Music Autographs

From slick guitar work to swooning fans, music and its makers bring about both magic and mania. Musicians' autographs, sometimes appearing on beloved instruments, speak to this excitement and thereby serve as a classic commemoration of a memorable concert or performance.

Music has been a staple of human society since its earliest generations. Evidence suggests that prehistoric cultures enjoyed rudimentary forms of music. By the peak civilizations of the ancient world, music had evolved into its own art form, with the ancient Greeks building some of the earliest music performance venues. At this time, musical performance was typically limited to the small setting such as dinner parties or intimate gatherings.

By the 17th century, large-scale musical performance venues from opera houses to concert halls were popping up across Europe. This increased accessibility to music performances encouraged fans to follow their favorite musicians more fully, resulting in an increased demand for autographs. Though the nature of music performance is quite different today, the excitement over a musician's autograph is still just as tantalizing.

Quick Facts

• A hand-written score for "Grosse Fuge" by famed 18th-century composer Ludwig von Beethoven sold at a Sotheby's London auction in 2005 for more than $1,500,000
• Famed guitarist Jimmy Page's autograph on a Gibson 1963 guitar sold for more than $70,000
• Also in the ranks of highest-priced signatures is that of Jimmy Hendrix. His signed contract from 1965, which reflects his receipt of only 1% of his music royalties, sold for $200,000