Clapton Guitars Fetch Large Coin

Eric Clapton auctioned off some of his most famous and beloved guitars at Christie's last week to benefit Crossroads Centre in Antigua, an
addiction treatment center established by Clapton in 1998.

Here are the results of the top ten:

Crossroads Guitar Auction ~ Eric Clapton & Friends for the Crossroads CentreJune 24, 2004
Sold: $7,438,624 Lots offered: 88 Lots sold: 88 £: $1.82/¤: $1.21 £4,087,156 Sold by lot: 100% Sold by $: 100% Sale No. 1392 ¤6,147,623

LOT, PRICE, ESTIMATE, BUYER:

88 $959,500 £527,198/¤792,975 $100,000-150,000 Guitar Center
Fender "Blackie" Circa 1956 and 1957, A Composite Fender Stratocaster, served as Clapton's sole stage and studio guitar for 15 years of his career from the late 1970 to 1985
WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR A GUITAR

41 $847,500 £465,659/¤700,403 $60,000-80,000 Guitar Center
Gibson 1964, ES-335 TDC, purchased by Clapton in 1964, he has used this ES-335 throughout his career
WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR A GIBSON GUITAR
THIRD HIGHEST PRICE FOR A GUITAR

19 $791,500 £434,890/¤654,132 $60,000-80,000 West Coast Collector
C.F. Martin and Company 1939, Style 000-42, Clapton's main acoustic guitar between 1993 and 1995, cover of the Unplugged album
WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR A MARTIN GUITAR

83 $623,500 £342,582/¤515,289 $15,000-20,000 Guitar Center
Fender “Lenny” Circa 1965 and later, Composite Stratocaster, purchased by Stevie Ray Vaughan in the 1970's and used by him throughout his career, donated by Jimmie Vaughan
SECOND HIGHEST PRICE FOR A FENDER STRATOCASTER

79 $455,500 £250,275/¤376,446 $8,000-12,000 US Private
Fender 1996, Fender Stratocaster, 50th Anniversary Issue, Master Built Eric Clapton Signature Model, served as Eric Clapton’s main stage guitar during 1997

87 $321,100 £176,429/¤265,372 $8,000-12,000 US Private
Fender 2004, Stratocaster, Master Built Crash Concept Model, custom painted by graffiti artist 'Crash,' Clapton's main stage instrument since the March 2004 concert, used for the 2004 European Tour thus far

29 $253,900 £139,505/¤209,835 $10,000-15,000 US Private
Juan Alvarez 1997, Classical Guitar, recognizable from its appearance on MTV Unplugged in January 1992, also used for the solo performance of Tears In Heaven in 1992

33 $253,900 £139,505/¤209,835 $30,000-50,000 Anonymous
Anthony C. Zemaitis 1969, 12-String Guitar Co-Designed with Eric Clapton, used on the album Blind Faith, 1969.

86 $231,500 £127,198/¤191,322 $10,000-15,000 US Private
Fender 1988, Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster, Eric Clapton Signature Model, served as Clapton’s main stage guitar from the summer of 1990 until March 1993

85 $220,300 £121,044/¤182,066 $7,000-9,000 US Private
Fender 2000, Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster, played by Clapton in the studio, and used as a back up stage guitar during the Reptile Tour, 2001

More on the sale, which took place on June 24th:

In a thundering two-hour sale, carried by waves of fierce bidding and outbursts of devotional excitement, many Eric Clapton fans saw their dreams come true. In the fully packed James Christie salesroom at Rockefeller Center, bidders from all over the world competed passionately to acquire guitars from Eric Clapton's collection or instruments donated by his musician friends such as Jimmie Vaughan and Pete Townshend. The sale was 100% sold and totaled $7,438,624, easily eclipsing the $5 million result achieved for the first Eric Clapton sale organized by Christie's in 1999. The top lot of the evening was 'Blackie,' the black and white composite Fender Stratocaster that served as Clapton’s sole stage and studio guitar from 1970 till 1985. 'Blackie' was sold for $959,500, becoming the most expensive guitar ever to have been sold at auction. Proceeds of the sale will benefit Crossroads Centre in Antigua, an addiction treatment center established by Eric Clapton in 1998.
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