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Hendrix - any opinions?

This looks OK to me but I'd welcome other views:

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Gratefulphish on June 9, 2019 at 11:01am

It is Edward "Juma" Sultan, one of the percussionists on stage with Jimi. In my own maybe myopic view, this is vastly more collectible and desirable than any of the "routine" contracts or settlements that Jimi signed, some of which have already exceeded $60,000 in several instances.

I may be biased, but as a Jimi freak, the beauty of this signature, the rarity of fountain pen signatures in general, coupled with the direct Woodstock connection, Jeffrey and Chandler stationary and Juma's signature as well, will put this in the very upper stratosphere of Jimi autographs in terms of historic importance. I would not consider moving it for less than $50,000, and quite frankly, that would be disappointing.

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Permalink Reply by a pug called eva on June 9, 2019 at 11:32am

You may well be right but somehow I doubt this would incite as much interest as a full-blown contract that played a pivotal role in Hendrix's career.

In any event, it is good that you rate/enjoy your item so much and certainly won't let it go cheaply.

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Permalink Reply by Gratefulphish on June 9, 2019 at 12:31pm

How many contracts of that type have you seen, and what did they sell for?

People just associate Woodstock with Jimi, and vice versa. Yes, if someone had a Jimi signed contract for that performance, it would bring an astronomical amount, but it was likely signed by Jeffrey and Chandler, and not Jimi personally.

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Permalink Reply by a pug called eva on June 10, 2019 at 2:02am

I don't monitor Hendrix prices or have any databases. I daresay Ballroom has a lot more info. I just did a quick Google search and came up with these:

https://www.robertedwardauctions.com/auction/2007/spring/1477/1966-...

https://www.alexautographs.com/JIMI_HENDRIX-LOT33787.aspx

https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/music-memorabilia/autographs-and-s...

https://www.gottahaverockandroll.com/lot-6948.aspx

https://www.gottahaverockandroll.com/jimi_hendrix_signed_settlement...

https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2014/rock-roll-hist...

https://www.gottahaverockandroll.com/LotDetail.aspx?inventoryid=5934

I would say the last three are the kind of pieces that should make around $50k or more. I think the penultimate item, Hendrix's first contract, ended up making close to the top estimate (i.e. $200k including premiums) when Sotheby's sold it.

Some of the above items seem to have been offered by different auction houses over the years. I think I saw that the unsold Heritage lot was sold by another auction house for $20k but I cannot locate the second sale now.

Unless dealing with relatively common "commodity items" like signed album pages (and even they can suddenly go for much more than expected if two uninformed well-heeled bidders get into a bidding war) you only really know what an item is worth once it sells. I also have a few things in my various collections that I would like to think are so special that I could at least semi-retire if I decided to sell them but I know that the value of such "alternative investments" is almost impossible to estimate with any precision, especially if they are really rare.

The other thing to bear in mind is that you rarely get an absolute bargain if you are competing with other knowledgeable buyers. If you happen to be the first person to chance upon something when someone is unpacking estate items at a flea market that may be a completely different story of course.

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Permalink Reply by Gratefulphish on June 10, 2019 at 5:27pm

I appreciate the research. I'll see what else I can add when I get some time. But, while various contracts may have historical "importance," for the most part they are either pre-printed forms in some cases, or otherwise typed "legalese." and I am an attorney in my spare time, so I don't find them as viscerally appealing as something more directly related to a historic event like Woodstock. Obviously, we all have our inherent biases and preferences, but as I said previously, assuming this gets into an upper tier auction, when the economy is not in the crapper, I really think that it will push, if not break $50K.

As an aside, and not to further hijack this thread, I own the Grateful Dead's first partnership agreement between the band members. That, to me, as a Grateful Dead fan as well, is a much more interesting document, as it relates the history of the band having operated as an unincorporated association from 1965 to 1971 when the Agreement was written, but are now setting forth their understandings. Another treasure.