Prince items belonging to Susannah Melvoin and other associates go up for auction

Another trove of one-of-a-kind Prince mementos and personal items is on the auction block, and this time some of the offerings truly are personal.

Boston-based memorabilia seller RR Auction -- which hosted a big sell-off back in February with former Paisley Park staffers – is now marketing an even larger bundle of goods, including some truly unique items belonging to Susannah Melvoin, Prince’s girlfriend in the mid-‘80s and the sister of his Revolution guitarist Wendy Melvoin.

Susannah's offerings are featured alongside other newly available artifacts from Prince’s longtime horn player Eric Leeds, assistant tour manager Gwen Leeds (Eric’s sister-in-law), costume designer Helen Hiatt and several other ex-employees of Paisley and/or PRN Productions. Maybe the most coveted piece in the 200-plus-item roundup will be Prince’s laminated backstage passfrom his first big tour opening for Rick James in 1980, a photo of which has already been all over social media (current bid: $1,500).

The most talked-about items, however, could be Melvoin’s. Also known from the “Nothing Compares 2 U”-singing Prince side-project the Family (with Eric Leeds) and as the co-writer of “Starfish and Coffee,” she offered up 27 items to RR Auction. They include Prince’s handwritten script notesfor the movie “Under the Cherry Moon” (now at $4,875), leggings he wore during his early stage outings in 1979 ($888) and a series of one-word postcards that purportedly precluded his marriage proposal to Melvoin ($330).

In a Soundcloud recording posted alongside her items on RR Auction’s site, Melvoin singles out those nuptial-hinting postcards as the kind of thing that was authentically Prince. They were apparently sent by a Bachman’s florist to Melvoin, who misspelled her name as "Miss Malvoin" and wrote individually on the cards, "Please," "No," "Guess?" and "Yes."

“I knew, no matter if it was his writing, this was him,” she says. “This came directly from him. I knew that nobody could think that way.”

Also in the podcast, Melvoin preemptively strikes down possible criticism over her decision to sell off these items, saying that her personal memories of Prince and his music are what mean the most to her. She might also get a sympathetic break from Prince diehards after the celebrity tabloids reported a few years ago that her ex-husband, Texas blues-rocker Doyle Bramhall II, was allegedly behind on paying child support to her (celeb gossip because Bramhall was dating actress Renee Zellweger at the time). 

“It’s OK for me to put those in the hands of collectors, and people would say their lives become fuller,” Melvoin told RR Auction. “It puts branches on their tree of life. It’s now a part of their lives. I’m happy to share that. If I had more [to share], I would.”

There’s plenty more to choose from besides her contributions in the auction, which wraps up Sept. 27. See the whole shebang at RRauction.com. Other highlights include:

*Nine pages of Prince's handwritten musical enhancements notes for the film “Purple Rain.”

*Prince's bright yellow custom-made high-heeled shoes from the “Sign o’ the Times” tour (seen below).

*Prince’s 'Mountains’ handwritten chorus music sheet lyrics.

*Another vinyl pressing of the infamously shelved 1986 LP “Camille.”

*A 1986 cassette recording of Prince rehearsing.

Prince's handwritten notes to be auctioned

  Late singer Prince’s “Purple Rain” handwritten notes, yellow boots and other belongings will be auctioned.

Some 200 Prince-related items are up for bidding by RR Auction. It will include the nine pages of notes the singer made on his epic 1984 opus which the company thinks will go for more than $12,000, reports tmz.com.

Other items include: Yellow boots he wore onstage in 1986-92 ($12,000), “The ladder” handwritten lyrics ($8,000), lace crop top ($3,000), “Camille” advance pressing ($4,000) and Prince’s 1980 Rick James tour all access pass ($800).

Princess Diana's French Lesson Book With Extensive Handwriting Among Highlights at RR Auction

 Princess Diana's sterling silver card case sold for $20,974 according to Boston-MA based RR Auction. 

The case was among belongings Diana had personally donated to charity months before her death on Aug. 31, 1997.

Engraved on the front, "Diana," and was given to her as a gift by her 'Granny.' The handsome case has a lovely, ornate design on the exterior with leather card pockets inside. 

"What makes these items incredibly special is the strong sentimental value they offer, many coming directly from Princess Diana," said Bobby Livingston, Executive VP at RR Auction.

Highlights from the sale include, but are not limited by:

Diana’s hand-written French vocabulary book from her time at a Swiss finishing school sold for $15,204. 

A 17-inch (43-centimeter) silver necklace with a capital "D'' charm that Diana is thought to have worn as a teen sold for $8,893. 

Princess Diana and Mother Teresa photo and signature display sold for $8,636. 

A casual white sweater likely worn in Diana’s teenage years sold for $8,572. 

Princess Diana's elegant black metal mesh handbag sold for $7,411. 

Princess Diana signed Red Cross photograph sold for $7,136. 

