The once-in-a-lifetime auction features hundreds of artifacts from the birth of rock’s greatest band
Brian Jones’ original electric guitar he played as a member of The Rolling Stones is expected to fetch up to $400,000 when it comes up for sale on December 4th in Heritage’s Satisfaction: The Rolling Stones Treasures from the Ali Zayeri Collection Music Memorabilia Signature Auction.
Noted collector Ali Zayeri, who has been buying Rolling Stones memorabilia for more than 40 years, presents the guitar as the centerpiece of a multi-million dollar collection dedicated to the group that includes rare stage-worn costumes, instruments, posters for early gigs, signed contracts, and other exciting material from the formation of the band in the 1960s.
Jones acquired the Harmony Stratotone guitar in 1962 and played it during The Rolling Stones’ session for their first single “Come On/I Want To Be Loved,” and he played it on stage with The Stones in 1962 and ’63, including at the Marquee Club in London.
“Brian Jones’s humble Harmony Stratotone stands as one of the most important instruments in rock and roll history,” says Charles Epting, Director of Consignments at Heritage Auctions. “It was the electric guitar he played on the band’s earliest demos and at their early club gigs, and the very one heard on the band’s debut single, a cover of Chuck Berry’s Come On, which introduced The Stones to the world. Perhaps even more importantly, this was the guitar Jones used to teach a young Keith Richards, helping shape the partnership that would define the band’s sound for decades.”
The guitar has featured extensively in major Rolling Stones exhibitions around the world, including The Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Satisfaction, at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland; The Rolling Stones: Exhibitionism at Saatchi Gallery in London; and The Rolling Stones: Unzipped international touring exhibition.
“The memory is vivid, as if etched in vinyl grooves,” says Ali Zayeri about discovering the band. “I was 16 when Paint It Black first reached my ears, and in that moment, something shifted. The Rolling Stones spoke to a wilder rhythm than The Beatles ever could for me. I began collecting every piece I could at the time – magazines, newspaper clippings, programs. Now, so many years later, their music remains a time machine, carrying me back to that rockin’ young man with dreams as loud as the music he adored.”
Other highlights from the auction include an extremely rare and early concert poster promoting The Rolling Stones’ performance in Guildford, Surrey, in the south of England. The Ricky Tick club was notable for hosting some of The Stones’ first shows on their 1963 British tour. Lower down on the bill were The Yardbirds, with one of Eric Clapton’s earliest appearances with that group. The double-sided poster, which also promotes Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, has an estimate of $20,000-40,000.
A designer silk jacket owned and worn by Mick Jagger in 1967 carries the same estimate. Photographs and magazine spreads from the time show Jagger wearing the jacket, including on The Rolling Stones’ performance of “Let’s Spend the Night Together” on Top of the Pops, Britain’s No. 1 TV chart show.
Another iconic piece of Stones clothing is a suede jacket with fringe detailing, worn by Brian Jones, custom-made for the musician by designer Ossie Clark. Numerous photographs show Jones wearing the elaborate jacket, most importantly on stage for what would be his final live performance with The Stones, on May 12, 1968, at the NME Show at the Empire Pool in Wembley, UK. Jones also wore the jacket at the London premiere of the movie Rosemary’s Baby on May 7, 1968, accompanied by Ringo Starr and Mia Farrow.
“If Brian Jones’s Harmony Stratotone marks the beginning of The Rolling Stones’ story, his Ossie Clark suede jacket provides a poignant closing chapter,” says Charles Epting. “It was worn at the last concert Jones ever played with the band he founded.”
An unused album cover sleeve of an unreleased Rolling Stones album titled We Love You, after their 1967 single of the same name, comes with the reverse left tantalizingly blank without hints of the originally intended tracks. It is believed to be a forerunner to The Stones’ sixth studio album, Their Satanic Majesties Request, released in December 1967. It is estimated at $10,000-20,000.
Guitarist Ronnie Wood’s name is, of course, synonymous with The Stones, and one of his notebooks, dating to the 1970s and containing artworks, song titles, and lyrics for the band, with contributions by Mick Jagger, is pitched at $10,000-20,000.
Rare posters, concert programs, awards, autographed LPs, and contracts signed by the band are all expected to make thousands of dollars at the auction, alongside acetates and rare test pressings.
“For much of my life, I have been on a mission to chronicle and collect the legacy of the greatest rock ’n’ roll band the world has ever known,” says Zayeri. “Every ticket stub, every poster, every autograph tells a story. Partnering with Heritage Auctions is the perfect way to share that story, and to pass the spirit of The Stones on to a new generation of fans.”
An auction preview happens at Heritage’s London location from November 10-14, 17-21, and 24-28.
