It is also worth noting that, back in 1994, Christie’s sold Bird’s Grafton plastic alto — which he famously used for the Jazz at Massey Hall Concert in Toronto — to the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City for $140,000, where it remains on display.  It would be nice if this horn also makes its way into the public eye. Maybe Jazz at Lincoln Center would like to have it in their lobby. There should be a statue of Bird there anyway. I’m sure each of us would love to own this piece of history, but few of us have a million bucks to spare, and if we did, we’re probably spend it on records instead.

Here’s the original post from April, 2005:

Did any of you participate in the Guernsey’s Jazz Auction back in February? Here’s what happened with me. I went down the day before the auction to get a look at the items. Everything was in a large room at the new site of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Most of the stuff was enclosed in glass cases, although some of the instruments and artwork were out in the open behind a rope, where you could almost touch them. The placed was packed: A lot of jazz fans, to be sure, but also some curiosity-seekers as well, spilled over from the Gates exhibit across the street in Central Park. For me, the coolest thing was standing inches away – separated by glass – from Charlie Parker’s King alto. The idea that Bird’s fingerprints were all over the horn was truly thrilling and gave me goose bumps. I stood there for maybe five minutes just staring at the horn and breathing in the air.

At the end of the day, however, I decided not to come back on Sunday for the auction itself. To be honest, as compelling as it was, there was nothing that truly excited me: Nothing, at least, that I thought would be in a reasonable price range. Gaping at all that memorabilia, in fact, made me appreciate my record collection even more. It would be nice to have John Coltrane’s original recording contract with Prestige, but, given the choice, I’d take John Coltrane’s Prestige records any day. All you can do with the contract is frame it and look at it. With the records, you can put them on the turntable and listen to Coltrane play and hear and feel his presence in the most personal way possible: Through his music.

The next day I did watch some of the auction on line, which was not the most exciting way to spend a lovely Sunday afternoon. Bird’s alto was the highest selling item, going for $286,000. The item I was watching most intently was a letter from Bill Evans to Coltrane, dated Oct. 30, 1958. It was handwritten on both sides of a single sheet, with a small drawing by Evans and signed “Wild William.” Near the end of the letter, Evans wrote: “This letter will have to be my communiqué to the band also as I don’t have Jimmy’s, Paul’s, or Cannon’s address and can’t remember Miles’. I truly miss hearing and being with everyone. But, I’ll be saying hello soon.” I had a feeling this would be highly sought-after item and I was right. I figured it would sell for $10,000 to $15,000, based on other prices. Even I was surprised, however, when the bidding kept going and going, all the way up to $38,350. Quite a sum for a 2-page letter, wouldn’t you say?

Among the other high-ticket items: 
The original manuscript and text for Coltrane’s A Love Supreme: $129,200
Dizzy Gillespie’s trumpet: $30,680
Gerry Mulligan’s baritone sax: $112,100
A notebook on “Negro History” written by Coltrane in the fifth grade: $16,520

That Coltrane Prestige contract I mentioned above sold for $6,000. It included a handwritten note at the end that stated: “Prestige agrees to pay John Coltrane $300 per 12″ album and will record 3 12″ albums per year.” Isn’t ironic that the amount Prestige paid Coltrane to record those albums is comparable to the amount a single copy of one album might fetch on eBay today?