Original Master of Puppets cover art sells for $35,000

The original cover painting done for Metallica's classic 1986 album Master of Puppets, done by artist Don Brautigam, sold for a final price of $35,000 at an auction held by Christie's in New York City, according to RollingStone.com. The actual price was $28,000, with buyer's fees totaling another $7,000. The painting was one of many pieces of pop culture art that went up for bids on Monday (November 24th), with many of them coming from the punk and rock genres.

The sale, which also featured items from Nirvana, the Beatles, the Ramones and others, netted a total of $750,000.

Among the items which sold were:
- A ring worn by Elvis Presley during one of his final tours for $32,500
- A trumpet that belonged to Louis Armstrong for $27,500
- Original tapes from Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland sessions for
$47,500
- Proof of smallpox vaccination certificate for Paul McCartney for $5,000
- A postcard handwritten by Elvis for $7,250

Items that did not reach their reserve price and remained unsold included the original album art for the Beastie Boys' 1986 debut Licensed to Ill and Kurt Cobain's childhood bass.