The acoustic guitar Elvis Presley played during the historic Memphis sessions that ignited rock 'n' roll has reportedly sold at auction for more than $1 million.
Auction house Gotta Have Rock and Roll said the price set a record for a piece of Elvis memorabilia, although it fell short of the $2-3 million estimate the auction house had touted before the start of the online auction, which began July 22 . ended on Saturday.
The identity of the buyer – who was apparently the only bidder for the guitar – has not been released. The sale was originally reported by the well-known news site TMZ and reiterated by the auction house on its Instagram.
TMZ and other sites reported that the so-called "Sun Sessions" guitar sold for $1.32 million. The Gotta Have Rock and Roll site has a retail price of $1.2 million, which was also the lowest starting bid for the guitar. The difference may be due to the "buyer's premium", the tax added to the "hammer price" by an auction house after an item has been sold.
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One of the most important instruments in the history of recorded music, the 1942 Martin D-18 guitar, was purchased by Elvis from O.K. Houck's Piano Store on Union Avenue in 1954. Elvis decorated the guitar with adhesive metal letters spelling out his name, but only "ELVI" remains. He sold the guitar in 1956 after using it during his first recording sessions at Sam Phillips' Sun Studio at 706 Union Ave., where he, electric guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black put unique spins on songs like "Blue Moon of Kentucky '. and “Mystery Train.”
Before the auction, the Elvis guitar was owned by Michael Malone of Seattle, a noted collector of rock instruments and race cars. Malone bought the guitar at an auction at Christie's in London in 1993 for $151,700.
