Music The collection featured over 200 guitars, several of which were formerly owned by famous musicians such as
Jimi Hendrix,
Pete Townshend,
Prince,
Lou Reed,
Eddie Van Halen,
Johnny Cash,
Les Paul,
U2's
The Edge,
Walter Becker of
Steely Dan,
Neal Schon of
Journey, and
John McVie of
Fleetwood Mac. In addition to famously owned guitars, the collection boasted a large vintage guitar selection. These include an early Martin acoustic, dating from the 1850s, a 1952
Fender Telecaster, and a 1958
Gibson Les Paul Standard, better known as a "
Burst Top."
The Beatles 's
Play It Loud exhibit, 2019. Irsay claimed
the Beatles as his favorite music artist. • Lennon's 1964
Rickenbacker Rose Morris Model 1996, used during the Beatles' 1964 Christmas tour. The Model 1996 series later later became known as "The Beatle Backer" after Rickenbacker's UK distributor, Rose Morris, featured Lennon in an advertising campaign for the guitar. • The bass drumhead used on Ringo Starr's drum kit during the Beatles' first performance on
The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964.
The Beatles appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was their first in front of an American audience. It was seen by over 73 million viewers and became known as a cultural watershed that launched American
Beatlemania, as well as the wider
British Invasion of American popular music. The drumhead was auctioned for $2.9m, the highest price for a drum ever auctioned. • John Lennon's 1870s
John Broadwood & Sons upright piano, kept in his home and used to pen several songs on ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1967). Dylan plugged in for the first time with an electric guitar playing his song "
Maggie's Farm," followed by electric renditions of "
Like a Rolling Stone," and "Phantom Engineer," an early version of "
It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry." The crowd's reaction to Dylan's performance was mixed. Some claimed that the boos heard from the crowd were due to poor sound quality, while others believed that audience members were upset with Dylan for eschewing his
folk roots. This performance was an important moment in the history of popular music, leading this guitar to be known as the "
Dylan Goes Electric" guitar. The guitar was left on Dylan's private plane after the concert. The pilot initially tried to return the guitar to Dylan, but after being unsuccessful in his attempt he kept the guitar and eventually gave it to his daughter. The daughter later auctioned the guitar, where it was purchased by Irsay. Irsay also owned the original handwritten lyrics to Dylan's 1963 song "
The Times They Are a-Changin'," which includes crossed-out sections of lyrics that did not appear on the recorded version of the song. Both guitars were sold at Christie’s in 2026. •
The Fool, Clapton's colorfully painted Gibson SG, heavily featured during his time with
supergroup Cream. The guitar was hand-painted by members of the Dutch art collective
The Fool (design collective), where it derives its name. Clapton used this guitar on recordings of Cream songs such as "
Sunshine of Your Love," "
I Feel Free," and "
Strange Brew." The Fool was responsible for Clapton's "woman tone," described as "more like the human voice than the guitar." The Fool was subsequently owned by musician
Jackie Lomax and singer-songwriter
Todd Rundgren. In 2026, the collection sold it for $3 million. It sold for $4.1 million in 2026. The guitar was originally a sunburst color, but was repainted at
Manny's Music in New York City – where Gilmour purchased the guitar in 1970. It sold at Christie’s for the highest price ever paid for a guitar, $14.5 million. • A 1969
Martin D-35, which was Gilmour's primary studio acoustic throughout most of his time with Pink Floyd. This guitar can most famously be heard in the opening lead lines to the song "
Wish You Were Here." In 2003,
Guitar Player Magazine asked Gilmour to name his favorite guitar, to which he replied: "I guess it would be my Martin D-35. I used it on 'Wish You Were Here,' and I've been using it ever since." The Irsay collection sold it at Christie’s for $2.4 million. However, the guitar is most famous for appearing in the music video for the band's 1991 single "
Smells Like Teen Spirit." The song was the lead single on
Nevermind and its surprise popularity is often credited with
propelling grunge music into the mainstream. In 2026, the collection sold the Fender Mustang for $6.9 million.
Abraham Lincoln is represented in the collection with letters, a presentation cane, and a pocket knife he was given for attending the 1864
Great Central Fair in
Philadelphia. In 2023, Irsay purchased two tickets from the April 14, 1865, performance of
Our American Cousin at
Ford's Theatre, the night Lincoln was
assassinated. The collection has a rocking chair used by President
John F. Kennedy at the
White House and a Stetson hat that was to be presented to Kennedy by
Texas Governor
John Connally on the day he was
assassinated. Irsay was open about his past struggles with addiction. He credited Alcoholics Anonymous'
Twelve Steps with helping him to beat his addiction, having attended his first A.A. meeting in the 1990s. Other sports-related items have included
Jackie Robinson's baseball bat from the 1953 season and the saddle used by jockey
Ron Turcotte aboard
Secretariat during their 1973
Triple Crown victory. A
Wilson volleyball, used during the filming of
Cast Away (2000), a "golden ticket" from
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), and
Al Pacino's shooting script used during production of
Scarface (1983) were included in the collection's film section. In 2021, Irsay purchased
Sylvester Stallone's early working script notebook for the film
Rocky (1976), written by and starring Stallone. ==Traveling exhibition and concert series==