DALLAS, TX.- In October 1968, Clapton was at a crossroads. His band Cream was weeks away from its farewell London shows and would record songs from its October 19 concert at the Forum in Los Angeles to include on the band’s final album, Goodbye, the following year.

Meanwhile, his friend George Harrison was also at a turning point in his career, pondering a solo album and life after the Beatles as the most revered band in rock history was on the precipice of its own end. As if that weren’t enough drama, Clapton was in love with Harrison’s wife, Pattie Boyd.

Earlier that year, in the midst of this emotional and professional turbulence, Clapton had acquired a beautiful 1913 Gibson Style O archtop acoustic. The history of the guitar, serial number 14106, before Clapton possessed it has been lost to time, but it seems a safe assumption that it had been well cared for. It retained its original sunburst finish and distinctive scroll design on the upper bout — a stylish hallmark of Gibson’s pioneering archtop craftsmanship.

When he was in town for Cream’s L.A. show, Clapton brought the guitar to the Laurel Canyon home of Alan Pariser, manager of the husband-and-wife act Delaney & Bonnie. There, he met up with Harrison, and the pair had some of the most fruitful songwriting and workshopping sessions in music history. Among the songs that had their roots in what would come to be known as the “Garden Guitar Sessions” are “Here Comes the Sun,” “Something,” “I Me Mine,” “All Things Must Pass,” “Let It Rain,” and “Presence of the Lord.”

Clapton passed the 1913 Gibson on to Delaney Bramlett around 1970 during his collaboration with Bramlett’s band Delaney & Bonnie. It remained in Bramlett’s possession for nearly four decades, until his 2008 death, after which it was sold in the 2013 Bramlett estate auction.

At the May 8 Vintage Guitars and Musical Instruments Signature® Auction, serious collectors have the opportunity to bid on one of the most incredible artifacts in music history: the remarkably well-preserved 1913 Gibson Style O Clapton and Harrison both used during those legendary writing sessions. The guitar, fittingly, is called “Pattie,” for the woman at the center of Harrison and Clapton’s unique relationship. It still boasts that beautiful sunburst finish and stylish scroll. Now more than 110 years old, it remains in good, playable shape.

“Few instruments capture a personal and artistic story as vividly as ‘Pattie’ — a guitar that sits at the intersection of love, collaboration and some of the most influential songwriting of the late 1960s,” says Aaron Piscopo, Heritage’s Director of Vintage Guitars & Musical Instruments.

Another iconic piece of rock history to cross the block in the May 8 event is Ace Frehley’s 1972 Gibson Les Paul Custom, an instrument used by the KISS lead guitarist on multiple KISS records and used on tour during the band’s mid-to-late 1970s peak popularity, with signed certificates, provenance and photographic documentation of Frehley with the guitar establishing its lineage. The powerful tone and unique appearance of Les Paul Customs shaped the sound and visual presence of KISS, not to mention the countless hard rock acts influenced by the legendary band.

“Ace Frehley’s identity is inextricably bound to the Les Paul,” Piscopo says. “Its sound and visual presence became inseparable from the rise of KISS and the larger-than-life persona of rock in that era.”

The Titans of Rock Collection is an exceptional array of artist signature model guitars as well as amplifiers, speaker cabinets and a vintage Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, the classic analog drum machine whose one-of-a-kind sound was fundamental to the birth of hip-hop and has shaped electronic and pop music since its 1980 introduction.

Many of the signature guitars were designed in close collaboration with or inspired by some of the biggest names in music history, including Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, Eddie Van Halen, Slash,Randy Rhoads, Carlos Santana, Ace Frehley, Zakk Wylde, Angus Young, David Gilmour, Adam Jones, Mark Tremonti and others.

Among the highlights of the Titans of Rock Collection are another Frehley-related Les Paul Custom, a 2011 “Budokan” with an aged sunburst finish that faithfully recreates the guitar he used during KISS’s 1977 tour of Japan. Les Paul lovers have plenty other choices as well, including two recreations of instruments favored by Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, a 2024 Les Paul Standard recreation of his 1959 “Greeny” and a 2024 Les Paul Custom Signature Model based on the 1989 guitar used in recording Metallica’s breakthrough 1991 self-titled record, also known as the “Black Album.”

Floyd and Fender fans can consider the 2014 David Gilmour Custom Shop Stratocaster, built to replicate the specifications of the famed “Black Strat” the Pink Floyd guitarist used on albums including The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall.

A pair of 1989 Gibson 335s together show off a masterpiece of detailed inlay work, inspired by the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine artwork, by Gibson luthier Greg Rich. The left-handed serial No. 1 and right-handed serial No. 2 were built as part as a paired project but are available separately in this auction.

Other highlights, to name just a few, include:

• A G&L 2011 Jerry Cantrell “Blue Dress” Rampage Signature, named for the attire of the pin-up girl depicted on the body

• An Epiphone acoustic guitar boldly signed and inscribed by Taylor Swift

• A circa 1980s Bo Diddley owned and played prototype electric guitar built by Tom Holmes to the letter of Diddley’s request for a “long narrow guitar”

• A signed and inscribed Charvel EVH Art Series donated by Eddie Van Halen directly from his home studio to family friend and Los Angeles County Sheriff Mike Ascolese to be sold at a benefit for injured officer Jim Murray

• A 1963 Gibson EDS-1275 semi-hollow body, one of the last examples of the original-style hollow body double-neck electric guitars produced by Gibson

“Heritage’s May 8 Vintage Guitar Auction brings together instruments that don’t just reflect music history — they actively shaped it,” Piscopo says. “This sale is defined by guitars that lived at the center of cultural moments, not on the sidelines.”