Jim Morrison's handwritten notebook up for auction

[November 07, 2013]  NEW YORK (AP) --  An unpublished notebook containing the musings and poems of Jim Morrison in the last year of his life is included in a coming sale of rock'n' roll memorabilia.

The handwritten marble notebook by The Doors' lead singer could bring between $200,000 and $300,000 on Dec. 18 in an auction both online and live in Calabasas, Calif., said Profiles In History auction house.

Eddie Van Halen's 1982 Kramer Frankenstrat is among items up for bid. The handmade, red-and-white guitar was used during Van Halen's 1982-1983 Diver Down Tour and recording of its most successful album, "1984."

Van Halen's signature is inscribed on the guitar's neck. Its presale estimate is $100,000 to $150,000. Part of the proceeds will benefit guitarist Jason Becker, who has Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Morrison's notebook, contained in a custom leather clamshell case, comes from the collection of rock legend Graham Nash. It was given to Nash by his manager, Bill Siddons, in the 1980s. Nash writes on the inside of the case that Siddons was the person who picked up Morrison's body in Paris where the singer died in 1971 at the age of 27.

Other highlights include handwritten lyrics to The Doors' "Riders on the Storm" and Bob Dylan's "I Want You." The first is estimated at $20,000-$30,000; Dylan's could fetch from $30,000 to $50,000.

[Associated Press]

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