As you know, Del Palmer left us on January 5th this year and according to his wishes his family have arranged an auction to help some of Del’s personal items (including musical instruments and equipment, artworks and books) to find good homes. Among the items are several of Del’s guitars, some of which would have been heard on Kate’s recordings. Other custom-made guitars by Del’s friends, luthiers Chris Larkin and AJ “Egly” Lucas, are included, included the “Egly” upright bass that Del played on his final live performances in 2018/2019.
A painting of a weeping lady by his friend Syra Larkin, and some watercolour and oil paintings by Del himself also feature – also spot Del’s paintbox with the engraving “Every Brush Stroke Was Torn From My Body”. The lots include cameras, music and film books, vintage war postcards and other personal items Del picked up over his lifetime. A signed postcard of escapologist Harry Houdini seems to have been a keepsake or gift from the time he played that role himself on the cover of The Dreaming album.
The items can be viewed in person at the Thimbleby & Shorland auction premises in Reading, England tomorrow Friday June 28th from 9am-5pm local time. The auction itself is taking online bids currently which end on Sunday 30th June at 17:00 BST. There are 142 lots from Del’s estate numbered from Lot 80 – you can view the items here [Note: there are 470 lots listed in this antiques and collectables auction so it’s important to do a search for “Del Palmer” on the site to see his estate’s 142 lots]. Detailed photos of each item are available. We wish Del was with us to tell us all about his treasures! It is poignant to see all these things being sold but we hope those who bid successfully on them will cherish them in the same way that we all cherish the man who owned them.
