As you’ll have seen from our coverage of the event yesterday, the sale of the David Gilmour Guitar Collection at Christie’s New York, in aid of the charity ClientEarth, was wildly successful, with every item selling easily, raising $21,490,750 / £16,935,185/ €19,035,147. It was the most valuable musical instrument sale in auction history, and took place in a pair of packed salesrooms (a second room opening due to sheer volume of people). The numbers attempting to be involved with the sale meant that Christie’s were forced to move the start time by an hour, to better accommodate everyone. Of the 126 lots sold, there were a few record breakers. In particular, the Black Strat achieved $3,975,000, setting a world auction record for any guitar. At the foot of this news item we have the list of top ten items based on final sale price yesterday. Here’s the moment that the Black Strat sold: On hearing how much the sale of David’s instruments had raised for them, ClientEarth CEO James Thornton said: This is a truly humbling and extraordinary gift, which goes beyond our wildest expectations. It’s difficult to express just how deeply grateful we are to David for choosing ClientEarth as the beneficiary of this historic auction. The law is one of the most powerful tools we have to tackle the world’s increasing environmental problems. This gift is a phenomenal boost to our work using the law to tackle climate change and protect nature. It will allow us to play an even greater role in addressing the climate crisis and securing a healthy planet for future generations. Christie’s note that, in the lead up to the auction, over 12,000 fans booked hour-long time slots at the tour stops in London, Los Angeles and New York to get up-close to the guitars. In excess of 500,000 people viewed the content around the sale on Christies.com, and more than 2,000 bidders from 66 countries registered for the sale. 97 percent of all guitars in the sale were sold to or directly underbid by online registrants. 38 percent of the lots were purchased by online bidders.
