The acoustic guitar was used to pen one of Clapton’s most popular tracks – and has a few distinguishing characteristic, GuitarWorld reports.
A Martin acoustic guitar that formerly belonged to Eric Clapton and was famously used to write Wonderful Tonight is going up for auction at Bonham’s London on June 12.
The 1974 Martin 000-28 was previously sold at auction by Clapton in 1999 to raise money for his Crossroads Center charity and has remained with the current owner since that point.
It is sometimes refered to as the ‘Rodeo man’ acoustic due to a sticker on the side that proclaims “She's in Love with a Rodeo Man” – a reference to the Don Williams recording that was released the same year the guitar was made.
Another intriguing feature of the Martin guitar is its modified bridge, which has two inlays (either side of the saddles) and utilizes an unusual three-piece saddle – though it’s not known who carried out the work.
Finally, additional character is provided by the small burn marks that adorn the headstock area – a consequence of Clapton’s habit of using the strings to hold his cigarette.
The instrument was one of Clapton’s favorites around the period he was writing and recording 1977 album Slowhand. Most notably, the song Wonderful Tonight, which was penned about the guitarist’s partner and muse Pattie Boyd (also the inspiration for his Derek and the Dominoes classic Layla).
“During the auction,” recalled Clapton, “the guys were all around me, and I felt myself starting to cry.”
In 1999, the instrument carried a pre-sale estimate of $12,000 - $18,000, but eventually sold for $155,000 (adjusting for inflation that would be approximately $290,000 in today’s money).
As such, should it fetch its new auction estimate of approximately $376,000 to $500,000 (£300,000 to £400,000), it would represent a significant but not astronomical gain in value.
