DALLAS, TX.- The Guild F-412 Natural 12-string Stevie Ray Vaughan used when he performed on the Jan. 30, 1990, episode of MTV Unplugged is one love-struck collector's new pride and joy after it sold Tuesday for $225,000. The acoustic guitar that will banish any rude mood was just one star attraction in Heritage Auctions' May 9 Guitars and Musical Instruments Signature ® Auction, which realized $1,523,051 thanks to the more than 1,200 bidders worldwide who participated in the nearly sold-out jam session. The Unplugged instrument realized six times its pre-auction estimate, a theme that echoed throughout the five-hour event.

Look no further than the 1924 Gibson L5 Sunburst Archtop that ranks high on the short list of the rarest and most important guitars ever made. On Tuesday, one of the scant few sold for $100,000, doubling its pre-auction estimate. Its final price comes as no surprise: This L5 hails from one of the most beloved racks in the world — Washington, D.C.'s celebrated The Guitar Shop, owned by Steve and Lynda Spellman — and was inspected and signed by its creator, Lloyd Loar, on Nov. 17, 1924.

"Bidding was solid — in fact, I'd say it was incredibly impressive — from the moment live bidding began," says Aaron Piscopo, Heritage's Director of Vintage Guitars & Musical Instruments. "The key players hit all the right notes, and the supporting cast chimed in as expected. The Guild is from a landmark performance by a guitar hero, but the Gibson is no less important thanks to its connection to Lloyd Loar and The Guitar Shop."

Vaughan appeared on MTV Unplugged just seven months before his death. He seldom played anything but a Fender Strat, and there exist only a few recordings of Dallas' native son playing acoustic guitar, Unplugged being the most comprehensive — and astonishing, proof he could serve as lead and rhythm guitarist while also singing.

The guitar wasn't Vaughan's, though: It came from Studio Instrument Rentals' famed New York City location, which opened in 1974 and provided instruments to the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Steely Dan and Nirvana for its Unplugged performance. John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful used this Guild decades later when recording 2021's John Sebastian and Arlen Roth Explore the Spoonful Songbook.

The hollow-body Gibson designed and signed by Loar was the first to feature f-holes, like a violin or cello. Loar worked for Gibson as a designer and product developer from 1919 until 1924, revolutionizing the guitar (and mandolin). As Ken Achard wrote in his 1990 book The History and Development of the American Guitar, the L5 "perhaps more than any other single model helped to establish the Gibson factory at the top of the tree, where it has remained." The historic Gibson was among 79 offerings from The Guitar Shop, which closed its doors and went online in 2011 after 89 years in operation. Hundreds more acoustic and classical guitars from The Guitar Shop Collection will be available at Heritage Auctions throughout 2023.

Other hits from The Guitar Shop's collection included a 1969 Martin D-45 Natural acoustic, which almost doubled pre-auction estimates to realize $84,375; a 1950 Fender Broadcaster Butterscotch Blonde Solid Body, which sold for $55,000; and a 1965 Fender Precision Bass Ice Blue Metallic electric bass, which more than doubled its estimate to sell for $32,500.

"We're honored that the Spellmans have entrusted us to offer their immaculate collection curated over the last 55-plus years," Piscopo says. "Some of the most sought-after guitars found new homes Tuesday and will continue to do so throughout the year, which was one of Steven's main goals when bringing this assemblage to auction."

Most of the instruments in this nearly sold-out event exceeded pre-auction estimates, among them the only guitar in this auction to come straight from a museum: the circa-1850s Martin 2-27 once owned by beloved humorist, star of stage and screen and "America's Favorite Cowboy" Will Rogers. Until recently, this Martin 2-27 was on display at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma, near the ranch where he was born in 1879. It was passed down from Will's son James Blake Rogers to his grandson James Kemmler Rogers, who loaned it as a "prized memento" to the family gallery at the museum. Will's son told the museum's curator and director he "could not recall a time within his lifetime that the guitar was not present in the household."

It sold Tuesday for more than three times its pre-sale estimate: $32,500. To paraphrase the man himself, a Will Rogers-owned guitar is one of the best investments in the world, because they aren't making any more.