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Julien's Auctions Celebrates Bob Dylan, Rock Journalist Al Aronowitz with Record-Breaking Sale

The 'Celebrating Bob Dylan: The Aronowitz Archive & More' auction by Julien's Auctions generated nearly $1.5 million, featuring 60 items owned and used by Bob Dylan, with the original typewritten lyrics to Dylan's song, 'Mr. Tambourine Man', selling for $508,000.

January 21, 2025

The “Celebrating Bob Dylan: The Aronowitz Archive & More” auction, presented by Julien's Auctions, has set a new standard for music memorabilia sales, generating nearly $1.5 million in a white-glove sale that captivated bidders worldwide. The auction, held at the famed Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, featured a remarkable collection of 60 items owned and used by Bob Dylan, with 50 pieces originating from the personal archive of pioneering rock journalist Al Aronowitz.

Dylan's Enduring Legacy: A Global Phenomenon

The auction drew an unprecedented audience, with bidders from the U.K., Slovakia, Japan, and across the United States vying for a piece of music history. This global reach underscores the enduring influence of Bob Dylan, whose music and artistry continue to resonate with fans across generations and cultures. What’s more, outreach leading up to the landmark sale rode an organic wave on the heels of the Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” which in itself has continued to captivate fans and moviegoers worldwide.

Al Aronowitz: The Grandfather of Rock Journalism

The auction's success was due in no small part to the extraordinary archive collection delivered by Myles Aronowitz, the son of the late Al Aronowitz – a pioneer and trailblazing rock journalist who chronicled the careers of music legends like Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and The Velvet Underground. Aronowitz's archive provided a rare glimpse into the creative process and personal life of one of music's most enigmatic figures.

“My family and I are thrilled with the auction,” said Myles. “These items were evidence of the unique and intimate place my father had in musical and cultural history with his good friend Bob Dylan, and all the other iconic artists of his day.”

Added Myles; “We’re grateful to Julien’s for helping to bring my father’s legacy and cultural significance back to the public eye. Julien’s Auctions did extensive research, and committed huge resources and expertise to the promotional work necessary to bring these artifacts to a successful auction.”

Highlights of the Auction: Treasures from a Music Icon

Among the most coveted items was the original typewritten lyrics to Dylan's iconic song, "Mr. Tambourine Man," which sold for an astounding $508,000. A signed original 1968 oil on canvas painting by Dylan fetched $260,000, and his owned and played 1983 Fender Telecaster sold for $222,250.

Bob Dylan

Three Progressive Drafts of "Mr. Tambourine Man" Working Lyrics - One Annotated

Sold Price

$508,000

Estimate:

$400,000 - $600,000

Two leaves of yellow paper containing three pages of authorial typescript lyrics comprising three progressive drafts of "Mr. Tambourine Man" with annotations in Bob Dylan's hand on the third draft of the song. Drafts one and two are on the recto and verso of the first sheet of paper, the second sheet contains draft three. The pages show substantial changes from the first draft to the third draft, which is close to the final version of the song, although it still has significant variations from the final lyrics. The song, recorded in January of 1965, appeared as the lead track on the acoustic side of Dylan's March 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. The Byrd's version of the song, their debut single, was released one month after Dylan's own version, in April of 1965 and it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one in the UK making it the first Dylan composition to reach number one in the United States and the UK.

These progressive drafts present a fascinating window into Dylan's songwriting process and we have the additional benefit of Al Aronowitz's first-hand account of Dylan writing these lyrics in his home. Aronowitz published an article titled "Bob Dylan: The Champ Has No Contenders" that appeared in the Sunday News leisure section November 11, 1973, an original copy is included with this lot. Aronowitz explains: "...Bob Dylan wrote "Mr. Tambourine Man" one night in my house in Berkeley Heights, N.J., sitting with my portable typewriter at my white formica breakfast bar in a swirl of chain-lit cigaret [sic] smoke, his bony, long-nailed fingers tapping the words out on my stolen, canary-colored Saturday Evening Post copy paper while the whole time, over and over again, Marvin Gaye sang "Can I Get a Witness?" from the 6-foot speakers of my hi-fi in the room next to where he was, with Bob getting up from the typewriter each time the record finished in order to put the needle back at the start. I remember telling this story once, afterward, to George Harrison up in Nat Weiss' apartment, a little bit of what Allen Ginsberg would call "divine gossip." George's eyes twinkled off into thought for a moment and then he said he'd bet you could find every note from "Can I Get a Witness" in "Mr. Tambourine Man" if you looked for it, every note, except of course rearranged into that mysterious, secret way that Bob has."

