The Thursday auction will be held online and at the firm’s gallery in Lynbrook, N.Y., at 10 am.
LYNBROOK, N.Y. – Frank Sinatra’s original signed fingerprint card from his arrest in New Jersey in 1938, pre-fame, on a morals charge, and a studio multi-track master two-inch tape with eight different songs and segments recorded by Jimi Hendrix not long before his death, are star lots in Weiss Auctions’ next big sale, planned for Thursday, April 19th, at 10 am Eastern time.
The auction will be held online and in Weiss Auctions’ gallery at 74 Merrick Road in Lynbrook. Internet bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com and Proxibid.com. The sale is packed with hundreds of lots of rock ‘n’ roll, historical items, militaria and Part 3 of the Jerry Winevsky collection of New York City and Coney Island postcards, books, photographs and ephemera.
In November 1938, a then-23-year-old Frank Sinatra was twice arrested in Bergen County, N.J., and charged with seduction (yes, that was a thing back then) and adultery. According to a police report, Sinatra “under the promise of marriage” had sex with a woman who initially claimed Ol’ Blue Eyes had deflowered her. Charges were dropped when it came out the woman was married.
Sinatra’s signed finger print card from that seduction arrest is the item being auctioned, and it’s considered a rare and valuable piece of memorabilia because it pre-dates his rise to stardom as an international singing sensation, charter member of the Rat Pack and the Chairman of the Board. Sinatra collectibles typically date back to when he was “Bones” at the Paramount and forward.
The multi-track master two-inch studio tape is the ultimate collectible for fans of Jimi Hendrix, arguably the greatest rock guitarist who ever lived. On the tape are eight songs (or segments), plus a short unidentified piano composition, recorded in the waning days of the star’s life, which ended at age 27 in 1970. Hendrix has been an inspiration for generations of guitarists ever since.
The lot consists of the studio tape, featuring six songs off the Cry of Love album (Freedom, Ezy Ryder, Night Bird Flying, Straight Ahead, Astro Man and In From the Storm); one song from the War Heroes album (Stepping Stone); an instrumental keyboard track lasting a few minutes; 24-bit .wav files, digitally transferred to two data DVDs, so the taped material can be used in a digital work station; and in-depth analyses of each song, all in a handsome presentation box.
The rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia also includes a 1969 Jimi Hendrix Northern California Folk Rock Festival concert poster; a 1969 Janis Joplin concert poster, a framed group of signatures from all four Beatles, displayed below an early photo of the Fab Four; a bootleg Bruce Springsteen LP titled Jersey Devil, signed by Springsteen, Weinberg and Federici; and original back stage passes from all genres, concerts and crew shirts, posters, handbills and other rare and sought after items.
Other posters will feature a 1935 Little Black Sambo one-sheet poster, with restoration; an 1897 French Exposition de Poupees (Doll Exhibition) poster; a 1983 Italian propaganda poster, one seeking volunteer technicians; a circa 1910 French Gustave Rouquier jewelry advertising poster, by Charles Railpod; and a scarce circa 1935 Wrigley’s Chewing Gum poster, by Otis Shepard.
The poster category continues with a 1978 Polish Star Wars one-sheet movie poster, unrestored; a 1932 Europe and Brazil Graf zeppelin travel poster, HAPAG, by Paul Theodore Etbauer; and a Veedol Motor Oil poster from around 1936 showing the Graf and Hindenburg zeppelins. Also up for bid will be World Wars I and II posters, advertising posters, foreign posters and other posters.
NASA offerings will include nicely framed lots, to include one for the Apollo 15 moon mission, with an image of the moon surrounded by autographs of various astronauts; one for the Mercury 7 mission, with a photo of the crew, an autographed news release and a signed check; and an Apollo 11 lot, with the crew and signatures of Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins.
A collection of rare and adorable cast iron doorstops will include a Hubley Bathing Beauties doorstop, signed “Fish”; a Hubley Charleston Dancers doorstop, also signed “Fish”; and more. Militaria will feature Civil War and other items. Photographic images will include tintypes, ambrotypes and daguerreotypes. Rounding out the sale will be rare books and paper ephemera.
Weiss Auctions is always accepting quality consignments for future auctions. To consign an item, estate or a collection, you may call them at (516) 594-0731; or, you can send an e-mail to Philip Weiss at [email protected]. For more information about Weiss Auctions and the big auction planned for Thursday, April 19th, visit www.WeissAuctions.com. Updates are posted often.