Over the last 20 years, rock and pop memorabilia has moved out of the junk shops and into the auction houses. The most exclusive items associated with legends like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, and Jimi Hendrix have begun to attract the same prices as the paintings of the old masters. Christie's Rock & Pop Memorabilia offers the first comprehensive survey of this worldwide market. Included is everything from autographs, letters, manuscripts, posters, artwork, and guitars to mass-produced artifacts that were aimed at teenage pop fans in the 1950s and 1960s and that today are scarce and valuable collector's items. Represented in over 120 fabulous photographs are such collectibles as Eric Clapton's prized Fender Stratocaster, Elvis Presley's love letters, Elton John's outrageous outfits, and Madonna's famous black bustier.
Peter Doggett has been writing about popular music, the entertainment industry and social and cultural history since 1980.
A regular contributor to Mojo, Q and GQ, his books include The Art and Music of John Lennon, a volume detailing the creation of the Beatles' Let It Be and Abbey Road albums; the pioneering study of the collision between rock and country music, Are You Ready for the Country?, There's a Riot Going On: Revolutionaries, Rock Stars and the Rise and Fall of 60s Counter-culture, and, most recently,You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup, out in June of 2010.
