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Music
609. Georges Bizet Autograph Letter Signed.
French composer (1838–1875) whose operatic masterpiece, Carmen, was completed just before his untimely death from heart disease. Boldly penned ALS in French, two pages on two adjoining sheets, 4 x 6.25, no date. Letter inquiring about music lessons, in part (translated): “My dear friend, Is Madam Retz giving lessons at home or outside? And at what price? You will be very kind to give me all the information about this.” In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
610. Edvard Grieg Signed
Photograph. Important Norwegian composer and pianist (1843-1907) whose works, often with a strong nationalistic flavor, include such repertory staples as the ‘Piano Concerto in A minor,’ the incidental music to Peer Gynt, and the ‘Holberg Suite.’ Uncommon vintage matte-finish 3.5 x 5.5 photo of the composer, nicely signed in ink, “Edvard Greig.” In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
Strauss receives three interesting songs—“The man has a lot of talent!”
612. Richard Strauss Autograph Letters
Signed. Two ALSs in German, each one page on 5.5 x 3.5 postcards, 1896 and 1916, both to Bernhard Schuster. The first, in part (translated): “Who is, Mr. Bernhard Schuster? The man has a lot of talent! Receive my warmest thanks for sending the interesting 3 songs!” The second, in part (translated): “If you don’t want to just hand over the score to me—I am usually safe to speak from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the hotel.” In very good to fine condition, with slightly irregular toning to both and clipped corners and a punch hole to the earlier letter. Starting Bid $200
611. Clara Schumann Signed
Photograph. Composer and one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era (1819–1896). She and her husband, composer Robert Schumann, were early champions of Johannes Brahms. Uncommon 4.25 x 6.5 cabinet photo of Schumann by J. Ganz of Brussels, boldly signed at the bottom in ink by the talented pianist, “Clara Schumann, Leipzig, 6 Marz 84.” In fine condition. A rare and beautiful signed portrait. Starting Bid $200
Typed lyrics from Guthrie’s papers— “Question Box,” “Whyo Whyo Why?,” and “Jesus Christ”
614. Woody Guthrie’s Typed Lyrics with Annotation. Three pages
of Woody Guthrie’s personally-owned typed lyrics, 8.5 x 14, February 3–5, 1947. The first sheet, for an unreleased song entitled “Question Box,” is annotated in the left margin in Guthrie’s hand: “Holler tune—high hope—’Head Rise.’” The second, “Whyo Whyo Why?,” appeared on his album Songs to Grow on for Mother and Child. The third is an evidently unpublished version of “Jesus Christ.” In very good condition, with light toning, chipping, edge loss, and old tape along the back top edges. Starting Bid $300
613. George Gershwin Typed Letter Signed. TLS, one page, 8.5 x 11, RKO
Studios, Inc. letterhead, November 5, 1936. Letter to a young autograph collector, in part: “I am very happy to write to a young girl who has already a hobby of collecting letters. Perhaps when you grow a bit older this will develop into a book or picture collecting hobby, which would be most worthy.” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope. Starting Bid $200
Signed at the famed 1963 Royal Variety Performance, with photo evidence of the Lennon autograph
615. Beatles Signatures. Desirable pairing of two sheets containing complete Beatles autographs from 1963: an off-white 5 x 8 sheet signed in blue ballpoint, “Beatles, Ringo Starr,” “John Lennon,” and “George Harrison”; and a light blue 6 x 3.75 sheet signed and inscribed in blue ballpoint, “To Fiona, Love Paul McCartney (Beatles), xx.” Includes a vintage glossy 4.75 x 6.5 photo of Starr and Lennon, which depicts the latter being handed a pen and holding the very signed page offered here. In very good to fine condition, with intersecting folds to both sheets, and some creasing to the accompanying candid photo.
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks, and by a letter of provenance from the daughter of the original recipient: “The Beatles autographs date from 4 November 1963 when they performed in the Royal Variety performance at the Prince of Wales Theatre, in the presence of H. M. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. The photograph shows John signing the autograph for my father, the actor Gerald James, who was taking part in the performance as one of the Pickwickians with Harry Secombe, with Ringo in the foreground, taken during the performance.” Starting Bid $1000
