BOSTON, MASS.- Skinner, Inc. will present its second Fine Musical Instruments auction of 2016 on Saturday, November 5 at 12PM. The 570 lot auction will feature vintage and celebrity-owned guitars, banjos and mandolins, classical stringed instruments and bows, and the largest collection of music memorabilia on offer at Skinner to date.
Vintage Guitars & Memorabilia
The auction features a large collection from the Estate of Country Music Hall of Fame and long-time Grand Ole Opry member, Little Jimmy Dickens. Highlights include many of Dickens custom stage-worn Nudie Suits, hats, and boots, made by Nudie Cohn, who was famous for outfitting Elvis in gold lamé and John Lennon in Western wear. From Nashville to Beverly Hills, anyone who was anyone owned a Nudie suit, and Little Jimmy Dickens owned many. A standout Nudie Suit is Lot 362 (estimated between $3,000-5,000), a robins egg blue jacket and pants with orange underlay and piping, and matching orange felt cowboy hat and leather boots. Dickens large personal collection of 35mm Kodachrome slides, including Two Color Images of Hank Williams (Lot 357, $3,000-5,000) is another collection highlight.
Nudie Cohn designed lots from the collection of five-time Grammy winning multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and photographer, Marty Stuart, are also on offer, highlighted by a unique convertible top boot, c. 1973 (Lot 523, $20,000-30,000), from one of Cohns Nudie Mobiles, bearing the signatures of dozens of his celebrity clientele, including John Lennon, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Colonel Tom Parker, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Hank Williams Jr., Glen Campbell, Gene Autry, and others.
Leading the vintage and celebrity-owned guitars selection is Waylon Jennings 1953 Fender Telecaster (Lot 572, $100,000-150,000), complete with stenciled and numbered flight case, and including a certificate of authenticity signed by Waylon himself.
In addition, an equally rare pair of Mosrite electric guitars owned by The Ramones (Lots 570 and 571, $15,000-25,000, and $40,000-60,000, respectively), rounds out the vintage guitars and memorabilia section.
Classical Stringed Instruments & Bows
Highlights in an offering of exceptional stringed instruments are an Italian violin by Giovanni Pistucci, Naples, c. 1900 (Lot 290, $35,000-50,000), a French violin by Jacques Pierre Thibout, Paris, 1827 (Lot 288, $20,000-25,000), and an American Violin by George Gemunder, Astoria, 1895 (Lot 277, $6,000-8,000).
Skinner is also pleased to offer an exquisite English Violin Case, W.E. Hill & Sons, London, c. 1890 (Lot 1, $4,000-6,000), as well as a collection of fine French bows by Francois Peccatte and Nicolas Maline, and bow-making materials from the Estate of Randy L. Steenburgen.