticate. Fifteen years ago when Columbia released RJ on CD for the first time - all of a sudden two photographs appeared which were and still are perceived as the real thing. Personally I have always had my doubts about those too. Their appearance on the scene was a little too well timed!

I love RJ's music and I believe him to have been one of the most important musicians of the twentieth century. I have spent thousands of hours during the past 30 years trying to copy his licks & songs and to get inside his playing - but as for the photos, guitars and certain anecdotes that have circulated since the release of the Columbia CD set....I don't take any of very seriously. RJ's publishing company 'King Of Spades Music' , which was started by businessmen & lawyers to coincide with the Columbia CD release, is a very successful and powerful company. They represent an artist whose royalties generate big bucks. Up until the time of the Columbia release there were a handful of stories and a couple of paragraphs in various blues books - there was no 'King Of Spades' publishing company and nobody was too bothered about who got money from the materioal. The Rolling Stones published 'Love In Vain' and Eric Clapton published 'Crossroads Blues' (to name two examples) and nobody said a word.

Shine On,
Michael.

[Deleted]

Hi again,
Just had a look at the website where the guitar is up for sale. The information / provanance for the Gibson is quite interesting.
The guitar is in good musical company - also for sale is the LP cover John Lennon signed for Mark Chapman hours before he was shot by him, as well as the last autograph John Lennon & Yoko Ono signed as they left the Record Plant that night - neither have any indication of price though! Strange how things change, years ago "stars" were quite happy to sign a momento but nowadays know that it will probably be on eBay within hours. However it may explain the prices for signatures that were obtained 20+ years ago, as people got the signatures because they really wanted them - rather than trying to make a quick buck.
Rock on!

[Michael Messer]

Hi Charlie,

You are absolutely right about the autograph hunters these days. I am reminded of a recent incident with a friend of mine getting Chuck Berry's autograph backstage at the Royal Festival Hall. The autograph read...."Chuck Berry, London, 2009" .......it actually makes it more valuable, because there is a good story attached to it. That's one way to deal with it. Chuck Berry always likes to come out on top!

I have some very rare autographs and handwritten notes, but there is no way I would ever sell them. They are personal and were written to me, not to some autograph collector searching eBay for goodies. If my children or grandchildren need to sell them after I am gone, so be it, but I never will.

Shine On,
Michael.

[Deleted]

I had a look at the site..the only "provenance" i could find was that they said it looked like the guitar in the studio portrait! Am I missing something here...are we sure this didn't go for sale on April 1st?