Heritage Entertainment Auction A Smash Success!

Dallas, Texas: Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers (HGA) held their latest Entertainment, Music and Celebrity auction in their Dallas Headquarters on Thursday and Friday, April 21 & 22. 69.25% of the lots offered were sold, for a total of $664,726.45. 1,648 total bidders competed for 1,353 lots, 327 of them successfully. 54 lots sold to 24 bidders after the auction, for a total of $69,631.23.

"I'm thrilled with these results," said Doug Norwine, the Director of Celebrity and Entertainment Memorabilia for HGA, "and with the high level of participation we saw in this auction. We had an outstanding selection of material, which bidders obviously appreciated."

"Of course, the star of the show was the microphone used by Johnny Carson during the 1960s and 70s on NBC's The Tonight Show," added Norwine. "Rescued from the trash heap in the early 1980s during a period of technical upgrades, this is the mic that launched countless entertainment careers. We had originally estimated that this piece would sell for $20,000 to $25,000, so its final price of $50,787.50 was very exciting. When the piece sold, the entire audience burst into spontaneous applause."

"There were several pleasant surprises," Norwine said. "The Beatles masters, mothers and stampers, the ultra-rare production material used to actually make the records that we all listened to, were a complete wild card going into the auction. They were the subject of hot competition that resulted in prices far beyond what we had estimated. Across the board, Beatles material was smoking, with Paul McCartney's bass and John Lennon's piano posting strong results, $29,875 and $41,825 respectively."

"I'm jazzed about our next auction," said Norwine, "which is scheduled for July 8 & 9 in Dallas. In fact, I'm excited to announce that one of the key pieces in that event is going to be the desk behind which Johnny Carson sat on The Tonight Show. What a great follow-up to his classic microphone!"

Additional highlights of the April 22 auction included:

Keith Richards Performance-Used Gibson ES350T Guitar This beautiful sunburst finish, all-original Gibson ES350T is accompanied by several photos of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards playing it on stage. The historic guitar is in fine, gently-used condition and includes a vintage hard case. A serial number of A25023 traces its manufacture back to 1957. The semi-acoustic ES350T model is probably best known as the favorite guitar of Check Berry but many other guitarists have been known to play them including Eric Clapton. REALIZED: $34,057.50.

John Lennon Drawing and Lyrics to Unpublished Song The Beatles (and their wives) spent about two months in Rishikesh, India between February and April of 1968 to study under the tutelage of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. While there, they spent at least part of their time writing songs for their upcoming album which was to be called "The Beatles" (the "White Album"). One of the songs John wrote during that period was called Subtle Woffell and was never recorded or published. Offered here is an original John Lennon drawing of "Subtle Woffell" himself sitting under a tree with the first verse of the lyrics written below: "beneath the deep Ambrosia tree the Subtle Woffell lies. and he will sing to comfort thee under the purple skies." John has also written "happy birthday Colin with love from John: some time in March- Rishikesh. 1968." An incredible item- original Lennon artwork, handwritten lyrics, and a signature ("John"). In ink on light brown paper, 11.5" x 9" in size, fine condition with a small tear at the top edge affecting nothing. Truly museum quality. REALIZED: $29,875.

Errol Flynn "Captain Blood" Costume. The swashbuckler had been around long before Errol Flynn drew a cutlass, but the Tasmanian-born actor re-invigorated the genre with his mix of good looks, charisma, and derring-do. "Captain Blood" was the first -- and arguably best -- in a string of such movies that starred Flynn. This lot features a jacket worn by Flynn in his role of doctor-turned-pirate Peter Blood. The item is in great condition with not a one of its (many) buttons missing. REALIZED: $11,950.

Jimi Hendrix Guitar Strap with Poster. In this lot is a brown leather guitar strap used by rock legend and left-handed guitar prodigy Jimi Hendrix, along with a poster featuring a photo of Jimi's Fender stratocaster sporting the aforementioned guitar strap. A beautiful item in excellent condition and a must-have for Hendrix fans. REALIZED: $11,950.

Bill Clinton's Fleetwood Mac Signed Saxophone. An avid saxophone player (and collector), when former-president Bill Clinton played the instrument on "The Arsenio Hall Hall Show" while campaigning for the presidency in 1992, it became one of the defining moments of his career. Featured here is one of Clinton's saxophones, signed by the classic line-up of Fleetwood Mac, who performed at his 1993 inauguration (their single "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" had become the de facto theme song for his campaign). In excellent condition with a few small dings and scratches. With COA from PSA/DNA. REALIZED: $8,962.50.

Beatles Two-Color "The Saints/My Bonnie" 45 In-House Experimental Pressing. With his 1961 recording of "My Bonnie," Tony Sheridan forever secured rock and roll immortality. The recording's place in music history is assured as the first studio session to feature the Beatles. An in-house experimental pressing of perhaps one of the rarest U.S. Beatles pressings, pressed in half-yellow, half-black vinyl. Also included is a regular stock copy of the single, which was released in 1964 as MGM #K1-3213. Both are in VG++ condition. REALIZED: $8,962.50.

"Beatles '65" Gold Record Award. Presented to the band to commemorate the sale of more than $1 million worth of the Capitol LP "Beatles '65." Released in December of 1964, it became the fastest selling album of the year, selling more than a million copies in its first week and displacing Elvis Presley's latest soundtrack from the #1 spot. REALIZED: $7,170.

Prospective consignors and sellers of top-end entertainment and music memorabilia are invited to call Doug Norwine at 1-800-872-6467 ext. 452 or John Hickey at 1-800-872-6467 ext. 264 to discuss their material. Or visit HeritageGalleries.com and click on the "consign" tab. Or simply email Doug Norwine at DougN@HeritageGalleries.com or John Hickey at JohnH@HeritageGalleries.com.

For more information about Heritage's auctions, and a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HeritageGalleries.com.

Movie poster consignors, please call Grey Smith at 214-668-6928 or email GreySm@HeritageMoviePosters.com.