The late Kurt Cobain’s Mosrite Gospel Mark IV electric guitar will be offered for auction beginning April 17. The auction, by Dallas-based Heritage Galleries and Auctioneers, will take place in association with the 27th annual Dallas Guitar Show and Music Fest.
The auction will mark the first time since Cobain’s death on April 5, 1994, that one of his instruments will be available for sale to the public.
The guitar is a right-handed model that was modified to be played by a left-handed guitarist. It is the only known example of a Mark IV-style Mosrite Gospel, which is a solid-body guitar instead of the Gospel’s typical hollow body. Cobain purchased the guitar in 1990 in San Francisco and sold it in 1992.
The original case bears the words “NIRVANA” and “F**k Elvis” in white paint. Though since painted over with the same white paint, the words are still visible.
Also on the block at the auction will be a piano owned by Elton John, on which he and Bernie Taupin composed such songs as “Your Song” and “Tiny Dancer.” The piano is pictured on the U.S. version of the “Empty Sky” album. Other instruments up for sale will include Roger McGuinn’s 1966 custom-built Rickenbacker 370/12 12-string guitar and the late Motown sideman James Jamerson’s upright bass.
Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers announced the purchase of the assets of Odyssey Auctions on March 18. Those assets included the auction rights to the Dallas Guitar Show. Future auctions will be held under the Heritage-Odyssey name.
