1999 Christie’s Guitar Auction: Did Eric Clapton buy one of his guitars back?

1999 Christie’s Guitar Auction: Did Eric Clapton buy one of his guitars back?

At the London press conference leading up to the sale on June 24 in New York City, Eric revealed he was considering bidding for one of the consigned guitars. “I have realized that there is one I just cannot part with, so I will be bidding in secret for it. It is not a very expensive guitar but I would pay a reasonable price for it as I really want to hold on to it. Obviously, I am not going to say which one it is but it is a guitar that has been around my house for years and I’ve picked it up in times of great stress like a comfort blanket.”

On the day of the auction, it was revealed that the guitar in question was Lot 100, a 1930 Gibson L4. After the sale, Christie’s said in a statement that Eric ultimately did not bid on the instrument. Eric Clapton later said he made the decision that if the guitar went above a certain price, he would let it go as he was raising money for Crossroads Centre at Antigua.