13 minute read
Music
Revised arrangement by Georges Bizet for his friend Charles Gounod’s opera Faust
1582. Georges Bizet Handwritten Musical Manuscript. Magnificent unsigned handwritten musical manuscript by Georges Bizet, four pages on two adjoining sheets, 10.5 x 13.75, no date. Bizet pens 35 bars in two staves, with text in Italian, corresponding to act four, scene two, of Charles Gounod’s opera Faust. At the head, Bizet writes (translated): “To replace page 316.” Below, a note in the hand of publisher Antoine de Choudens reads: “New Romance of Siebel.” An accompanying note in Choudens’ hand reads (translated): “Two copies of the orchestral parts and the score from the andante in A to the end…put the French words to take in Marguerite.” In very good to fine condition, with chips and tears to the edges.
After his return from Rome to Paris, Georges Bizet found additional income in the work of arrangements, in particular reductions for piano and songs, as well as copies. He worked especially for the music publisher Antoine de Choudens, who became his friend, and for Charles Gounod, with whom he was close. Starting Bid $5000
finish 3.5 x 5.5 postcard of soprano Aurelia Cattaneo, signed prominently in fountain pen by Giacomo Puccini. The postcard features several bars of music for Puccini’s operatic dramma lirico Edgar, which have been penned by an unknown hand. In fine condition. The first performance of Edgar was held at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on April 21, 1889, with Cattaneo playing the role of Fidelia. Starting Bid $200
1584. Gioachino Rossini Autograph Letter Signed. Important
Italian composer (1792-1868) who became one of the seminal figures in the history of opera with such repertoire staples as The Barber of Seville and William Tell. ALS in Italian, signed “Rossini,” one page, 4.75 x 7.25, no date. Untranslated, boldly penned handwritten letter to “Carlino.” In very good to fine condition, with overall creasing. Starting Bid $200
1585. Miles Davis Document Signed. DS, one page,
8.5 x 11, August 30, 1967. Official letter from Dick Asher of CBS Records to Miles Davis, regarding a $1500 advance to Gil Evans, on top of an earlier advance of $3000 that has yet to be recouped by the record company: “We want very much to accommodate you and to do what you request. However, as you can see, there has been some problem in the past. Nevertheless, we would be willing to advance Mr. Evans the additional $1,500 if you yourself would be willing to stand behind Gil.” Signed at the conclusion in blue ballpoint by Davis. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
1586. Ella Fitzgerald Signed Poster. Concert poster featuring a
1970 sketch of Fitzgerald by Picasso, 23.25 x 35, advertising a concert featuring Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass at the Westwood Playhouse, signed in red felt tip, “Sincerely, Ella Fitzgerald,” and black felt tip, “Best wishes, Joe Pass.” Rolled and professionally restored to fine condition, with a short crease to the top. Accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from REAL. Starting Bid $200
Stunning 1963 Beatles signatures on the back of a rare Dezo Hoffmann publicity photo
10 publicity photo of the Beatles containing portrait images of the Liverpool musicians by Dezo Hoffmann, with the band signing on the reverse in ballpoint: George Harrison, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and Paul McCartney. The portraits were taken by Hoffmann at his Wardour Street studio in London on June 20, 1963. In very good to fine condition, with overall creasing to the photo, not at all obvious on the signed side. Consignor notes that the autographs were obtained at the London Palladium on October 12, 1963, when the band was rehearsing for their debut appearance on Val Parnell’s television program ‘Sunday Night at the London Palladium’ the following day. The Beatles performed ‘From Me to You,’ ‘I’ll Get You,’ ‘She Loves You,’ and ‘Twist and Shout’ in front of a TV audience of 15 million viewers. Outside of the venue fans blocked the street which gave press photographers an array of front page-ready pictures for the next morning. The word ‘Beatlemania’ was used by Fleet Street writers to describe the wild scene. Accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from Tracks and by a letter of provenance from the daughter of the original recipient. Starting Bid $1000
Large set of pre-invasion signatures acquired as Beatlemania exploded
1588. Beatles Signatures. Vintage circa mid-1963 ballpoint signatures, “Love from the Beatles, John Lennon xxx,” “George Harrison xxx,” “Ringo Starr xxx,” and “Paul McCartney xxx,” on an off-white 5.5 x 6 sheet. Sheet is affixed to a sheet of heavier cardstock and double-matted with a composite photo of the band to an overall size of 12 x 20. In very good condition, with overall creasing and multiple intersecting folds. A visually-striking large and uninscribed set of signatures obtained as the band’s commercial success would soon bring them worldwide exposure. Starting Bid $1000
