The auction is blowin‘ in the cash!
A harmonica used by music legend Bob Dylan in 1961 fetched $13,750 at auction Saturday.
Billed as “an absolutely incredible piece of popular music history,” the Hohner “Marine Band” mouth organ and metal neckstand dates back to when Dylan was not yet a household name.
In 1961, when he was 19, the former Robert Zimmerman moved from Minnesota to New York City and often crashed on the couch of Mac McKenzie, a labor organizer and his wife, Eve, a dancer. The family was friends with Dylan’s idol Woody Guthrie. Their only child, Peter, was 12 when the soon-to-be famous guest arrived.
The set was left to Peter’s parents after the counterculture icon moved out of the McKenzie pad the same year.
The harmonica is similar to the one used by Dylan at his very first paid gig at Gerde’s Folk City on April 11, 1961, where he supported Blues legend John Lee Hooker.
The lot includes a copy of a handwritten note from Dylan reading “These are for you. They’re a bit worn, but still good! Bob.”
The Dylan harmonica was part of an entertainment and music memorabilia auction that included Prince’s travel Bible, jewelry worn by Jimi Hendrix and a 1965 Gibson SG electric guitar owned by Tom Petty.
Petty played the SG during his 1986 tour with Dylan.
The Dallas-and Manhattan-based auction house Heritage conducted the bidding. The seller was a longtime Dylan and rock ‘n’ roll collector, the auction house said.
