The latest auction of John Lennon collectibles was far less weird than prior ones involving his toilet and tooth. Today (June 4) in New York, an assortment of his writings were auctioned off, with some fetching much higher prices than expected.
The Sotheby's auction involved various drawings, poems and short stories that were reproduced in his 1964 book In His Own Write and its 1965 follow-up A Spaniard in the Works. There were 89 items in total; the Associated Press reports that every single one of them sold, with 83 percent of them surpassing the expected price.
The biggest seller was The Singularge Experience of Miss Anne Duffield, a nine-page short story that parodies Sherlock Holmes. It fetched a whopping $209,000 — far more than its estimate of between $50,000 and $70,000.
Another big-ticket item was a poem called "The Fat Budgie," which exceed its $35,000 estimate by selling for $143,000. The poem "I Sat Belonely" was also estimated at $35,000, and it went for $137,000. Also of note, the cartoon birds that served as the cover artwork for the posthumous 1995 single "Free as a Bird" sold for $27,500.
The papers had belonged to Lennon's British publisher, Tom Maschler, who had owned them for more than 50 years. It was billed as the largest private collection of Lennon's work to hit the market.
The Sotheby's auction involved various drawings, poems and short stories that were reproduced in his 1964 book In His Own Write and its 1965 follow-up A Spaniard in the Works. There were 89 items in total; the Associated Press reports that every single one of them sold, with 83 percent of them surpassing the expected price.
The biggest seller was The Singularge Experience of Miss Anne Duffield, a nine-page short story that parodies Sherlock Holmes. It fetched a whopping $209,000 — far more than its estimate of between $50,000 and $70,000.
Another big-ticket item was a poem called "The Fat Budgie," which exceed its $35,000 estimate by selling for $143,000. The poem "I Sat Belonely" was also estimated at $35,000, and it went for $137,000. Also of note, the cartoon birds that served as the cover artwork for the posthumous 1995 single "Free as a Bird" sold for $27,500.
The papers had belonged to Lennon's British publisher, Tom Maschler, who had owned them for more than 50 years. It was billed as the largest private collection of Lennon's work to hit the market.
The Beatles - Free as a Bird from Manny on Vimeo.