617. Beatles: Paul and Linda McCartney Signatures.
A 1978 pocket diary, 3.5 x 5, signed inside on adjacent pages in blue felt tip, “Paul McCartney,” and in blue ballpoint, “Love, Linda McCartney.” The diary is also signed and inscribed by Denny Laine. In fine condition. The consignor notes that the signatures were obtained on March 20, 1978. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks. Starting Bid $200
616. Beatles Signatures. Vintage ballpoint signatures—”Love from the Beatles, Paul McCartney, xxx,” “John Lennon, xxx,” “Ringo Starr, xxx,” and “George Harrison, xxx”—on an off-white 7 x 4.5 sheet. Matted and framed with a photo of the Fab Four to an overall size of 14.5 x 17.5. In very good to fine condition, with light soiling and creasing, a subtle vertical bend, and some small rust stains to the top; in spite if its flaws, this is a very desirable set of Fab Four autographs, well-spaced and uninscribed, that would make for an exceptional Beatles display. Starting Bid $1000
618. Buddy Holly and the Crickets
Signatures. Vintage autograph book, 4.75 x 4, signed inside in ballpoint on the same page by Buddy Holly and the Crickets— “Buddy Holly,” “& The Crickets, Jerry Allison,” and “Joe Mauldin.” The book has also been signed by Des O’Connor, who was also on the tour. The consignor notes that the autographs were obtained by a shop owner during Buddy’s 1958 UK tour, ostensibly when the group performed at the Regal Cinema in Hull, Yorkshire, England, on March 19, 1958. In fine condition. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks. Starting Bid $200 619. Led Zeppelin: Jimmy Page. Felt tip signature, “Rock on! Jimmy Page,” on an oversized color 8.25 x 5.75 postcard promoting ‘The Santa Run’ of Newtown, Powys, Mid Wales. In fine condition. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks. Starting Bid $200
Very rare Island Records single signed by two of reggae’s biggest names—Marley and Tosh
620. Bob Marley and Peter Tosh Signed 45 RPM Record
Sleeve. UK Island Records 45 RPM single record for ‘Satisfy My Soul / Smile Jamaica’ by Bob Marley & the Wailers, signed and inscribed on the original record sleeve in blue ballpoint, “To Donny—All the best, Bob Marley,” and on the reverse side in black ballpoint, “Peter Tosh.” The Marley side is also signed by tour manager “Allan Cole,” “Carlton Bennett, Wailers Drummer,” guitarist “One Love, Junior Marvin,” and bassist “Aston Family Mon Barrett.” In very good to fine condition, with creasing to the corners. The record is included. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks. Items signed by both Marley and Tosh remain exceedingly rare and sought after. Starting Bid $1000
621. Elvis Presley Signed Program Cover. Vintage cover for an Elvis
Presley souvenir program from circa 1957, 8 x 10, which shows Presley smiling and leaning on a ladder, signed and inscribed in fountain pen, “To Miss Flaherty, Elvis Presley.” Mounted and framed to an overall size of 12 x 15. In fine condition, with light creasing in the borders. Starting Bid $200
Mercury signs a program for the 1986 musical Time
622. Queen: Freddie Mercury. Souvenir program for Dave
Clark’s Time: The Musical, held at London’s Dominion Theatre on May 23, 1986, 20 pages, 6 x 9, signed on the opening page in blue ballpoint by Freddie Mercury. The page is also signed by Clark, who created and directed the musical. The original ticket stub for the show is stapled to the inside back cover. In fine condition. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks, and by a letter of provenance from the original recipient. Starting Bid $200
Moon and Bolan, a rare pairing of rock and roll tragedies
623. The Who: Keith Moon and Marc Bolan. Program for
the Paul McCartney and Wings UK Tour of 1973, eight pages, 8.25 x 11.75, signed on the back cover in blue ballpoint by Keith Moon and Marc Bolan. In very good to fine condition, with light creasing and handling wear.
