A 1968 Martin D-45 acoustic guitar owned and used onstage by Eric Clapton is headed to the auction block.
Used by Clapton most prominently at Derek and The Dominos' debut concert at the Lyceum Theatre in London on June 14, 1970, the guitar is being put up for sale as part of Juliens Auctions' Icons & Idols: Rock 'N' Roll auction, to be held online and at the New York City Hard Rock Cafe on November 19 and November 20.
Clapton also used the acoustic while touring and performing with Delaney & Bonnie and Friends – including a televised BBC performance of Poor Elijah – Tribute to Johnson that you can watch below.
Clapton went on to gift the guitar to singer-songwriter Dave Edmunds while he was visiting Clapton at his home in Surrey in 1976. The acoustic is accompanied by a signed letter of provenance from Edmunds, which asserts that Clapton was originally planning to gift him a Gibson J-200 but decided on the Martin instead when he was unable to find the J-200.
Juliens did not state whether or not Clapton (or Edmunds) had made any changes or repairs to the guitar in the intervening decades, but from the looks of it, the guitar appears to be a standard D-45 of the era, with a spruce top, rosewood back and sides, and mahogany neck.
Unsurprisingly given the guitar's provenance, it won't come cheap. Estimates of its value currently range from $300,000 – $500,000.
For more info on the guitar, head on over to Juliens Auctions.
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