Kurt Cobain's MTV Unplugged in New York guitar up for auction

Kurt Cobain’s iconic guitar he used for Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged in New York performance in 1993 is expected to fetch $1 million (£810,000) at auction.

The late Nirvana frontman played the 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic-electric guitar for the band’s MTV Unplugged set at Sony Music Studios in New York City on 18th November 1993 – just five months before his death aged 27.

The iconic guitar is the star lot of Julien’s Auctions Music Icons auction, which takes place in Beverly Hills, California on Friday 19th and Saturday 20th June.

It was the seventh of only 302 D-18Es built by Martin and was customised by Kurt, who added a Bartolini pickup to the soundhole.

On top of the guitar, the item comes with a hard-shell guitar case decorated by Kurt with a flyer of Poison Idea’s 1990 album ‘Feel the Darkness’, and it also features baggage reclaim ticket stubs.

Inside the case is Kurt’s half-used pack of Martin guitar strings, three guitar picks, and his suede "stash" bag decorated with a miniature silver spoon, fork, and knife.

Estimated to fetch $1 million (£810,000) under the hammer, Darren Julien, President/Chief Executive Officer of Julien’s Auctions, says: "Julien’s Auctions is proud to offer this historic guitar from Kurt Cobain, who upended the music industry and pop culture at large with his mythic performance fronting Nirvana on MTV Unplugged in New York.

"This important guitar has earned its rightful place in Rock ’N’ Roll history as the instrument played by one of rock’s most influential musicians and icons in one of the greatest and most memorable live performances of all time."

Lauded by critics and fans alike, ‘MTV Unplugged in New York’ was released as an album on 1st November 1994 and sold almost 7 million copies in its first four months alone.

The album features stripped back versions of Nirvana tracks including ‘About A Girl’, ‘Polly’, and ‘Something In The Way’, plus covers of tracks by Scottish band The Vaselines, David Bowie, Lead Belly, and Meat Puppets, whose members Cris and Curt Kirkwood joined Nirvana onstage.

Last year, Kurt’s cardigan he wore for MTV Unplugged In New York fetched a whopping $334,000 at a Julien’s Auctions sale.

Other Kurt Cobain items in Julien’s Auctions Music Icons sale include a smashed Fender Stratocaster guitar used by Kurt during the 1994 In Utero Tour (estimate: $60,000-$80,000), a metallic silver lame long sleeve button-down shirt worn in Nirvana’s 1993 "Heart-shaped Box" music video (estimate: $10,000-$20,000) and a copy of Nirvana’s 1989 Bleach CD cover signed "Kurdt" and inscribed with drawings (estimate: $1,000-$2,000).

Musicians when they were younger:

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