Drafts of the song were written by Bob Dylan, the American singer-songwriter who later became a Nobel Prize winner. Tambourine Man, composed in 1965, was sold at auction in the United States for 508,000 dollars. The sale drew attention as a milestone in Dylan manuscripts, highlighting how one singer-songwriter’s early drafts can travel from studio pages to a collector’s shelf. listing.
The items were auctioned in Nashville, Tennessee with a pre-sale estimate ranging from 400,000 to 600,000 dollars, and they ultimately sold for 508,000 dollars. The auction room witnessed a focused interest in Dylan’s handwriting and draft process, underscoring the lasting value of early lyric work. listing.
The sale included 60 items, among them the draft lyrics, while the exhibition also featured 50 pieces from a notable American music journalist’s personal collection. The mix emphasized the intersection of lyric creation, publishing history, and the broader footprint of Dylan’s era. records.
A recollection from the period describes Dylan, then 22, waking up at a friend’s home in New Jersey to find a crumpled lyric page for Mr. Tambourine Man. He spent the night at the residence, drafting and redrafting on a typewriter, building toward the three early drafts that would surface in later listings. The scene captures the restless energy of a songwriter shaping a landmark song. records.
Two sheets of yellow paper held three pages of the lyric’s typescript, showing three progressive drafts with marginal notes by the author on the third draft. The auction listing describes how these sheets reveal the evolution of the song, with changes tracked across the drafts. listing.
Descriptions indicate that two drafts were written on the front and back of the first sheet, while a second sheet contained the third draft. The pages show significant changes from the initial draft toward the near-final version, though some phrases and lines diverge from the published lyrics. listing.
Earlier reports noted a separate collection of Bob Dylan letters, totaling forty-two items, that sold for roughly 670 thousand dollars. The buyer was identified as a renowned bookstore in Porto, underscoring how Dylan’s correspondence continues to attract institutional interest and private admiration alike. records.
In related private sales, drawings by a famous actor were sold for about £4.5 million, illustrating the broader market warmth for celebrity manuscripts and visual works linked to cultural icons. records.