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Kurt Cobain’s sweater from final photoshoot goes for US$75K at auction

(L-R) Krist Novoselic, the late Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl of Nirvana in 1993. The late frontman's sweater sold at auction for US$75K. Jesse Frohman

An interesting piece of grunge rock history was sold to a potentially dedicated Nirvana fan on Saturday morning.

Although estimated at a US$20,000-30,000 value, a sweater once owned by the late-Kurt Cobain sold for $75K over the weekend — currently, that’s upwards of $101K in Canadian currency.

The Young Breed by Revere-branded cardigan was most notably worn by the All Apologies singer in the summer of 1993 during a photo shoot with Jesse Frohman.

The photographer was commissioned to shoot Nirvana ahead of the release of their third and final album, In Utero. It was Cobain’s final photo shoot.

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Some of the pictures appeared in the album’s inner sleeve and booklets, while the rest were made public in 2014 thanks to the release of Frohman’s photobook, Kurt Cobain: The Last Session.

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The medium-sized, “green acrylic and mohair” coloured cardigan which featured unique geometric patterns was bid off through Julien’s Auctions, a private California-based auction house founded in 2003.

The establishment specializes mainly in celebrity memorabilia, often consisting of pieces owned by either musicians, actors or professional athletes.

Kurt Cobain (centre) seen wearing the sweater during his final photo shoot in 1993. Jesse Frohman

“The shoot was meant to take place in Central Park in New York City,” revealed the site, “but due to Cobain being sick just hours before, the shoot was relocated to the basement of the hotel where the band was staying.

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“Cobain showed up three hours late to the shoot and immediately asked for a bucket due to his nausea,” they added.

The late Kurt Cobain, frontman of Nirvana, in 1993. Jesse Frohman

The cardigan was supposedly gifted to an acquaintance by Cobain’s widow Courtney Love after his funeral on April 8, 1994. It’s unclear if it was passed on afterwards.

The undisclosed winning bidder also received a copy of Frohman’s acclaimed book.

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Over the years, a number of distinctive items either owned or signed by Cobain have been sold through Julien’s Auctions, including a bottle of prescription drugs — which sold for $2,187.50 last November.

Some fans have even managed to get their hands on some of the star’s original pieces of art, and more recently, a 1990 setlist, handwritten on a used paper plate, which Cobain had previously enjoyed a slice of pizza on.

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adam.wallis@globalnews.ca

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