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Bob Dylan

Original 1968 Oil On Canvas Painting

Sold Price

$260,000

Estimate:

$200,000 - $300,000

An untitled original oil on canvas painting by Bob Dylan, signed and dated in lower left in pen, Bob Dylan August 1st, 1968, stretched but unframed. The figural painting was executed at the very inception of Dylan's painting endeavors when he received his first set of oil paints as a twenty-seventh birthday present from his wife Sara in late May, 1968.

After receiving oil paints for his birthday, Dylan asked his neighbor, the American artist Bruce Dorfman, to show him how to use them. As chronicled in Howard Sounes 2011 book, Down the HIghway, The Life of Bob Dylan: "So when Sara bought Bob a box of oil paints for his twenty-seventh birthday, Bob asked Dorfman how to use them. The artist set up an easel in the corner of his studio and asked Bob what he wanted to paint. Bob produced an art book with a reproduction of "Girl With Flute," by Jan Vermeer. He did not want to copy the painting but simply to do something in that style. 'Sure this is where you want to start?' asked Dorfman, surprised by the audacity of Bob's ambition. 'Talk about immaculate painting!' But he humored him, demonstrating the basics of how to use oil paint. 'He was very, very attentive, really wonderfully attentive and absorbing it all very carefully.' Naturally, Bob could not paint like Vermeer. The next day he came with a book of Claude Monet reproductions. He had a series of these art books. 'Same deal. An hour, a mess.' The third day Bob had a book of Vincent van Gogh's paintings, and he had some success using a landscape as a starting point. After skipping a day, Bob appeared with a Marc Chagall book. 'This is the one that worked.' recalls Dorfman. 'It was perfect, because you had all these multilayered images - things flying, things walking, clocks flying, rabbits with green faces. It was all there. Chagall was it. He made the connection.' Bob began making a canvas that was clearly inspired by Chagall's style, but the images were from 'All Along the Watchtower.'" (153)

In June of 1968, Dylan's wife Sara was in a New York City hospital waiting to give birth to their third child. Sounes continues, "While Bob waited, he spent some time with poet Michael McClure...they visited the Guggenheim Museum to look at an exhibition of paintings by Marc Chagall and Odilon Redon. 'Bob wouldn't look at the Redons,' says McClure. 'He had eyes for nothing but the Chagall. Chagall was the meaningful world to him.' Bob would continue to paint in the style of Chagall for some time." (156)

Sounes also notes in the same chapter that Al Aronowitz came up to the house in Woodstock regularly during the summer of 1968. It is likely that he received this painting from Dylan during one of these trips.

Bob Dylan

Owned and Played 1983 Fender Telecaster, Butterscotch Blonde With Magazine and Photos

Sold Price

$222,250

Estimate:

$80,000 - $120,000

A 1983 Fender Japan TL-52 electric guitar, with neck plate serial #V006978 and bridge serial #5084, in butterscotch blonde finish. Large, black “BOB DYLAN” stamps found on both the neck heel and neck pocket indicate it was made specifically for Dylan, who played instruments similar to this one from the 1970s to the 1990s. According to the included copy of the Letter of Provenance, Dylan owned and played this guitar for many years before gifting it to famed amplifier technician and musician Cesar Diaz, who worked with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Patti Smith, Neil Young, and more.

Diaz, who began working with Dylan in 1986, stepped into the role of guitarist in 1990 when G.E. Smith left the band. Diaz played 50+ shows with Dylan during the 1990 Neverending Tour and the 1991 Second Fastbreak tours. Cesar Diaz played a Telecaster similar to this one during Dylan’s performance at the 1991 Grammy Awards, where Bob Dylan accepted his Lifetime Achievement award.

The guitar has a 25.5” scale length one piece maple neck made by Fender Japan, dated 2-17-83 and stamped 3 EX T, the EX standing for “Export.” BOB DYLAN is stamped on both the neck heel and neck pocket in large black letters. 21 frets, black dot inlays, original nut, six vintage style tuners, a round string tree, and a spaghetti logo decal. The body is made of ash and finished in butterscotch blonde with a single ply black fiber pickguard, a chrome Fender USA ashtray bridge with ’84 serial number, a chrome neck plate, a chrome control plate, chrome knurled dome knobs, and chrome Schaller strap lock buttons. Two Telecaster pickups with cloth leads wired to a three way selector switch and volume and tone controls. Includes a tweed hardshell case with a faded red plush interior, a copy of Diaz’ Letter of Provenance, four images of Bob Dylan playing a similar instrument, and a copy of Spin Magazine’s December 1985 issue featuring an extensive interview with Dylan and a photo at his home studio with a similar Telecaster guitar.