1589. Beatles: George Harrison Signed Photograph. Vintage mid-1962 glossy 5 x 3.5 promotional photo card of George Harrison, who has signed on the reverse in blue ballpoint. The consignor notes that the signature was obtained in Liverpool in 1962. In very good to fine condition, with scattered creasing. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks and by a letter of provenance from the original owner. Starting Bid $200
1590. Beatles: George Harrison Signature. Vintage circa 1963
ballpoint signature and inscription, “To Katherine love from George Harrison, xxx,” on an off-white 3.5 x 4.5 album page. In very good to fine condition, with a tape stain to the left edge, a clipped upper left corner, and light show-through from an unrelated signature on the back. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks. Starting Bid $200
1591. Beatles: John Lennon and Yoko Ono Signed Book. Signed book: Grapefruit. First Sphere Books edition. London: Sphere Books, 1971. Softcover, 5 x 5. Signed on the first free end page in ballpoint by John Lennon and in felt tip by Yoko Ono. In very good to fine condition, with wear and creasing to the covers, and toning to all interior pages. A sought-after dual-signed book with great cult appeal, the cover of this uncommon Sphere edition integrates the cheeky subject matter of Ono’s 1966 short film Bottoms. Starting Bid $300
1594. Free Signatures (1972). Vintage ballpoint sig-
natures, “To Jan, Love, Andy Fraser,” “Simon Kirke,” “Paul Kossoff,” and “Paul Rodgers,” on an off-white 4.5 x 3.75 album page. The consignor notes that the autographs were obtained at Liverpool Stadium in England, on February 12, 1972. In fine condition. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks and by a letter of provenance from the original recipient. Starting Bid $200 1593. Beatles: Paul McCartney Signed Book. Signed
book: High in the Clouds. First edition. NY: Dutton Children’s Books, 2005. Hardcover with dust jacket, 8.25 x 10.25, 94 pages. Boldly signed on the half-title page in black felt tip by Paul McCartney. In fine condition. Accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from REAL. Starting Bid $200
glossy 4 x 5.75 MPL postcard photo of Paul McCartney wearing a black shirt with a white vest and undone bow tie, signed in black felt tip. Reverse bears a handwritten note to McCartney from “T.J.,” ostensibly a music video producer, requesting a few more autographs for some helpful city workers: “Most grateful if you will sign these T.O.W. [Tug of War] albums for local crane operators who allowed us to use their crane free for the ‘rain machine’ on the traffic-jam shot. (i.e. this is all they wanted and it saved ££££’s) Also some photos for local P.L.A. police and the Beatles album for Ray—Ringo’s driver.” In very good to fine condition, with overall creasing. Starting Bid $200
In Utero CD booklet signed by Nirvana two months before Cobain’s passing
1595. Nirvana Signed ‘In Utero’ CD Booklet. Rare CD booklet for a European copy of Nirvana’s third and final studio album, In Utero, signed and inscribed in black felt tip, “Illya, Hell-o I’m Kurdt today!,” “Krist,” and “David.” The booklet is also signed by touring musicians Pat Smear and cellist Melora Creager. In very good to fine condition, with light creasing and general handling wear. The consignor notes that the signatures were obtained backstage in Toulon, France, on February 12, 1994, during the band’s European Tour—this was just weeks prior to Cobain’s untimely death on April 5, 1994. The CD is not included. Accompanied by full letters of authenticity from Tracks, REAL, PSA/DNA, and Beckett Authentication Services, a detailed letter of provenance (in French) by the original recipient, and seven modern photographic prints showing Cobain, Novoselic, Grohl, and Smear at the time of the signing. Starting Bid $1000
Über rare German pressing of Prince’s legendary ‘Black’ album—withdrawn and destroyed by Warner Bros. in 1987
1596. Prince ‘Black Album’ German Pressing. Extremely rare original 1987 German first pressing of The Black Album by Prince (WX 147 / 925 677-1), with catalog number printed in orange ink on the spine and barcode/copyright information sticker affixed directly to back cover, standard of European releases given that albums were typically not shrink-wrapped. Also in keeping with the original pressing: matrix numbers to both sides of record, “R/S Alsdorf 925677–1–A2” and “R/S Alsdorf 925677–1–B”; the small orange triangles to labels with white “33” numbers; and back cover embossed with Warner Bros. logo. Complete with the album sleeve, inner sleeve, and record. In very good to fine condition, with light scuffing, edge creasing, and edgewear to the sleeve
The Black Album, also known as The Funk Bible, was originally intended to be released on December 8, 1987, with an entirely black sleeve and no printed title or song credits. A week before its release date, Prince had the album withdrawn after having a spiritual experience that convinced him the album was ‘evil.’ Warner Bros. worked extremely hard to destroy all of the 500,000 copies that had been pressed—very few survived, making extant examples among the rarest records in the world.
