Bob Dylan's first New York girlfriend, Suze Rotolo, is auctioning off fourteen Dylan-related artifacts from her personal collection. The items, which hit the auction block on December 4th at Christie's in New York, include a 1963 valentine (on which Dylan inscribed, "Love, Love, Money, Booze, I'd swap 'm all to be with youse, love love me Bob"); a 1962 flier for a Dylan gig at Gerdes Folk City that Rotolo designed; and a postcard Dylan sent to Rotolo from Italy ("I always thought Italians were Mama Rosas and Anna Mananis [sic] – but they're all Sophia Lorens"). "I am an artist, and it is not in my nature to part with meaningful things, but it felt right to do so now," says Rotolo, who is best known for appearing with Dylan on the cover of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan and inspiring songs such as "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" and "Boots of Spanish Leather." "I see my putting these items for sale at Christie's as part of my life, and at this time in my life I can divest a bit. Who knows if at seventy I will regret my foolishness?"

This story is from the December 14, 2006 issue of Rolling Stone. 

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