New York, NY (December 8, 2023)—Recorded at Columbia Records’ studios in New York City on November 20 and 21, 1961, Bob Dylan’s eponymous debut made little impact upon its initial release, but it nonetheless kicked off the career of one of the most revered musicians in modern history. Now the album’s three master tapes are hitting Guernsey’s auction block on December 14, 2023. Almost as fascinating as the tapes themselves is the unlikely story of how they came to light—a tale of sloppy studio practices and complete luck.
Going to auction with an estimate of $800,000 to $1,200,000, the three reels of Scotch 190 half-inch tape are complete with their original slipcases and reel holders, and contain the full contents of the original 13-song album, along with outtakes, unreleased takes and dialogue between Dylan and producer John Hammond. The auction house has excerpts from the tape online, with segments of “Man of Constant Sorrow” and “In My Time of Dying,” each followed by studio chat between artist and producer.
Three of the four outtakes were eventually released on Volume One of Dylan’s famed Bootleg Series—”House Carpenter,” “He Was a Friend of Mine” and “Man on the Street”—but the fourth, a cover of Woody Guthrie’s “Ramblin’ Blues,” has never been released. Also included are complete tape logs, listing track titles, notes and more, all of which are signed off on by Hammond.
According to Guernsey’s, the tapes and additional materials have been inspected by an unnamed studio engineer and determined to be “exceptionally good” in terms of condition. The tapes were transferred to digital on August 7, 2023 at producer Steve Albini’s famed Electrical Audio in Chicago; recorded at 15 ips, the three-track tapes each feature one track for vocals and harmonica, a center track capturing control room talkback commentary from Hammond, and a track of guitar. Partway through Reel 2 and throughout Reel 3, a low noise is audible; Guernsey’s speculates that it originated from the talkback center track.
While the audio quality and adjoining artifacts appear to indicate that they are the master tapes, the auction house does note that the Reel numbers on the tape boxes each end with “D,” speculating that could potentially indicate the tapes were duplicates recorded simultaneously at the time on a second tape machine, which would result in two sets of masters. However, the auction house also notes that other masters have not turned up in its research.
The current owner of the tapes is blind civil rights activist Stephen Handschu, who lived and worked in a Manhattan studio during the 1960s. Reportedly, Handschu’s roommate was a custodian at the building that housed Columbia Records’ studio on the corner of 52nd Street and 7th Avenue, and was allowed to take old tapes that were being tossed out. Since tapes were wiped before they were binned, it was presumed that regardless of the adjoining materials, they were blanks; the roommate gave Handschu the tapes “because of his interest in all things audio,” according to Guernsey’s.
T Bone Burnett’s ‘Ionic Original’ Bob Dylan Recording Auctioned for Nearly $1.8M
Handschu eventually moved to Chicago where he befriended studio owner Scott Steinman in the early 2000s while working together on a recording to aid blind people with the voting process. Handschu mentioned the tapes in passing and out of curiosity, they set up a tape machine to give them a spin, discovering that the reels were anything but blank. These days, Handschu lives in Detroit where he continues to advocate for the disabled; he plans to donate a portion of the auction proceeds to Eye Learn Cares, reportedly the only non-profit organization for the blind in Detroit.
Taking place Thursday, December 14, 2023, the auction will be held live online at both LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com.
