Kurt Donald Cobain was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establishment persona, his compositions widened the thematic conventions of mainstream rock music. He was heralded as a spokesman of Generation X, and is widely recognized as one of the most influential rock musicians.
Nirvana was an American rock band formed in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987. Founded by lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic, the band went through a succession of drummers, most notably Chad Channing, before recruiting Dave Grohl in 1990. Nirvana's success popularized alternative rock, and they were often referenced as the figurehead band of Generation X. Despite a short mainstream career spanning only three years, their music maintains a popular following and continues to influence modern rock culture.
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Amsterdam, Geneva, Shanghai, and Dubai. It is owned by Groupe Artémis, the holding company of François Pinault. In 2022 Christie's sold US$8.4 billion in art and luxury goods, an all-time high for any auction house. On 15 November 2017, the Salvator Mundi was sold at Christie's in New York for $450 million to Saudi Prince Badr bin Abdullah Al Saud, the highest price ever paid for a painting.
MTV Unplugged in New York is the first live album by the American rock band Nirvana, released by DGC Records on November 1, 1994, nearly seven months following the suicide of Kurt Cobain. It was part of the cable television series MTV Unplugged and features a mostly acoustic performance. It was recorded at Sony Music Studios in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, on November 18, 1993.
The ruby slippers are a pair of magical shoes worn by Dorothy Gale as played by Judy Garland in the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical film The Wizard of Oz. Because of their iconic stature, they are among the most valuable items of film memorabilia. Several pairs were made for the film, though the exact number is unknown. Five pairs are known to have survived; one pair was stolen from a museum in 2005 and recovered in 2018.
Sports memorabilia are collectables associated with sports, including equipment, trophies, sports cards, autographs, and photographs. A multi-billion-dollar industry has grown around the trading of sports memorabilia.
Rolex SA is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as Wilsdorf and Davis by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered Rolex as the brand name of its watches in 1908 and became Rolex Watch Co. Ltd. in 1915. After World War I, the company moved its base of operations to Geneva because of the unfavorable economy in the United Kingdom. In 1920, Hans Wilsdorf registered Montres Rolex SA in Geneva as the new company name ; it later became Rolex SA. Since 1960, the company has been owned by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, a private family trust.
The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona is a mechanical chronograph wristwatch designed to meet the needs of racing drivers by measuring elapsed time and calculating average speed. Its name refers to Daytona, Florida, where racing flourished in the early 20th century. It has been manufactured by Rolex since 1963 in four distinct generations ; the second series was introduced in 1988, the third in 2000 and the fourth in 2023. While cosmetically similar, the second series introduced a self-winding movement, and the third series brought manufacture of the movement in-house to Rolex.
Film memorabilia are objects considered of value because of their connection to the cinema. These include costumes, props, advertising posters, and scripts, among other things. Fans have always coveted memorabilia, but in recent years, what was once a hobby has mushroomed into big business, with millions of dollars changing hands in auctions held by such firms as Christie's and Sotheby's. In addition, many popular films have their collectible items sold via independent, online movie memorabilia stores, web auctions, and at film studio charity events.
The Thriller jacket is the red jacket worn by Michael Jackson in the music video for his 1983 hit "Thriller". Designed by Deborah Nadoolman Landis, the candy-apple-red jacket featured black stripes and raised shoulders forming an inverted triangle. The jacket became the "hottest outerwear fad of the mid-1980s" and was widely emulated. Because counterfeit copies of the jacket could sell at over $500, in 1984 Jackson filed a lawsuit in New York City to prevent unauthorized copies of the jacket and his other merchandise.
Heritage Auctions is an American multi-national auction house based in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1976, Heritage is an auctioneer of numismatic collections, comics, fine art, books, luxury accessories, real estate, and memorabilia from film, music, history, and sports.
The T206 Honus Wagner baseball card depicts the Pittsburgh Pirates' Honus Wagner, known as "The Flying Dutchman", a dead-ball era baseball player who is widely considered to be one of the best players of all time. The card was designed and issued by the American Tobacco Company (ATC) from 1909 to 1911 as part of its T206 series. Wagner refused to allow production of his baseball card to continue, either because he did not want children to buy cigarette packs to get his card, or because he wanted more compensation from the ATC. The ATC ended production of the Wagner card, and a total of only 50 to 200 cards were ever distributed to the public. In 1933, the card was first listed at a price value of US$50 in Jefferson Burdick's The American Card Catalog, making it the most expensive baseball card in the world at the time.
An index of lists of most expensive things.
Julien's Auctions is a privately held auction house based in Beverly Hills, California founded in 2003 by Darren Julien and co-owned with Martin Nolan. They specialize in auctions of film memorabilia, music memorabilia, sports memorabilia, Fashion and street and contemporary art. Julien's Auctions has received attention for their auctions of various high-profile items. They have handled collections and estates from entertainers such as Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Banksy, Cher, Bob Mackie, Michael Jackson, Tompkins and Bush, Slash, Ronnie Wood, Bill Wyman, Frank Zappa, Greta Garbo, Nirvana, Hugh Hefner, Sharon Tate, Pelé, Elvis Presley, Burt Reynolds, Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Sylvester Stallone, Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston, Prince, Madonna, Olivia Newton-John, Bette Midler, Mae West, Barbra Streisand, Jane Fonda, Aretha Franklin, Janet Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Elizabeth Taylor, Doris Day, Betty White, Don McLean and Fleetwood Mac. The auction house's first placement was in 2009 for the sale of one of Michael Jackson's bejeweled white gloves which sold for $420,000.
The Black Strat is the nickname for a black Fender Stratocaster guitar played by David Gilmour of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It appeared for the first time with Gilmour at the 1970 Bath Festival. Gilmour stated in an interview prior to the auction of his guitar collection that 'The Black Strat' featured in many of Pink Floyd's and his individual albums and was used in “Money”, “Comfortably Numb” and “Shine on You Crazy Diamond”, among many others.
Profiles in History was an auction house in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1985 by Joseph Maddalena, who is an auctioneer and dealer of authentic and original collectibles, including Hollywood memorabilia, historical autographs, letters, documents, vintage signed autographs, and manuscripts. Maddalena was the company's president and CEO. It became defunct in January 2021 when Maddalena joined former rival Heritage Auctions.
RR Auction is an auction house established in 1976 by Bob Eaton. The company headquarters is in Boston with a production office based in Amherst, New Hampshire. The company is known for its monthly auctions of historical documents, manuscripts, autographs, artifacts, sports collectibles, spaceflight memorabilia, presidential items and more. The auction house has developed a worldwide client base and publishes monthly catalogs in print and online via issuu.
