200-plus Johnny Cash memorabilia items hit the auction block
A Minnesota company is offering the chance to own never-before-seen pieces of music history.
Karats by Auction House, an Edina auction house, has put more than 200 items of Johnny Cash memorabilia up for bidding.
James Egge, the owner of Karats, has handwritten setlists and lyrics, signed photographs, contracts and jewelry worn by Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash.
"We get to see little glimpses into his daily life, his thought process," Egge said.
Some of the auction items are so personal, they'd be mundane if it wasn't Johnny Cash.
There's a scribbled reminder on a slip of paper to call Clint Eastwood and a list of personal phone numbers, including Bob Dylan's and Charlie Daniels'.
Egge has contact sheets of candid family photographs, like from a birthday party thrown for Cash.
The vast majority of memorabilia came from the personal collection of Cindy Cash, Cash's daughter.
Egge and Cindy Cash struck up a friendship when he was working to track down the provenance of two rings he acquired that belonged to the Cashes.
"I thought instead of having this stuff sitting in tubs, sitting in storage, sitting in my safe, nobody seeing them, I'm going to share some things with his fans," Cindy Cash said. "It's not about money. It's about sharing my dad with the fans who have been so good to him."
Cindy Cash held onto the items with the most personal value, but she says it was difficult to part with many others, including a postcard from her father that he signed, "Daddy."
"She thought it would be good to share the heart of her dad," Egge said.
The online auction is live until May 4. Egge says he's taking appointments with people who'd like to inspect any of the items in person or virtually.
