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the "priest" they called him: original autographs on cardboard

the cardboard with the original autographs was kept by thor lindsay, owner of tim/kerr records, and in 2001 it was put on auction on ebay by thor's friend thomas robinson.
from the auction form: These are the original autographs of Kurt Cobain and William S. Burroughs that were used to make the TK record. The item is absolutely authentic. In 1992, Thor persuaded Kurt and Burroughs to do a record together. This was released the next year as "Priest". On the record, the B side is actually an engraving of their signatures. The item up for bid is the original artwork containing the original autographs of Cobain & Burroughs. The way that these were made is that Thor mailed the board to Burroughs who signed it and mailed it back. Then, Thor flew down to SF where Cobain was playing. Cobain signed it backstage on Friday, April 9, 1992 at the cow palace. The photo on the back of the record jacket was taken backstage on that night.
The signed board is 10.75" x 11".
Included with the auction are a number of other items:
- original backstage pass used by Thor at the concert where the autograph was signed
- original test pressing (white label) of the record, showing the engraved B side which was produced from these signatures. This is in a stock jacket
- a sealed copy of the record, the double sided picture disc (only 5000 pressed)
- an extra copy of the same record and cover, not sealed, so you have a copy to play
- a CD of the release
- an original promotional poster for the record release.
I unconditionally guarantee that this is authentic. I knew Thor and Courtney and many people involved with Thor's label, and in fact I am the photographer of the Wipers box set with Kurt that was also issued back then (look on the record, my name is Thomas Robinson). Thor was friends with Kurt for years. The photographer who flew to SF with Thor to take the photos is Marc Trunz and he is also a witness to the signing and lives nearby.
I am now a pro ebayer and am selling this on behalf of my friend Thor.
these items were repeatedly put on auctions (the last time, on january 2002, the original master tape was also included) but never reached the high reserve. later they were sold privately.
related items: the "priest" they called him 10" record and cd, original master tape

thanks to thor lindsay and thomas robinson

smells like teen spirit - us 7": scratched signature, record and yellow paper

i got it at a used record store. earlier that day the owner bought several items(some signed) from a mother whose son had recently passed away in a motorcycle accident. these were the remaining items from his collection that his family did not want. apparently he went to a lot of shows where he would get items signed. afterward he would write on a piece of paper who had signed the item, from where it was signed at, and the signing date. he put these together for later purposes of having the item professionally framed with a metal etched plaque(signing info). the records were on the counter being priced. there was a signed and not signed pile. when i picked out the "slts" single, neither i nor the owner knew of the kurdt scratch signature as it was in the not signed pile. holding the "slts" i ask her how much, she replied "oh nirvana, how about $2?". without checking the condition, i paid for it and left. on my drive whilst waiting at a traffic light, i inspected my latest purchase. when i pulled out the vinyl from the sleeve, a small yellow paper slipped out onto the passenger seat. dismissing this, i noticed that "eihy" was in near mint condition. flipping the record over, when i saw the "kurdt" my heart started racing. all these weird thoughts popped into my head - was this really kurt's signature?, where's the rest of the band? immediately, my thoughts went from this is fake to hey this really is his signature! at some point afterward wondering what the yellow paper was, i checked it to read "kurt cobain warfield theater 10-26-91". it was really weird after seeing this. i knew that nirvana had played at the cow palace on new year's eve of '91, however i wasn't sure about this date. i couldn't wait to get home to check my printed form of "the happening" detailing the concert chronology. later when i had seen that the date was correct, i had to verify the release of the 7". my thinking was, if the date and release of the 7" match up then it's totally possible that this was authentic. i asked the nirvanavinyl club something like if it was released in september '91 or before october 26, 1991. in the end, with all things considered, i have a scratched record and quite possibly a really great find. currently, it rests in a box in the garage... with the rest of my collection.
Giovanni

