The greatest collection of guitars ever assembled is headed to auction via Christie’s New York following the passing of Indianapolis Colts owner and renowned memorabilia collector Jim Irsay. A portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to charity.
The collection includes several iconic axes, including Jerry Garcia’s “Tiger,” Kurt Cobain’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” Mustang, Prince‘s “Yellow Cloud” guitar, David Gilmour’s famous “Black Strat,” Eric Clapton’s “The Fool” Gibson SG, Bob Dylan’s 1964 Fender Stratocaster, which he used during his famous electric set at Newport Folk Festival, and John Lennon’s Gretsch 6120 Country Gentleman.
Instruments once owned by Eddie Van Halen, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Elton John are also among the trove of curated treasures, along with a number of other important cultural artifacts like Jack Kerouac‘s original handwritten manuscript of On the Road, Muhammad Ali‘s “Rumble in the Jungle” championship belt from 1974, Jackie Robinson‘s baseball bat, the saddle used by Triple Crown winner Secretariat, and a Wilson volleyball used during the filming of Cast Away.
Some of the pieces already broke auction records when they were purchased by Irsay, who reportedly rejected an offer of $1 billion for the entire collection.
“Our dad was a passionate collector, driven not by possession, but by a profound appreciation for the beauty, history and cultural resonance of the items he curated,” Irsay’s daughters told the IndyStar. “From iconic instruments to handwritten lyrics by legends to rare historical artifacts and documents, each piece in the collection tells a story – and he was always so excited to share those stories with the world.”
“Christie’s is honored to offer this magnificent collection, so lovingly compiled, maintained, and shared by legendary collector Jim Irsay over decades,” Julien Pradels, Christie’s Regional President of the Americas, added. “These extraordinary objects will be made available to passionate collectors around the globe, who have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a piece of history, and provide this exquisite collection its next chapter.”
The auctions are expected to take place in March 2026. Sign up for updates here.