A Tribute To Prince: 4 Iconoclastic Items to Bid on Now

T here will simply never be anyone quite like the artist formerly known as Prince: A prodigy, an iconoclast, an artist who was significantly ahead of his time artistically, culturally, sartorially.

A Minnesota native, Prince was a self-taught virtuoso who signed his first record contract at the age of 19. The contract included impressive language that granted the budding music royal nearly complete creative control over his first album. Smart move on everyone's part: He went on to produce 39 studio albums and over 900 songs, including legendary chart-toppers "Purple Rain," "Kiss," "1999" and "When Doves Cry."

This week, as part of our Rock & Pop auction, we've introduced four items that were anointed by His Royal Badness. You can—and should—bid on them now.

Versace Sunglasses

Prince had a longstanding personal friendship with Donatella Versace. In 1995, he created a mixtape called The Versace Experience (Prelude 2 Gold) which was handed to guests at the brand's couture presentation. He reportedly sent Ms. Versace recordings of songs before they were released. She, in turn, dedicated her Spring/Summer 2017 menswear show to him following his death. These sunglasses were obtained directly from Prince’s former wife, Mayte Garcia, who provided a letter of authenticity which reads: “These black and gold Gianni Versace Sunglasses were purchased and worn by Prince in the mid 90’s. The sunglasses are made by one of his favorite brands which was Versace.”

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"Kiss" Jacket

In 1986, Prince and The Revolution released "Kiss" as the lead single off their album Parade. The song was in the top spot of the Billboard Top 100 for two weeks and won the band a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or a Group. The album cover for the single featured Prince sporting a bouffant and pencil-thin mustache, kohl-rimmed eyes turned coquettishly towards someone off-camera. On his famously slim frame he wore a tank top pulled rakishly up above his navel and this rhinestone-bedazzled leather jacket. The lucky winner of this lot will not only be in possession of a piece of music history, but a stunningly wearable (why not!) jacket to boot.

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Signed Poster

Prince formed his band The Revolution in 1979. They made their album debut on 1999 in 1982 and rocketed to fame in 1984 with the release of Purple Rain. They ultimately broke up in 1986 due to some inter-band tensions, but would reunite with Prince in 2000 and several times again in the years leading up to his death. This iconically stylish poster features a rather tall-looking Prince (he was famously diminutive of stature) and hails from 1984, created as promotion of Purple Rain. It has been signed in black ink by Prince himself and inscribed with the note "Love God."

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Lyric Manuscript

This one's a framer. A hand-written manuscript featuring a near-final version of lyrics to "3121," a track released on Prince's 2006 album of the same name. The looping cursive handwriting is exactly what you might expect from an artist such as Prince: elegant, flamboyant and idiosyncratic. He uses shorthand (e.g. “u” to represent “you;” “c” to represent “see;” “ur” to represent “your”) throughout, driving home the authenticity and allowing the viewer to truly immerse themselves in the creative process.

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