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks, and by a letter of provenance from the original recipient. Includes an original ticket stub from the concert. An exceptionally rare and desirable pairing of rock signatures—Bolan died at the age of 29 in a car accident, and almost exactly one year later, on September 7, 1978, Moon succumbed to a drug overdose at the age of 32. Starting Bid $200
624. Frank Zappa Hand-Annotated Cassette Tape. Sony CRO-60 (chromium dioxide) cassette tape annotated on both sides in black ink or felt tip by Frank Zappa. The A side features a strip of masking tape marked “Lumpy Gravy,” which has been placed over a custom label identified as “Side One, 7-10-74”; handwriting to the upper portion, covered by the masking tape, faintly reads: “Mothers/Mobile.” The writing on the B side label reads: “200 Motels + Chunga, dolby.” Includes the original cassette tape case. In fine condition. Accompanied by a letter of provenance from the original recipient, Richard Emmett, who was one of Zappa’s music copyists. Starting Bid $200
625. Frank Zappa Signed Cover Letter and Press Release for 200 Motels. Typed cover letter from “Frank Zappa”
to “All Journalists Concerned with 200 Motels,” one page, 8.5 x 11, no date (circa 1971), signed at the conclusion in black ink, “F. Zappa.” The letter reads, in part: “We are proud to announce the release of an unusual film called 200 MOTELS...I have taken the time to answer some hypothetical questions...I hope this will prove useful to you, and that it will save me the trouble in personal interviews of endlessly re-phrasing and regurgitating the same data.” Stapled to the letter is a 7-page Q&A press release for the film. In fine condition. Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Recordmecca’s Jeff Gold. Starting Bid $200
626. Frank Zappa: Bruce Bickford’s Claymation Figures and Body Parts. Variety of original sculpted stop anima-
tion puppets of Frank Zappa by award-winning animator Bruce Bickford and featured in three of Zappa’s films: Baby Snakes, The Dub Room Special, and A Token of His Extreme. The group consists of anatomical parts like hands, arms, and torsos, and several figures of Zappa, which show the musician shirtless and wearing red pants. The largest figure measures 6.5˝ in length. Includes a DVD of Baby Snakes. In overall fine condition. Provenance: Julien’s Auctions, Icons & Idols: Rock n’ Roll 2016, Featuring Property from the Estate of Frank Zappa, November 2016. Starting Bid $200
Hand-annotated orchestral score booklets for Zappa’s surrealist musical 200 Motels
627. Frank Zappa’s Collection of (3) Score Booklets for 200 Motels. Three original orchestral score booklets used
in the production of Frank Zappa’s 1971 surreal musical film 200 Motels, with the front covers respectively gilt-titled as follows: “200 Motels, Book I,” “200 Motels, Book II,” and “Shove It Right In,” each with Zappa’s name printed in the lower right corner. These spiral-bound score booklets, each 13.75 x 19.5, contain reproductions of Zappa’s original handwritten arrangements, with many pages also bearing handwritten corrections by Zappa. The first, “200 Motels, Book I,” 88 pages, features six arrangements. The second, “200 Motels, Book II,” 18 pages, intended for “The Restaurant Scene,” is marked in green felt tip by Zappa as “Tony Palmer’s Copy”; Palmer, the film’s co-director, has made annotations in red felt tip. The “Shove It Right In” booklet, 37 pages, is strongly presumed to have been used by conductor Elgar Howarth, who has used multicolored pencil to mark the majority of pages; many also appear to be done by Zappa, whose telltale use of the uppercase can be found on several pages. In overall fine condition. Accompanied by letters of authenticity from Rockaway Records, which affirms that the booklets derive from the personal collection of Marty Perellis, Zappa’s road manager during the early 1970s, and by a detailed letter of authenticity from Richard Emmet, who worked for Zappa as a music copyist from 1978 to 1983. Starting Bid $300
628. Frank Zappa’s EML Poly-Box Analog Synthe-
sizer Controller. An EML Poly-Box remote analog synthesizer controller from the personal collection of Frank Zappa. The controller, 18.5˝ x 12.25˝ x 5.25˝, features a miniature keyboard, input jacks for “Out,” “In,” and “Gate,” switches and knobs for “Voicing,” “Pitch Control,” and “Keyboard Memory,” and red bulbs for 13 different octaves. Back panel bears an on/ off toggle switch (marked “940”), an ICA Ltd. label numbered “128,” and a “Poly-Box, Electronic Music Laboratories” stamp. In very good to fine, untested condition, with expected signs of use, and a missing upper section of left wooden frame. Provenance: Julien’s Auctions, Icons & Idols: Rock n’ Roll 2016, Featuring Property from the Estate of Frank Zappa, November 2016. Starting Bid $200
Zappa’s preliminary handwritten arrangement for ‘Think It Over,’ the future title track for The Grand Wazoo
View additional images online at www.RRAuction.com
ment for ‘Think It Over’. One-of-a-kind original 14-page orchestral arrangement by Frank Zappa for the song ‘Think It Over,’ written as part of the unrealized two-act Broadway stage production Hunchentoot, a science-fiction musical conceived by Zappa while he recovered from his near-fatal attack at the Rainbow Theatre in December 1971. The tape-bound manuscript, 12.25 x 15, is comprised of 14 musically lined sheets that are meticulously and entirely annotated in pencil by Zappa, who incorporates his signature on the cover sheet: “‘Think It Over,’ Part I, Frank Zappa, Concert Pitch Score, Don’t Shoot This Page.”
