Heritage Auctions will offer a 1969 Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar belonging to Janis Joplin in its November 12 memorabilia sale.

She can be heard playing it on her celebrated cover of Me and Bobby McGee.

Janis Joplin left the guitar to Sam Andrew of Big Brother and the Holding Company

The song appears on Pearl (1971), her posthumously released final album.

After her death the guitar was passed to Sam Andrew, one of the founding members of her band Big Brother and the Holding Company.

Heritage comments: "This guitar's importance is monumental, and truly cannot be overstated."

It's valued in excess of $70,000.

There's a large market for Janis Joplin memorabilia. Her famous psychedelic Porsche sold for $1.7m at RM Auctions last year.

A signed first pressing of the Beatles' PS I Love You / Love Me Do (1962) carries an opening bid of $20,000.

It's accompanied by a letter of provenance relating how the consignor met the band at a record signing in Widnes, near Liverpool: "I'm unable to remember too much about the occasion, other than there was a small queue - perhaps two dozen and that I had difficulty differentiating one group member from another, except for the short one, who seemed very jovial and laughed a lot - I assumed at the time he must be the leader!"

We presume that she's talking about Ringo.

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