Supremely rare presentation of six strands of Kurt Cobain’s hair. Unique presentation on a 8.5” x 11” sheet includes six strands of Cobain’s blonde hair, the largest measuring approximately 2.5,” and housed in a small card with plastic overlay 1.75” x 2.” This one-of-a-kind artifact is entirely fresh-to-market, and accompanied by an impeccable lineage of provenance including images of Kurt posing with the woman who cut this hair, scissors in hand, and a fantastic shot of the hair actually being cut! The lucky friend who trimmed the Nirvana frontman’s iconic blonde locks, was an early confidant, Tessa Osbourne, who cut his hair in 1989—well prior to his “Nevermind” breakthrough—whilst on the “Bleach” Tour.
Tessa presented the original lock to Seattle artist Nicole DePolo as a heartfelt gift after Kurt’s passing, and she provided the original bag with handwritten provenance note, “29/10/89: Tess cut Kurdt's hair in Birmingham, England, 27 Holy Rd., Handsworth, Birmingham B202BU;” which is retained with the original complete lock.
Bolstered by a copy of an incredibly detailed two-page provenance affidavit signed by DePolo, which reads in part, “Tessa had known Kurt back in England, and they had hung out during the Bleach Tour. Nirvana had broken in England first, and she must have had a sense that Kurt would become a musical force. When it came to Kurt, Tessa was kind of what like Astrid Kirchherr had been to the Beatles—the woman who had given him his iconic haircut. She even had a series of pictures to prove it: a snapshot of her and Kurt with long straggly hair while she held a pair of scissors high, then a shot of the scissors going through about 7” of hair. The rest was history. Kurt was known for his bleached blond pageboy, and she’d given him his first one back in October of 1989, just before his image began to circulate throughout the world.”
From DePolo, the hair passed directly to the world’s foremost hair collector and expert, John Reznikoff of University Archives, who was named in 2014’s “Guinness World Records” book as having world’s “Largest Collection of Historic Hair.” Our research indicates it is the only available Cobain hair on the market. Now being offered here—for the first time ever—by Iconic Auctions, we are proud to present this piece of musical history commemorating the grunge rock icon in a very unique and personal way.