Bob Dylan's earliest-known recording, other memorabilia up for auction
Bidding is underway for dozens of Bob Dylan memorabilia items, including his earliest-known demo recording described as "a revelation."
New Hampshire-based RR Auction has more than 70 items available through Wednesday night, including the original master of the demo Dylan recorded at The Gaslight Café in New York City's Greenwich Village on Sept. 6, 1961.
Dylan was 20 at the time and had only arrived in New York from his home state of Minnesota less than eight months earlier.
The recording was made by Dylan's first manager, Terri Thal, with the hope of getting him more gigs.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the demo has 23 bids and stands at more than $31,000.
The item with the highest estimate — more than $33,000 — is a handwritten and signed copy of Dylan's lyrics to "All Around the Watchtower."
Most of the items are from the collection of Bob Neuwirth, Dylan's friend since 1961, who went on to be his musical collaborator and road manager. Neuwirth died in 2022 at age 82.
Most famous for co-writing Janis Joplin's "Mercedes Benz," Neuwirth is also featured on the cover of Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" album from 1965 — well, the lower half of his body, that is.
A shimmering, country-western suit worn by Neuwirth in 1976 during Dylan's epic Rolling Thunder Revue tour is also on the auction block, with bidding up to $20,000 as of Wednesday morning.
Other items include a harmonica Dylan played during his divisive 1966 world tour, when he and his backing band embraced electric instruments to the dismay of many folk music fans.
RR Auction says proceeds from the sales of Neuwirth's collection will go to help fund a documentary on his life and influence.
The auction ends Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. CST.
Dylan, now 83, was born Robert Zimmerman in Duluth and raised in Hibbing. He studied for a year at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where he entrenched himself in folk music. He started performing at a Dinkytown coffee shop and embraced his new moniker before moving out east.
The Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown" was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Timothée Chalamet, but won zero.
Last month, Minnesota lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill in the state Senate to make Dylan's "Girl from the North Country," and "Purple Rain" by fellow Minnesota luminary Prince, Minnesota's official state songs.
