Prince's invitation package to the 35th Annual Grammy Awards, held on February 24, 1993, contained in its original 7 x 5.25 National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences envelope, addressed to "Prince, (Prince And The New Power Gener), c/o Jill Willis/G. Davison, Paisley Park Production, 7801 Audubon Road, Chanhassen MN 55317." Includes the nominee reply card and ticket order form, both with identical address labels applied at the top, plus a nomination slip ("Best Pop Performance" for "Diamonds and Pearls"), nominee form letter, and color invitation card. In fine condition.
Prince's former co-manager Jill Willis recalls: "A bit of a melancholy feeling when I came across this—just one of so many items that flowed from my hands to his hands and back again. He was not a collector and back then, none of us were really thinking of archives or historical documents. Once something was given to me or returned to me, I cannot honestly say why some things were kept when most were mindlessly put in the wastepaper basket. Prince kept 'big' things—like houses and cars, tapes of music, reels of film, photos and numerous awards. But he was not one to keep a scrapbook or ask anyone to do something like that. He never seemed to have a sentimental attachment to many things and only occasionally did he request things be put in the pre-vault or get filed or returned."
The Prince Estate is not affiliated, associated, or connected with RR Auction or this auction, nor has it endorsed, authenticated or sponsored the items available for auction. Further, The Prince Estate has not licensed any of its intellectual property to RR Auction.
From the personal collection of Jill Willis (former Executive Vice-president of Paisley Park).
