One of the most difficult of items to authenticate are items owned and used by artists and bands. Clothing, equipment, personal items often don’t come with the best documentation, provenance or photos.
Even dealers and reputable auction houses often are not able to supply the necessary information and background a collector might need in order for him or her to feel confident about making what is usually a pricey purchase.
I’ve been fortunate enough over the years to have been able to purchase some incredibly rare items that have rock solid provenance and paperwork. Several have come from Jeff Gold at Recordmecca, others have come from auction houses and dealers that have been able to back up and stand behind the rarities they sell.
Mick’s Maraca.
A letter of authenticity as well as letter from the fan who stole the maraca! A flyer, set of autographs and a ticket for the show helps round out the package and adds credibility to the story.
Mick, Keith and Grams’ pants.
A handwritten letter from Gram Parsons’ bandmate John Nuese, certainly doesn’t hurt.
Keith’s leather jacket, circa 1981.
The article in the above magazine references the jacket and clothing belonging to Keith in Art’s office.
Keith’s linen pirate shirt, circa 1978.
While I already had solid documentation on my Keith pirate shirt, I ran across this article and blog post several years later. The original owner a close friend and confidante of Brian Jones and The Stones, Stash Klossowski de Rola actually links his blog post to my site.
He even describes how he had this shirt custom made. Amazing.
Above is the original listing in the auction house catalog I purchased the item from.
Below are other listings from previous auctions.
The more the better.
Peace and happy hunting.
Gary Rocks.
Gary Rocks. A blog about collecting Vintage Rock and Roll Memorabilia. 