The Prince Estate is not affiliated, associated, or connected with RR Auction or this auction, nor has it endorsed, authenticated or sponsored the items available for auction. Further, The Prince Estate has not licensed any of its intellectual property to RR Auction. Starting Bid $500
1597. Prince Signature (1988). Ballpoint signature, “‘Love God,’ P, ‘88,” on the reverse of a 5.75 x 4 compliments sheet from the W. H. Smith bookstore in Paris. Prince used this autograph variation for a short period while he was touring for his 1988 album Love Sexy. In very good condition, with creases, stains, and a central vertical fold. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks and by a letter of provenance from the original recipient. Starting Bid $200
1598. Queen (2) Signed Checks. A pair of
Queen Productions Ltd. business checks through Lloyds Bank Limited of London, both 6.5 x 3.5 and filled out in another hand. The earlier check, June 10, 1976, is made payable to accounting firm Moore Sloane & Co., and is signed in black felt tip and ink, “F. Mercury” and Roger Taylor”; and the second check, June 17, 1976, is made payable to Queen fan club secretary Theresa Pickard and signed in ballpoint, “John Deacon” and “B. H. May.” In overall fine condition. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks. Starting Bid $500
1599. Rolling Stones Signed Album. Dirty Work album by the Rolling Stones, signed on the front cover in felt tip by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts. Impressively matted and framed with its record, inner sleeve, and a ‘tongue-and-lips’ logo pin to an overall size of 20.75 x 49.75. In fine condition. Starting Bid $300
1600. Thin Lizzy Signed Photograph. Fantastic glossy
10 x 8 publicity photo of Irish rockers Thin Lizzy, signed in black ink by Phil Lynott, Brian Downey, Scott Gorham, and Snowy White. The consignor notes that the signatures date between 1980 to 1982. In fine condition, with a small surface dent on Lynott’s leg. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks. Starting Bid $200 1601. The Who: Keith Moon Signed Album. Two
Sides of the Moon album by Keith Moon, who has signed and inscribed on his inner sleeve image in black ballpoint, “To Dani, All the best, Keith Moon.” In very good to fine condition, with light scuffing, some surface loss to the back cover, and old clear tape to the edges of the ‘window’ on the front cover. The record is included. A scarce signed copy of Moon’s only solo album. Starting Bid $200
1602. Madonna’s MTV VMA Award for ‘Papa Don’t Preach’. Madonna’s iconic MTV Video Music Award ‘MoonMan’
statuette awarded in 1987 for ‘Papa Don’t Preach,’ measuring approximately 12.5˝ tall from the bottom of the base to the top of the flagpole, with a black 5˝ diameter cylindrical base. An engraved metal plaque on the base features the MTV logo and reads: “Video Music Award, 1986-1987, Madonna, Best Female Video, Papa Don’t Preach.” In fine condition, with slightly uneven stance from an extruding screw on the bottom, and some tarnishing to the removable flag piece. Award originates from a high-ranking member of Madonna’s management team and is accompanied by a notarized letter of provenance.
The wildly successful ‘Papa Don’t Preach’ was released in mid-1986 as the second single from Madonna’s third studio album True Blue. Within eight weeks of release the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and achieved critical acclaim. Directed by James Foley, the music video shows Madonna’s second image makeover, featuring her with cropped platinum blonde hair and a more toned and muscular body. Georges-Claude Guilbert, author of Madonna as Postmodern Myth, describes this look as a ‘combination of Marilyn Monroe, Jean Seberg and Kim Novak.’ The video and lyrical content dealing with teenage pregnancy and abortion stirred worldwide controversy—even the Pope made comments—and the attention only increased its popularity. In addition to winning this award for Best Female Video, ‘Papa Don’t Preach’ received two other VMA nominations as well as a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female. The MTV ‘MoonMan’ is one of the most recognizable awards in all of entertainment and this exceptionally rare example is elevated due to the cultural importance of the song in shaping the sociopolitical discourse of the late 1980s. Starting Bid $5000
