Rare Harrison-Clapton guitar hits Reverb for dedicated, deep-pocketed music fans
A poisoned chalice?
A unique piece of rock history, a 1913 Gibson acoustic guitar played and owned by both George Harrison of The Beatles and Eric Clapton of Cream, is now listed for sale on Reverb. Nicknamed Pattie, this over-a-century-old, photo-matched instrument was central to the formative songwriting collaborations of Harrison and Clapton in 1968, notably during the sessions that led to Clapton's Badge.
The seller emphasises the guitar's cultural significance, linking it to the end of The Beatles and Cream and the dawn of their members' solo careers – depending on your perspective, that might be a good or bad thing.
The listing also points out that a segment of Badge found its way into Harrison's iconic Beatles track, Here Comes The Sun, further amplifying the guitar's historical importance which is highlighted in the video below.
The 18-inch wide Gibson Style O guitar features a sunburst finish highlighting its distinctive design elements: a one-piece neck and sides, wide paddle-shaped peg head, oval sound hole, banjo-style tuning pegs, and black top finish – it’s an unusual looking instrument even before factoring in the whole Beatles/Cream aspect of the situation.
While the asking price is approximately $1 million, the seller deems it a "near-priceless piece of music history." For those with the means, this is a rare opportunity to own a tangible artefact connected to two of rock music's most legendary figures and their pivotal creative period.
The item was listed on the 12th May and hasn’t had anyone pull the trigger just yet, although when we checked the listing, it did say someone has it in their cart… maybe they’re just making sure they’ve got space before pulling the trigger.