Bob Dylan

Original Pencil Sketch Of A Hand On Plaza Hotel Memo Pad

Sold Price

$88,900

Estimate:

$1,500 - $2,500

A yellow pages torn from a memo pad from The Plaza hotel in New York city. The pencil drawing, in the hand of Bob Dylan, is of a hand drawing something on a memo page from a Plaza memo pad. The drawing also captures the fact that the hand has a Band-Aid near the wrist and it has a note below that reads, "I AM / An Artist / (Bob)."

The memo pad lists the telephone number for the hotel as PLAZA 9-3000, which is the 5 digit, alphanumeric telephone exchange system that went into place in New York City in approximately 1930. In 1960, New York began to phase this system out slowly, eliminating exchange codes using letters slowly over time. Based upon this, and contextual information provided by the consignor, we can date the drawing to the early to mid 1960s.

Bob Dylan

Autograph Fair Copy Lyrics for the Song "Blowin' in the Wind" With LOA From Jeff Rosen

Sold Price

$44,450

Estimate:

$20,000 - $30,000

A set of fair copy handwritten lyrics by Bob Dylan for the song "Blowin' In The Wind". The lyrics are written in black ballpoint pen on one side of a sheet of "St Regis / New York" stationery, comprising the title and three verses totaling twenty-five lines, signed and dated lower right "Bob Dylan 2011". Accompanied by a typed signed Letter of Authenticity on Bob Dylan Music Company letterhead from President Jeff Rosen, stating that the lyrics are "an authentic Bob Dylan manuscript" and "The document, one of four, was written and dated 2011, in his own hand".

"Blowin' In The Wind" was written by Bob Dylan in 1962 and appears as track no.1 on his second studio album "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" released in 1963.

Bob Dylan

Original Ink Sketches On Writing Tablet

Sold Price

$28,575

Estimate:

$1,000 - $1,500

A Mohegan brand writing tablet with a single page filled with blue ballpoint pen doodles of faces in the hand of Bob Dylan. The verso of this page and the next page in the tablet contain fourteen lines of text that have been artfully crossed out using geometric doodles to obscure each letter. It is possible to make out some of the words that have been drawn over and partial phrases like, "You know those three magic paintings," and "They are asleep" or "How would you like to sweep that up." The doodles and notations appear to have been done in one of Aronowitz's notebooks as a page further back in the notebook has what appears to be a draft in Aronowitz's hand about Yehudi Menuhin, the violinist and conductor who, as the notes mention, made his New York Debut at a young age in 1926 at the Manhattan Opera House.

Bob Dylan

Screen Worn Patchwork Denim Jacket from 1987 Feature Film "Hearts of Fire"

Sold Price

$25,400

Estimate:

$20,000 - $30,000

Levi's denim jacket hand embellished with velvet, lace and other textile patches worn by Bob Dylan in the feature film Hearts of Fire (Lorimar Motion Pictures, 1987). The jacket features hand embroidery throughout and it is trimmed with fringe. The jacket can be seen in pivotal scene where Dylan's character Billy Parker punches Rupert Everett's character James Holt. Levi's label present with no other markings. The costume designer on the film was Pip Newbery, who also worked in the costume department on Pink FLoyd: The Wall (MGM, 1982). Size XL

One of the fun bits of trivia about the film is the fact that Dylan's character delivers the line, "You know I guess I've always known I was never one of them rock 'n' roll singers that was gonna win any nobel prize."

A Legacy Preserved: The Importance of Music Memorabilia

The “Celebrating Bob Dylan: The Aronowitz Archive & More” auction served as a powerful reminder of the importance of preserving music history. These rare and remarkable items offer a tangible connection to a pivotal era in music and culture, inspiring future generations of artists and musicians.

“It was a fantastic auction with outstanding sales,” said Martin Nolan, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Julien’s Auctions. “We’re honored to highlight this truly unique collection with so many historic Bob Dylan items from the grandfather of rock journalism, Al Aronowitz. Today’s white glove auction just reinforces the extraordinary impact and everlasting love that people have for Dylan, which transcends generations.”

Setting the Standard in Music Memorabilia

Julien's Auctions continues to solidify its position as a global leader in music memorabilia sales, uniting collectors and enthusiasts from around the world. Their commitment to showcasing extraordinary collections and preserving music history has made them a trusted source for both buyers and sellers.

The record-breaking success of the Bob Dylan auction is a testament to the enduring legacy of one of music's most influential figures. The auction not only provided collectors with a rare opportunity to own a piece of music history but also served as a celebration of the power of music to inspire and connect people across generations and cultures.

a black and white photo of a man singing into a microphone

Live Auction

CELEBRATING BOB DYLAN: THE ARONOWITZ ARCHIVE & MORE

Jan 18, 2025

8:00 AM PST