thanks to giovanni solorio

newsletter to fans: front, back, detail of signatures

I obtained this beauty on Ebay in Early 2000 from a gal in the US. I caught the auction with 2 hrs left and contacted the seller to find out some history. She was a part of the Nirvana "fan club" back in the day and recieved this. Best part about this was she didn't put this in her auction description and everyone who had looked at it must have thought this was a total fake - bidding was at a measly 26.00 US. I ended up winning the auction for $35.50 US I believe - perhaps one of my best internet finds/deals. Very occasionally, one of these pops up on Ebay and goes for big cash, but for some reason the Nirvana gods were looking down on me that day and decided I should own this for dirt cheap.
Arnold

thanks to arnold van lambalgen

letter to fans from september 1990: envelope, all pages

Written by young Kurt Cobain to support a fan letter Sub Pop was doing.
The letter was written once by Kurt, then photocopied; Kurt would write in pen the fans name in the top of the first page, and in this case he also wrote "Me" at the end. You can see a page of this letter in the WTLO booklet.
The envelope was written in two different time using different color pens. It's stamped Tacoma 10 Sep. 1990, Kurt being at home in Seattle for 8/24/90 show at the Moore theater, looking toward the 9/22/90 at the Motor Sports International and Garage show where Dan Peters from Mudhoney played drums.
Kurt writes about his touring the U.S. and doings to pass the time; the letter also includes Sub Pop propaganda and an order form defaced by Kurt. He draw the shirt with John and Bruce (as in the John & Yoko "Two virgins" album cover), the "Rings of Hell" shirt and the Bleach shirt. You can also see "Steve Albini" written above Leif Garret's name.
An interesting period for Nirvana, not having a drummer (Chad not in the band anymore), but still they recorded with Butch Vig in Madison, Wisconsin before Grohl joined.
Abel

thanks to abel benitez

bleach and sliver cd inlays signed by Kurt, Chris and Dave

Bleach: Dave signed "CHAD" since Dave himself did not play on any of the tracks of the CD.
Sliver: Dave signed "A. DAN" (Dan Peters) "B. CHAD" (Chad Channing) since those guys are the drummers on the songs. He went on to sign "Dave" himself. Kurt played along with the theme and signed "C. Kurdt" right between "B. Chad" and "Dave" - just following alphabetical order ;)!
The where and when: This CD, along with my Bleach CD, were signed by the band at an in-store appearance at Waterloo Records in Austin, Texas. This instore appearance was October 21, 1991 just before Nirvana played Liberty Lunch (RIP). This was the first public appearance by the band after Kurt's infamous introduction of his guitar to the bouncer's head at Trees in Dallas 2 nights before.

thanks to stan ballard

valencia july 2, 1992 autographed concert poster: cristofero, kurdt, david

kurt signed over the baby's penis, krist wrote a "spanish" variation of his name, and dave added "real live rockstar".
these are pictures of an item i owned a long time ago. i don't know if the signatures are real. i had got it from an english guy living in france (but he was speaking like native). he told me that his sister was working in the management team in spain, that he got a backstage pass for the show and assisted to the soundcheck, and that it was a mess when courtney had to go to the hospital because of the baby moving. the "k" of kurt is unusual (3 parts instead of 2). who knows.

thanks to a.sohier

here she comes now 7" front sleeve signed by kurdt and david, back sleeve signed by king buzzo and dale crover
bleach 12" signed by kurt and krist: front sleeve
mudhoney - touch me i'm sick - red vinyl 7": record

Back in I think it was 1996 Mark Pickerel had a private invitation only auction. I bought the Love Buzz & signed Bleach LP from him as well as the signed HSCN 7". I also bought a ton of signed Screaming Trees items from him. Plus an extremely rare copy of Touch me I'm Sick 7" on red vinyl. He told me there were only 5 copies ever made and he got it from Mark Arm in a trade for some rare Blues 78's. Mark used to own a record store in Ellensburg, WA called Rodeo Records (He may still, I don't know).

The Mudhoney record does have Dan Peters playing drums which would be a Nirvana connection, but it doesn't matter to me. I just sent it as it's pretty cool and probably the rarest record I have. Not to mention it actually once belonged to Mark Arm ...

thanks to scott carlin