Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed Album Art For Sale

Who ever said "you can't always get what you want?" Here's the ideal present for the music fan who's unamused by a simple CD under the tree.

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Michael Ochs Archives

Looking for the perfect present for the music lover who has everything? How about the original cover art for The Rolling Stones’ album Let It Bleed? Bonhams is auctioning the images on December 15th, which by our calculations is just in time for Christmas.

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If you aren’t familiar with the now-iconic album, the front cover features a sculpture created by Robert Brownjohn, a friend of the Stones’ guitar player Keith Richards. The model is of the Let It Bleed album on vinyl (naturally), stacked with a dinner plate, a film reel canister, a clock face, a pizza and a tire, topped with a cake and little plastic figurines of the members of the Rolling Stones. The back cover shows the same sculpture, but destroyed like a hotel room the morning after a long night at a wild party. Something most Stones fans can identify with.

According to The Guardian, the art work is expected to bring in over £40,000 ($61,700) at auction from Rolling Stones fans across the globe bidding for their chance to own one of the most famous album covers in the world. Beatles vs. Stones aficionados will note that the auction is expected to bring in significantly higher bids than the recent auction for John Lennon’s molar. Of course album art is easier (and less creepy) to display than a rotten tooth.

Whatever the final bid, the new owner won’t just be getting the iconic album art. The auction lot also includes two felt-tip pen concept sketches on envelopes, two color positives, two color negatives of the final front and back covers, a U.S. pressing of the album, and a photo of Richards and Mick Jagger checking the cover proofs. You will have to provide your own partridge in a pear tree, though.