When lifelong Beatles fan Mikey Arugula walked into the exhibition hall at Christie’s auction house in New York City this week, he felt like he had stepped into a museum of his own memories.
“I saw the Beatles on TV in 1964,” the Long Island collector said, recalling the night that changed his life. “I was 9 years old and fell in love with them like most of the country.”
For Arugula, who says he once traveled all the way to Paul McCartney’s farm in Scotland as a teenager, hoping to meet the musician, the Jim Irsay Collection is more than memorabilia.
“This is Americana,” he said, standing near one of the auction’s most famous items — the drum head from Ringo Starr’s kit used during the Beatles’ first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in February 1964. “This is like a time-period capsule that’s going to be spread out among collectors. Right now, you can see it all together.”
That sense of cultural time travel is exactly what makes the sale so special.
The late Jim Irsay, longtime owner of the Indianapolis Colts who died last year, spent decades assembling one of the most eclectic private collections of American popular culture ever gathered. Bidding for the auction begins Thursday, and when it concludes, Christie’s expects the items to bring in roughly $30 million. Bids can be made in person through Saturday and online until Tuesday.
But the collection isn’t just a trove of rare guitars or celebrity artifacts. It’s also a map of the events, music, sports and personalities that shaped Irsay’s generation.
Born in 1959, Irsay grew up during one of the most turbulent and transformative periods in modern American history. As a child, he witnessed the Civil Rights Movement, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the rise of Muhammad Ali and the cultural explosion of the 1960s. Above all, like millions of other young Americans, he was captivated by The Beatles.
That passion echoes throughout the halls, a chorus of cultural touchstones.
Valerie Macon / AFP via Getty Images file
Valerie Macon / AFP via Getty Images file A visitor looks at a signed frame of The Beatles “Sgt. Pepper” poster displayed during a press preview of The Jim Irsay Collection at Christie’s Los Angeles, last month.
Among the Beatles-related highlights are Starr’s first Ludwig drum kit, George Harrison’s cherry-red Gibson SG guitar, John Lennon’s Gretsch guitar used while composing “Paperback Writer,” and Paul McCartney’s handwritten lyrics for “Hey Jude,” written in 1968.
Also up for sale is a 13-page affidavit filed by Paul McCartney in December 1970 to break up The Beatles, leaving fans heartbroken. Estimated opening bid $100,000-150,000.
“They were one of [Irsay’s] earliest favorite artists and remained important throughout his lifetime,” said Nathalie Ferneau, Christie’s head of sale for the collection. “You see that reflected in the depth of the material — everything from instruments to personal items.”
But The Beatles represent only a small part of a collection that spans decades of pop culture history.
One of the most extraordinary items in the sale is Jack Kerouac’s original manuscript for “On the Road,” typed on a continuous scroll roughly 120 feet long.
Kerouac created the document during a marathon writing session in 1951, meticulously taping sheets of paper together so he could type without interruption.
“He wanted to get the story down in one continuous flow,” Ferneau explained. “That sort of manic pace is captured in the writing itself.”
Irsay purchased the manuscript at Christie’s in 2001, launching what would become a decades-long collecting journey. It’s expected to fetch between $2.5 and $4 million.
Irsay, himself a guitarist and member of the Jim Irsay Band, developed a deep appreciation for instruments. Over the years, he assembled over 200 guitars associated with artists from across the musical spectrum, including Kurt Cobain, Jerry Garcia, Prince and Eric Clapton. For the most part, they all remain in mint condition.
One standout is Cobain’s Fender Mustang used in the music video for Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It’s expected to bring in upward of $5 million but could go higher.
Valerie Macon / AFP via Getty Images
Valerie Macon / AFP via Getty Images James Brown’s stage-worn sequined cape is displayed alongside Prince’s Andy Beech custom Yellow Cloud guitar, Kurt Cobain’s 1966 Fender Mustang, David Gilmour’s “Black Strat,” Eric Clapton’s “The Fool” Gibson SG and The Edge’s Gibson Explorer.
Another is Garcia’s famous custom guitar “Tiger,” which took luthier Doug Irwin six years to build.
“Within the celebrity guitars, he wasn’t just collecting one or two artists,” Ferneau said. “You have Janis Joplin next to Johnny Cash, next to Prince. It’s really the whole story of 20th-century music.”
The collection stretches even further
- Ron Turcotte’s saddle from Secretariat’s 1973 Triple Crown Run ($1.5 to $3 million)
- Jackie Robinson’s baseball bat from 1953 season ($250,000 to $300,000)
- Muhammad Ali’s robe from his 1965 rematch against Sonny Liston ($150,000 to $250,000)
- Buddy Holly concert poster for Feb. 3, 1959, also known as “The Day the Music Died” ($300,000 to $500,000)
- Sylvester Stallone’s handwritten script notebook for 1976 film “Rocky” ($200,000 to $400,000)
Yet despite the staggering value of many items, Irsay often emphasized that he viewed himself not as an owner but as a temporary caretaker.
“He used to say you never see a U-Haul following a hearse,” Ferneau said. “For him it meant these objects were part of a larger cultural story. Eventually, they would move on to the next collector.”
In many ways, the exhibition feels like a final public viewing of that story.
Before the auction, Christie’s opened the collection to visitors to view — drawing fans, collectors, and curious onlookers alike.
Nancy Mautner, a former radio producer who visited the display, said the breadth of the items surprised her.
“It’s incredible,” she said. “You assume somebody had people scouting the universe looking for all this stuff. The passion behind it is amazing — it’s not just music; it’s sports, film, and history too.”
At the same time, seeing the collection broken up so soon after Irsay’s death left her with mixed feelings.
“You spend your whole life collecting all this cool stuff,” she said, “and then a year later it’s being sold off.”
Still, for visitors like Arugula, the exhibition offers a rare moment in which rock history, sports legends and cultural artifacts briefly share the same stage.
Walking through the gallery, he paused again near The Beatles’ drum head that once sat behind the band during their historic television debut.
“This,” he said, pointing toward the famous logo, “is the drum head that made kids pick up guitars instead of baseball bats.”
Then he smiled.
“Everything here,” Arugula added, “I want it. But I can’t have it.”
The oldest inscribed stone tablet of the Ten Commandments was sold at Sotheby’s on Wednesday.
