ace frehleykiss
18:40 Tuesday, 19 April 2022
These days, if you're into rock n' roll collectibles, it seems like a flood of items have entered the marketplace — and for a pretty penny, too. Just last week, it was announced that items belonging to Kurt Cobain—including his Fender Mustang guitar and 1965 Dodge Dart—were to be auctioned off next month. Both items were expected to have opening bids of nearly a million dollars each.
Now, as was originally reported in Ultimate Classic Rock, an original sketch of the Kiss logo by guitarist Ace Frehley will be given the trade treatment — with a starting bid of $50,000. Gotta Have Rock and Roll, which focuses on rock collectible auctions, wrote this about the item on their website:
"Ace designed the logo in early 1973 using graph paper in order to properly draw out the perfect proportions in a consistent scale. The logo needed to be created for obvious band identity reasons but Ace also thought a logo was needed for the purpose of selling a potential pinback button as a piece of merchandise or as a giveaway memento to friends, family, crew members, and supporters of the upcoming band at early Kiss club shows. This is why the artwork was taped by Ace to a button for the sake of example; he basically built a prototype button to show the other band members in order to get everyone's feedback and approval. As for condition, the paper of the artwork is super delicate because it's going on 50 years old. The paper is frail and was never kept as a collectible so there's tiny tears all around the edges. Due to its fragility, the button will be shipped to the new owner within a mylar sleeve inside a mini plastic case."
Given such a detailed description, the auction certainly seems like an opportunity to own one the most historically-significant Kiss items ever made available — if you can swing the price tag!