INDIANAPOLIS — The Jim Irsay Collection has added two more guitars once owned by Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan to its famous collection of unique historic and musical items.
Jimi Hendrix’s 1964 Fender Jazzmaster guitar is now part of the collection.
Hendrix, a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer who Rolling Stone named as the greatest guitarist in rock history, personally owned the electric guitar and gifted it to his friend, fellow Rock Hall member Billy Davis, who is best known for his work with Hank Ballard and the Midnighters.
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Bob Dylan played his acoustic 1992 Gibson Hummingbird guitar during the U.S. Presidential Inaugural Concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Jan. 17, 1993.
Thirty years earlier, Dylan performed in the same spot, during the March on Washington, at which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
Also included in The Jim Irsay Collection:
- An 1823 William J. Stone printing of the Declaration of Independence, one of the first exact “facsimiles” of the final signed document
- Artifacts and signed documents from numerous U.S. presidents
- Handwritten documents and artifacts from women’s suffrage pioneer Susan B. Anthony
- The original manuscript for Alcoholics Anonymous’ "Big Book," the organization’s founding document
- American author Jack Kerouac’s original 119-foot "On the Road" scroll
- A Jackie Robinson game-used bat from 1953 (the founding year of the Colts)
- Secretariat’s saddle from his 1973 Triple Crown victory
- Muhammad Ali’s championship belt from his victory over George Foreman in the 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle” and his boxing shoes from the 1975 "Thrilla’ in Manilla" vs. Joe Frazier
- Original handwritten script and notes by Sylvester Stallone for the movie "Rocky."
Irsay has also hosted free exhibitions of the collection in Indianapolis; Nashville; Washington, D.C.; Austin, Texas; Los Angeles; New York City; Chicago; San Francisco and Las Vegas.