Included with the manuscript are ozalid copies of four sets of instrumental parts for ‘Think It Over,’ which Zappa had originally annotated in black ink. Instruments include: Keyboard (4 pages), Bass Clarinet and Piccolo (2 pages, with mention of “Mike,” presumably reed master Mike Altschul), Trombone I (3 pages), and Trombone III (3 pages, with mention of “Bruce,” presumably trombonist Bruce Fowler). In fine condition, with two taped tears to the cover of the bound score.
Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Rockaway Records, which affirms that the manuscript and instrumental copies derive from the personal collection of Marty Perellis, the road manager for Zappa’s The Grand Wazoo Tour in 1972, and that they have been authenticated by David Ocker, Zappa’s music copyist from 1977–1984, and by a copy of a detailed letter of authenticity from Richard Emmet, who worked for Zappa as a music copyist from 1978 to 1983. Starting Bid $1000
One-of-a-kind leather biker jacket from Zappa’s closet
630. Frank Zappa’s Leather Motorcycle Jacket. Incredible black leather motorcycle jacket personally-owned and -worn by Frank Zappa. The jacket, size 46, features snap down lapels, shoulder epaulets, zippered sleeve cuffs and side pockets, attached belt with rectangle buckle, an upper welt pocket, and a small coin flap pocket. The jacket is also customized with a variety of pins to chest and collar. Inner collar retains the original Perfecto, Schott Bros. tag. In fine condition, with expected signs of use and wear. Zappa was photographed wearing this jacket with conductor Joel Thome while promoting the music of Edgard Varese at the New York Palladium on April 16, 1981; a photo of Zappa wearing the jacket is included. An outstanding and highly displayable piece of rock and roll regalia, previously and proudly worn by one of music’s most eccentric and influential artists.
Provenance: Julien’s Auctions, Icons & Idols: Rock n’ Roll 2016, Featuring Property from the Estate of Frank Zappa, November 2016. Starting Bid $1000
Leg brace worn for months by Frank Zappa after his Rainbow Theatre attack
631. Frank Zappa’s Metal and Leather Orthopedic Leg Brace. A vintage orthopedic leg brace personally-owned and
-worn by Frank Zappa for several months following his attack at London’s Rainbow Theatre on December 10, 1971. As Zappa and the Mothers of Invention started a cover of the Beatles song ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand,’ 24-year-old Trevor Howell emerged from the crowd and punched and shoved Zappa from the stage and into the concrete-floored orchestra pit. As a result of the attack, Zappa suffered serious fractures, head trauma and injuries to his back, leg, and neck, as well as a crushed larynx. Worn by Zappa on his fractured left leg, the brace is constructed of metal, leather, and lacing, and measures approximately 32˝ in length; the brace terminates with an Italian-made leather dress shoe with original shoestring. In fine condition, with expected wear from use. Accompanied by a letter from the State of California, Department of Rehabilitation, dated April 4, 1972, offering assistance in regard to Zappa’s “recent on-the-job injury.”
Provenance: Julien’s Auctions, Icons & Idols: Rock n’ Roll 2016, Featuring Property from the Estate of Frank Zappa, November 2016. Starting Bid $300
632. Frank Zappa’s Ornamented Animal Skull. Large
ornamented animal skull from the personal collection of Frank Zappa. The skull, which appears to belong to a type of buffalo, weighs approximately 26.5 lbs, measures 25˝ x 24˝ x 13˝, and is festooned with a variety of wooden and metal embellishments, with faux eyes, muzzle, jowls, and ears, with the bulk of the head lined with small human skull plates. In fine condition.
Provenance: Julien’s Auctions, Icons & Idols: Rock n’ Roll 2016, Featuring Property from the Estate of Frank Zappa, November 2016. Starting Bid $200
633. Frank Zappa’s Rainsticks and Didgeridoo from
Civilization Phaze III. Frank Zappa’s pair of bamboo rainsticks that were used on his posthumously released 1994 album Civilization Phaze III. The rainsticks approximately measure 47.5˝ and 51˝ in length, with one wrapped with bands of colorful string and the other with twine. Also included is a didgeridoo, 46˝ in length, hand-painted with images of fish, that also derives from Zappa’s personal collection. In overall fine condition.
Provenance: Julien’s Auctions, Icons & Idols: Rock n’ Roll 2016, Featuring Property from the Estate of Frank Zappa, November 2016. Starting Bid $300