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Look at This Birdhouse! (1.5-minute read)
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While making a quick trip yesterday morning to southern Vermont, I happened to drive by Flying Pig Antiques in Westmoreland, Contact

New Hampshire, a fairly new antique shop that I had not previously visited. A bunch of dealers were setup outside the shop, but
inside the store is where I found this highly unusual, large nineteenth-century red earthenware birdhouse; I originally thought it Museums & Organizations
was an aquarium castle, but South Carolina collector, Corbett Toussaint said it looked like a martin birdhouse and others agreed.

I have never seen anything like this before; I have seen simple birdhouses, but not on this scale. I suspect it was made in
Pennsylvania, c. 1880-1900.

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The birdhouse is covered in a wonderful green and mottled glaze, with traces of a black glaze, that may have been created by Antique Shows
using manganese. The interior glaze especially looks like a style manufactured in Pennsylvania, sometimes found on wares made
in the central part of the state.

I do not believe there was ever a red earthenware top as there is virtually little wear to that area. But there may have been a
copper or wooden top that would have produced less wear. The birdhouse would have been placed on some type of stand or
pedestal that was likely made out of wood.

Interestingly, this style of birdhouse was probably designed for martins, and it was in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania that J. Warren
Jacobs (1868-1947) became the rst commercial manufacturer of wooden martin houses in America in 1883. Jacobs’ customers
included Henry Ford (1863-1947), William Rockefeller (1841-1922), and Thomas Edison (1847-1931). His birdhouses are also
represented today in the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit. This red earthenware example is very similar to some of those made by
Jacobs, and the pottery where it was made may have been inspired by some Jacobs’ designs.

Shop Directory
 Cobain played the retro acoustic-electric 1959 Martin D-18E during the legendary MTV Unplugged performance in 1993, just
ve months before he died. Nirvana’s acoustic performance for the MTV Unplugged series on 18 November 1993 is now
considered one of history’s greatest live performances.

Peter Freedman, the Australian founder and owner of Rode Microphones, was the one who took the guitar home. It came
complete with its case, which Cobain had decorated with a poster from the band Poison Idea’s 1990 album Feel the Darkness.

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Curt Cobain’s $6 million guitar

The guitar is going to have a more active life than just sitting in a private collection. Peter Freedman is planning to take it on a
worldwide tour with all proceeds, including the guitar, going to supporting the performing arts.

“When I heard that this iconic guitar was up for auction,” Mr. Freedman says, “I immediately knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to secure it and use it as a vehicle to spotlight the struggles that those in the performing arts are facing and have
always faced.”

He continues: “The global arts industry has been shattered by the impact of COVID-19, with musicians and artists being amongst
the most affected. The last few months were the straw that broke the camel’s back, and for many in the arts have brought forth
the harsh reality that they work in an industry for which there is little support in times of need.

The guitar at auction – surely the rst time in its life that it has been handled in
white cotton gloves!

“For most, access to nancial and health services – particularly mental health services – is very limited. While many industries are
gradually returning to normal, it’s going to take a long time before this industry can begin functioning as it was. The toll this has
taken and will continue to take is enormous and requires more than just lip service. It requires action now, and I am a man of
action.

“The arts, and organizations that support the arts, are remarkably undervalued and underfunded by many governments around
the world, considering their cultural and economic importance. I saw buying this guitar as an opportunity to not only share it with
music fans, but to do so in a way that raises awareness for the struggles that musicians and artists face every day, and lobby
governments for change.”

Postscript on Prices:
 Before this, the most expensive guitar sold in history was a Fender Stratocaster used by Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. It
fetched almost $4m at a charity sale in June 2019. At this Julien’s sale, other prices re ected the current demand for music
memorabilia. a custom guitar played by Prince at the height of his stardom in the 1980s and 1990s sold for $563,500, a small sum
compared with the Cobain guitar but well over the $100,000 to $200,000 it was expected to fetch. And then a macramé belt that
Elvis Presley wore about 30 times on stage brought in nearly 10 times its expected price, with a nal bid of $298,000, and an
ivory gown worn by Madonna in her 1990 “Vogue” video sold for $179,200.

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Madonna in her $180,000 gown

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Peter Freedman

Posthumously, Curt Cobain is going to support musicians struggling in the times of Covid. The guitar that he played in a rare and
famous acoustic concert has just sold for a record $6.01 million, at Julien’s Auctions in Los Angeles.