: Bidders from around the world competed via telephone and over the
Internet for the collection of the late musician and his wife,
June Carter Cash, in a series of six auctions at Sotheby's
September 14-16.
The majority of items exceeded expectations, with a 1986 Grammy
Award to Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison,
Sam Phillips, Rick Nelson and Chips Moman selling for $187,200 to
attain top lot status.
The sale's three-day total was $3,984,260, exceeding the high
estimate of $1.5 million, and the sale was 99 percent sold by lot
and 98.4 percent by amount.
Musical instruments from the country music legends were also
sought after, with two of Cash's guitars, a 1960s Grammer custom
acoustic guitar and a 1997 D-42JC Signature Model black Martin
guitar, selling for $131,200.
"This is, by far, the most extensive auction ever of a country
music performer and one of the most important sales of an
entertainer, period. Johnny and June's influence in the music
world transcended country, and that was clearly evident in our
salesroom this week with intense interest spanning both
generations and geography," commented Leila Dunbar, director of
the gallery's collectibles department.
Among the most sought-after pieces were the Cashes' personal
instruments, which sparked competitive bidding and fetched many
times over their high estimates.
Signature Model black Martin guitar, $131,200.
Johnny Cash's Goetze walnut grand piano, where he is seen
seated in the powerful Hurt video, sold for $66,000 over a
high estimate of $7,000. One of Cash's most frequently used guitars
was a 1976 Martin D76 acoustic guitar, one of a limited edition of
1,976 guitars made to commemorate the American bicentennial; it
sold for $50,400. June Carter Cash's 1984 blue Alvarez acoustic
guitar, included with a photograph of her playing it, achieved
$20,400.
A 1997 Grammy award presented to Johnny Cash for Unchained
is among other awards that achieved impressive prices, selling
for $84,000. Widely regarded as Cash's comeback album, the 1994
Grammy award for American Recordings, the first release to
receive rave reviews in a number of years, went for $72,000. Also
notable was the National Medal of Arts awarded to Johnny Cash,
which sold for $25,200.
Among the pieces of the Cashes' stage-worn clothing was Johnny'
Cash's famous Manuel black fringed coat, featured in the 2002
Hurt video, which sold for $27,600, and his Manuel floral
embroidered three-piece black suit that achieved a price of
$10,800. Cash's iconic Manuel black duster, which he wore on the
cover of American Recordings and Unchained, sold
for $10,200. Also impressive was a pair of his knee-high black
alligator boots, worn on numerous occasions in the 1970s, which
sold for $10,800.
Rounding out the sale were myriad photographs, concert posters,
letters and personal items such as binoculars, canes, cancelled
checks, credit cards, passports, driver's licenses and Johnny
Cash's collection of honorary sheriffs' badges. An original
autographed 1959 concert poster for Johnny Cash and his Tennessee
Two brought $25,200.
Among numerous lyrics offered was a partial notebook of
handwritten lyrics to several early Johnny Cash songs, providing
a glimpse into the birth of one of music's greatest talents.
Featuring songs such as "Cry, Cry, Cry," "Get Rhythm," and "I Get
So Doggone Lonesome," the notebook sold for $14,400.
Owl and snake cane, $78,000.
A number of items from Johnny Cash's visits to Folsom Prison
fetched exceptional prices, including a group of prison memorabilia
comprising a striped prisoner's jacket and a pair of prison door
cufflinks, which brought $6,000.
Johnny Cash's 2002 Ford F-150 black pickup truck sold for $66,000
after a battle ensued between two telephone bidders. Selling for
$25,200 was the US flag that flew over the White House on July 4,
1976, where the Cashes were invited to perform and serve as
parade marshals for the bicentennial celebration. Estimated to
sell for $800/1,200, the flag was a gift from President Gerald
Ford.
Highlighting the Cashes' personal collection of fine art,
furniture and decorative pieces is Frederic Remington's bronze
sculpture "The Outlaw," which was featured in the Hurt
video and sold for $84,000. The bronze's counterpart, Remington's
"The Bronco Buster," achieved $60,000. An owl and snake cane made
of carved and painted wood that Cash often used to walk the
perimeter of his property in Hendersonville, Tenn., brought an
astounding $78,000, and a pair of American silver-footed
centerpieces, Tiffany & Co, New York, designed by Paulding
Farnham, circa 1900, brought $42,000.
Prices reported include buyer's premium.
