An iconic cardigan belonging to Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain has sold for $75,000, almost four times as much as originally expected.
Back in August of 1993, Nirvana were gearing up to release what would become their final studio album, In Utero.
To promote the record, Nirvana caught up with photographer Jesse Frohman in New York City for a photo shoot. As it turned out, this session would be the final formal photo shoot the group undertook, with Kurt Cobain passing away in April the following year.
While some of the photos from this session have become iconic amongst fans, the pictures also capture a casually dressed Kurt Cobain, decked out in some iconic sunglasses, torn jeans, and a patterned cardigan. Now, the latter item has brought in some impressive cash at a recent auction.
As Blabbermouth reports, Julien’s Auctions recently held their Music Icons auction at the Hard Rock Café in New York’s Times Square.
While items from the likes of Prince (an $89,600 Taylor 612-CE acoustic guitar), Michael Jackson (a $76,800 military style jacket), Neil Diamond (a $75,000 1956 White Ford Thunderbird), and other musical icons were up for grabs, grunge fans undoubtedly pointed their peepers towards the items owned by Kurt Cobain.
While a handwritten setlist (on a used paper plate, no less) sold for $22,000, Cobain’s cardigan managed to bring in $75,000, far beyond its original estimate of $20,000.
Although other items of Kurt Cobain’s have been sold over the years, this cardigan undoubtedly holds a special place in the hearts of Nirvana fans, effectively becoming the last clothes many saw their idol in before his passing.
Speaking of the photo shoot, Jesse Frohman told Vice in 2014 how the session could have ended in disaster, with Cobain reportedly barely able to stand up.
“He was really engaged, but he was partly out of it—it was a weird kind of engagement,” Frohman explained. “He wasn’t coherent, but he got into his own world and the world of the photo shoot.”
“He wasn’t checking his watch, in that way he was engaged, but he was also definitely in his own world.”
“He was really polite,” said of Cobain meeting his fans at one point. “He seemed like he really had his act together. His fans were very much like him, they dressed like him, they weren’t screaming Elvis fans, they were quiet, very cool, a little nerdy.”
“It was maybe fifty, sixty people. He really seemed to enjoy them. I thought he would just sign a few autographs and walk in, but he really was polite and nice. He didn’t talk, but he stood there and signed every autograph.”
Check out ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ by Nirvana:
