'Dylan goes electric' guitar up for sale in auction

The iconic electric guitar Bob Dylan used at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival will go on sale at auction today (6 December), offering buyers the chance to own a piece of musical heritage for an estimated price of $500,000.

The concert marked a famous turning point in both Dylan’s career and modern music as a whole, as the renowned folk singer shocked many by donning said electric guitar and performing with a live rock band.

The instrument had been a thing of myth for many years, after it reportedly went missing, but then just last year it was discovered to be owned by New Jersey resident Dawn Peterson, whose father had been piloting a plane Dylan accidentally left it on.

After legal battles over who actually owned the item, the pair – Peterson and Dylan – seem to have now come to a compromise and are selling the 1964 sunburst Fender Stratocaster to the highest bidder.

“One term of the agreement that I obviously can disclose is that Mr. Dylan will participate in the sale to the extent that he will be signing off on any ownership interest after the sale,” Peterson’s attorney Christopher DeFalco recently told Rolling Stone. “The person who buys it will receive a bill of sale that will be signed both by the Petersons and Mr. Dylan or his representatives.”

You can check out a photo of the guitar beneath:

And watch a clip History Detectives‘ documentary on the matter below: