A guitar played by Kurt Cobain during a recording session in November 1991 in Hilversum, North Holland, seen in one of the most famous photographs ever taken of the grunge legend, will hit the auction block at Julien’s this week.
The item carries a pre-sale estimate of $300,000 to $500,000.
The 1989 Takamine guitar was used prior to Nirvana’s performance at Paradiso. According to the auction house, the guitar was not owned by Cobain, and only used by him because his normal guitar was already being set up for that night’s performance.
Michael Linssen photographed the band in the studio that day, capturing multiple images including a famous picture of Cobain smoking a cigarette while playing guitar, which is one of the most indelible images of the Nirvana frontman to date and seen in countless college dorm rooms in the form of posters.
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Cobain guitars are among the most coveted in the collecting world. The most expensive guitar ever sold is Cobain’s "MTV Unplugged" guitar, which fetched $6.01 million in June 2021.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.