Musical Instruments & Memorabilia
The craftsmanship involved in the most prized musical instruments affects the quality of sound they produce as well as their appearance. For example, string instruments made by the Italian Stradivari family – and particularly Antonio Stradivari – in the 17th and 18th centuries are said to produce a sound that has never been replicated even in similar designs.
Those instruments created by Antonio during his ‘golden period’ (1700-1720) command particularly strong prices. More recent instruments, such as electric guitars played by pop music giants of the 20th century also pull in large prices – such as Jimi Hendrix’s Woodstock Stratocaster, which was bought for a Seattle museum for $2m.
![WEB Entertainment Bowie 1](/media/82566/web-entertainment-bowie-1.jpg?rxy=0.65782493368700268,0.36490250696378829&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133032362260000000)
Six pieces of music memorabilia sold at auction including David Bowie's police mugshot
29 July 2022A selection of standout lots sold recently – also featuring Del Boy's discovery of Peckham Spring Water
![img_35-1.jpg](/media/82495/img_35-1.jpg?rxy=0.49822695035460995,0.38249400479616308&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133031352370000000)
Murillo’s youthful good shepherd tops estimate in Paris sale
25 July 2022The Aguttes (25/23% buyer’s premium) Old Masters auction on June 28 at Drouot was led by a Murillo oil on canvas depicting the Christ child as The Good Shepherd.
![img_15-1.jpg](/media/82176/img_15-1.jpg?rxy=0.38967971530249113,0.25474254742547425&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133026090730000000)
Tuning up: musical lots make impressive saleroom results
18 July 2022This early 17th century harpsichord is inscribed to the name baton for Andreas Ruckers, Antwerp, 1614.
![Antique harpsichord](/media/81538/17th-century-harpsichord-2549hh-24-06-2022.jpg?rxy=0.454337899543379,0.3737704918032787&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133004705050000000)
Top-selling 17th century harpsichord stars in our pick of five auction highlights
24 June 2022ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a rare harpsichord with a painted lid that made a six-figure sum in Wiltshire.
![img_42-3.jpg](/media/81456/img_42-3.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133002017580000000)
LA sale adds touch of Hollywood
20 June 2022A collection from three actors will be offered in Los Angeles this month.
![img_33-2.jpg](/media/79865/img_33-2.jpg?rxy=0.45490196078431372,0.32359081419624219&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132965708550000000)
Roll out the barrel organ
09 May 2022Until the widespread advent of the wireless, barrel organs were a familiar sight (and sound) on the streets of Berlin and other major German cities.
![img_30-3.jpg](/media/79566/img_30-3.jpg?rxy=0.52115384615384619,0.36811254396248533&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132959690090000000)
Bingham collection at Olympia Auctions includes Tibetan ritual trumpet
02 May 2022This 19th century Tibetan conch shell ritual trumpet, known as a dung-dkar, forms part of the Tony Bingham collection of musical instruments.
![2540NEDI Edit Beatles Poster Heritage](/media/79221/2540nedi-edit-beatles-poster-heritage.jpg?rxy=0.47833333333333333,0.34256926952141059&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132949298080000000)
Beatles concert poster from 1966 sold at Dallas auction house sets a new high
20 April 2022A bright yellow poster promoting the Beatles’ August 23, 1966, concert at New York’s Shea Stadium has sold for a record $220,000 (£169,400) at the Heritage auction in Dallas.
![Christopher Butterworth shop](/media/78893/img_90141.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132944155850000000)
Let there be light and music – two sales from well-known dealers come to auction this week
19 April 2022Items from Pimlico Road dealer Christopher Butterworth and LAPADA dealer Tony Bingham are coming to auction in London and Essex.
![img_39-2.jpg](/media/78377/img_39-2.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132927711160000000)
Sound purchases in Canada
28 March 2022The Edison Class M cylinder phonograph was initially intended for business dictation but in time entertainment became its main role.
![Lute music manuscript](/media/77924/lute-manuscript-8.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132917498790000000)
UK government blocks 17th century lute music collection from leaving the country
15 March 2022A temporary export bar has been placed on an early 17th century manuscript of lute music in the hope a buyer in the UK can be found.
![img_43-4.jpg](/media/77635/img_43-4.jpg?rxy=0.44945848375451264,0.23118279569892472&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132911302100000000)
Musical box tunes up in Kansas
07 March 2022This Regina disc and double comb-operated upright musical box is expected to be one of the highlights when Woody Auction in Kansas offers the collection of David and Marlene Howard from Ohio on March 19.
![img_26-4.jpg](/media/76708/img_26-4.jpg?rxy=0.37373737373737376,0.43201376936316693&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132893133090000000)
Touch of luxury from Palais Royale
14 February 2022The Palais Royale built for Cardinal Richelieu in 1629 had a variety of uses over the years but in the 18th and early 19th century was rebuilt as a place for public recreation and social gathering.
![Musical box by François Nicole](/media/74938/img_8-1.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132838545680000000)
Pick of the week: Nicole musical boxes to get your teeth into
13 December 2021François Nicole (b.1766), the Geneva-based pioneer of the key-wind musical box, is thought to have made around 440 boxes during his working life, but only around 60 are known today.
![img_31-5.jpg](/media/74089/img_31-5.jpg?rxy=0.53,0.20809248554913296&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132820598930000000)
Playtime in the saleroom at Hartleys
22 November 2021Top names in their different fields, ages and markets, Wurlitzer and Armand Marseilles were the star makers at Hartleys (17.5% buyer’s premium).
![Rolling Stones poster](/media/73307/rolling-stones-poster.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132804076740000000)
Auction record for Rolling Stones poster
04 November 2021A rare concert poster promoting The Rolling Stones’ run at the Windsor R&B club in the early Sixties sold for £30,000 on October 28.
![img_14-6.jpg](/media/73153/img_14-6.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132802411840000000)
Steel string guitar strikes a cord in Lincolnshire auction
01 November 2021Bought in 1952 by a semi-pro Skegness musician who played with East Coast seaside entertainers, this steel string guitar got a big show of hands at Louth auction house John Taylors (18% buyer’s premium).
![img_8-1.jpg](/media/72974/img_8-1.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132798189480000000)
Pick of the week: Gramophone hits all the right notes
27 October 2021Emile Berliner (1851-1921), a German clerk in a Washington DC haberdashery, is credited with inventing both the first commercially successful disc record and the first machine to play it.
![img_18-4.jpg](/media/70331/img_18-4.jpg?rxy=0.50462107208872453,0.40641711229946526&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132747962210000000)
Barn find jukebox could be golden oldie
30 August 2021A classic ‘barn find’ piece, this somewhat dilapidated jukebox was spotted as a potential golden oldie at Gardiner Houlgate (22% buyer’s premium).
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