Princess Diana sterling silver perfume bottle sold for $6,270. 

A silver locket containing a photograph of Princess Diana and her sons Prince Harry, and Prince William sold for $6,209.

The Princess Diana Tribute auction from RR Auction concluded on September 13.  More details including results can be found online at www.rrauction.com.

Princess Diana's French Lesson Book With Extensive Handwriting

Remarkable circa 1978 handwritten French vocabulary notebook from her time at Swiss finishing school, marked on the front cover in her own hand, "Diana Spencer, Madame Fowls Vocabulaire, Articles de Fowlor." 

Inside are a total of 19 pages full of handwritten notes (most double-sided), plus a couple of additional lines, consisting of translations of vocab words from French to English. 

Affixed throughout are small photocopies of short French articles, apparently used in her class. 

Accompanied by a letter of provenance from Sally Fell, the head chef at Althorp, in part: "I was employed as head chef at Althorp House during the 1980s when Diana, Princess of Wales, was a regular visitor. 

During this period Raine Spencer was in the process of totally redecorating Althorp in her own style. As Diana now permanently resided in London, one of the rooms listed for redecoration was her old bedroom and the butler at the time, Carl Ackerman, was instructed to remove all of Diana's belongings and offer them to the staff, or dispose of them if no interest was shown. All the items were placed on a long table in the courtyard, and we the staff were invited to take what we wished, which is how I came to possess Diana's French vocabulary school book." 

“We know of only one other example of Diana's schoolbooks to be held in private hands,” said Bobby Livingston, Executive VP at RR Auction.

Diana attended Institut Alpin Videmanette, a finishing school in Rougemont, Switzerland, for one term in 1977-1978. It was during this period that she was first introduced to Prince Charles, who was dating her older sister Sarah. Their relationship lasted only briefly before dissolving over some of Sarah's comments reported in the gossip columns. 

Diana and Charles's relationship blossomed in 1980, and they got married in 1981. 

“It’s a truly remarkable Diana piece, filled with her teenage handwriting,” said Livingston. Executive VP at RR Auction. 

Steve Jobs Signed Magazine

Amazing issue of Newsweek magazine from October 24, 1988, featuring Jobs and his NeXT computer on the front cover, 84 pages, 8 x 10.75, signed vertically on the front cover in black felt tip, "Steven Jobs, I love manufacturing." In fine condition, with small creases to spine. Accompanied by full letters of authenticity from PSA/DNA, Beckett Authentication Services, and JSA, and a detailed letter of provenance from the consignor, who had this signed in-person by Jobs in 1988. Her letter reads, in part: "In October 1988, Steve Jobs came to Lotus Development Corporation in Cambridge Ma to unveil the much anticipated NeXT computer. It was expected to revolutionize academia and all things educational. I was a senior buyer @ Lotus working in the manufacturing facility at the time and had somewhat of a school girls crush on Jobs' genius and entrepreneurial spirit. Realizing his visit to Lotus was a pivotal and exciting time in his career; I stopped at a hotel gift shop and purchased some mints along with several magazines that he was featured on…The grand ballroom at the Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge MA was jam packed with fellow 'Loti' with reporters, teleprompters and live feeds from all over the world. After an elaborate fan fare unveiling people were standing and clapping. Steve walked off stage, came down into the front row and plopped himself on a table next to me. I froze. I showed him a pile of magazines and asked him to pick one to autograph for me. He hesitated and said 'I don't do autographs' at which point I stepped closer, locked eyes and said 'then write something from your heart.' He smiled from ear to ear, picked the Newsweek and jotted the words: I love manufacturing and then signed it!"

For a modern figure, Jobs's autograph is extremely scarce—as evidenced by his reluctance to sign this one back in 1988. Having been ousted from Apple in the fall of 1985, Jobs founded the innovative NeXT project, a computer and software company aimed at the markets of business and higher education. The first NeXT Computer was introduced in 1988 with great fanfare, thanks in part to Jobs's marketing strategy—he promised 'exclusive' interviews to multiple magazines and ended up on the covers of several publications, including this Newsweek. At NeXT, Jobs helped to develop a pioneering 'fingerless' automated manufacturing line right in Silicon Valley. He believed that keeping the design, development, and manufacturing in close proximity—all in a single plant, rather than outsourced overseas—would help NeXT out-innovate its competitors by allowing continuous improvement of their products. Although their computers encountered subpar sales, the NeXTSTEP operating system and development environment proved highly influential. Apple purchased NeXT in 1997 for $429 million and 1.5 million shares of Apple stock, with Jobs, as part of the agreement, returning to the company he had co-founded in 1976. Steve Jobs died on October 5, 2011. His legacy to humanity was his creative genius, and his ‘love for manufacturing’ revolutionized several major industries worldwide for generations of entrepreneurs and ‘free thinkers’ to include: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.

Bidding on this lot will begin October 20th!