Jerry Garcia’s Custom Doug Irwin “Tiger”

Jerry Garcia commissioned "Tiger" immediately after receiving the "Wolf" guitar from Doug Irwin in 1973, instructing Irwin to create the most expensive instrument he was capable of. The instrument, which is made of finely detailed exotic woods glued and fused together and adorned with ornate brass bindings and a tiger inlay, took Irwin over two thousand hours to produce over a six-year period. Garcia initially performed "Tiger" at the Oakland Civic Auditorium on August 4, 1979, and he used it nearly exclusively until 1989. Jerry Garcia's Custom Doug Irwin "Tiger" was the last guitar Garcia ever played publicly with the Grateful Dead, on July 9, 1995.

Cocobolo top and back, sandwiched maple and padauk core, quilted maple on back, three-piece flame maple and padauk neck with brass binding, and ebony fingerboard characterize Jerry Garcia's Custom Doug Irwin "Tiger". "J. GARCIA" was inlaid at the end of the fingerboard, and the headstock was brass-bound with a mother-of-pearl globe and an ivory eagle logo. Mother-of-pearl tiger inlay framed in ebony and brass on front of the body, brass-bound quilted maple circle with mother-of-pearl vegetal inlay and marquetry on back.

Jerry Garcia's Custom Doug Irwin "Tiger" was auctioned off in 2002 for $957,500 to Jim Irsay, owner, and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts.

Price: $957,500