1334 York Avenue New York 10021 +1 212 606 7000 F +1 212 606 7107
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Sotheby's JOHN LENNON "YOU MIGHT WELL ARSK"
juin 04, 2014
Sale Number N09156
Sale Total (Including Buyer's Premium) 2,899,000 USD AUCTION RESULTS The following lots were sold at the prices stated. Lot number which are omitted represent items which were withdrawn, passed or unsold as of the publication of this list. Prices include the Buyer's Premium. They do not reflect any Value Added Tax (VAT) or (Australian) Goods and Services Tax (GST). Paris sales: Vente dirigee par Alain Renner. Agrement №2001-002 du 25 octobre 2001.
Lot USD
Lot USD
Lot USD
Lot USD
Lot USD
1 27,500
19 10,000
37 87,500
55 17,500
73 31,250
2 13,750
20 12,500
38 10,000
56 20,000
74 37,500
3 37,500
21 5,000
39 28,125
57 20,000
75 37,500
4 56,250
22 8,750
40 5,000
58 28,125
76 34,375
5 18,750
23 23,750
41 5,000
59 143,000
77 30,000
6 8,750
24 12,500
42 25,000
60 43,750
78 31,250
7 13,750
25 28,125
43 7,500
61 209,000
79 28,125
8 31,250
26 15,000
44 7,500
62 37,500
80 55,000
9 15,000
27 6,250
45 50,000
63 22,500
81 81,250
10 22,500
28 7,500
46 25,000
64 37,500
82 30,000
11 31,250
29 22,500
47 16,250
65 37,500
83 25,000
12 3,750
30 43,750
48 8,750
66 40,625
84 22,500
13 5,000
31 10,000
49 40,625
67 37,500
85 21,250
14 6,250
32 3,750
50 18,750
68 43,750
86 53,125
15 12,500
33 37,500
51 6,250
69 25,000
87 59,375
16 6,250
34 137,000
52 25,000
70 46,875
88 43,750
17 21,250
35 28,125
53 43,750
71 31,250
89 109,375
18 13,750
36 68,750
54 16,250
72 75,000
FOR INFORMATION ON CATALOGUE SALES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS, PLEASE CALL +1 212 606 7000 (FROM THE U. S.) OR +44 (0) 20 7293 5000 (OUTSIDE THE U. S.)
Sotheby's John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 1
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF A BOY WITH SIX BIRDS 9 3/10 x 7 4/5 in.; 237 x 198 mm, ink drawing in black with editorial notes added in blue ink on single leaf (10 x 8 in.; 254 x 203 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, small nick to top edge, slight creasing, minor spotting ESTIMATE 12,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 27,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE The first illustration from In His Own Write, published on page 3, and one that does not appear to accompany any text. One bird, balanced on the boy's head, appears to be contained in a bottle whilst others are perched on each hand. The boy seems to have only three fingers and a thumb on his left hand. The editorial comments note the instruction to the printer to "REVERSE Left to Right" and also provide the published page number.
This drawing was used as the artwork for the 7" single and CD single release of 'Free as a Bird'. The song, composed and recorded by John Lennon in 1977, was remixed with contributions from the other Beatles in 1995. First released on the Anthology 1 album, it was released as a single on 4 December 1995. It would reach number two in the UK singles chart and number 6 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 2
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF A FOUR-HANDED CREATURE 5 1/2 x 5 1/4 in.; 140 x 135 mm, ink drawing in black with editorial page reference added in blue ink on single leaf (6 9/10 x 5 3/8 in.;176 x 136 mm; "Basildon Bond" watermark), unsigned, minor soiling at right edge ESTIMATE 7,000-9,000 USD Lot Sold: 13,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE The second illustration from In His Own Write, published on page 7, and one that does not appear to accompany any text. Philip Norman makes reference to Lennon's drawings as 'octopoid grotesques' and finds a direct link between illustrations within Lennon's schoolboy newspaper, the Daily Howl, and In His Own Write. Mark Lewisohn describes the Daily Howl as 'a school exercise with an illustrated front cover and page after page of one-line gags, eccentric wordplay, spoof ads, cartoons and the first evidence of a lasting obsession with Negroes, Jews and human grotesques. John would write it at Mendips in the evenings and take the book into school next morning, to be read
aloud and passed around - and then, after being confiscated by the teachers, enjoyed by the Quarry Bank staff before John got them back at the end of term'. (Lewisohn, p. 65).
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 3
MCCARTNEY, PAUL 'JOHN LENNON', CORRECTED TYPESCRIPT McCartney's introduction to In His Own Write, recalling his first meeting with Lennon ("...At Woolton village fete I met him. I was a fat schoolboy and, as he leaned an arm on my shoulder, I realised he was drunk. We were twelve then, in spite of his sideboards...") and their early days of friendship ("...Aunt Mimi, who had looked after him since he was so high, used to tell me he was cleverer than he pretended..."), as well as informing readers that "He left school to join a group, called the Beatles", with a two line autograph note at the head of the page in black ink ("Dear Mr Cape, there are only 234 words, but I don't care"), 50 words cancelled and two words inserted in blue ink in an unknown hand, also with extensively revised fragments of an alternative introductory text in the same unknown hand ("...He wrote in the overcrowded dressing rooms of PROVINCIAL CINEMAS - leaning on a pile of autograph albums and the sound of screaming in his ears..."), with "John Lennon" written sideways down the page in red ink, 2 pages, large post 4to (10 x 8 in.; 254 x 203 mm., unwatermarked), formerly folded ESTIMATE 20,000-30,000 USD
Lot Sold: 37,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE "None of it has to make sense and if it seems funny then that's enough." Paul McCartney recalls the origin of the most important partnership in the modern history of pop music in his introduction, published on p.11 of In His Own Write. Although this is evidently the draft supplied by McCartney to Cape, not only does it include substantial editorial changes but the drafts on the verso suggest that Cape considered replacing it with an entirely different text. The self-consciously literary nature of the abandoned draft on the verso (which even quotes from the title of John Knox's 1558 work, The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women) strongly suggests that it was written by an employee at Cape. In the event, however, the editorial changes were reversed and it was decided to retain McCartney's draft.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 4
LENNON, JOHN 'PARTLY DAVE', COMPLETE AUTOGRAPH DRAFT MANUSCRIPT, blue ink, minor scattered corrections and two deletions, one deletion in green ink, 2 pages, 8vo (8 x 5 in.; 203 x 126 mm), headed stationery of the Albany Hotel, Birmingham, slight creasing and minor staining [with:] 'Partly Dave', authorial typescript with corrections in blue ink including one word in autograph, the final sentence crossed-through in black ink, editorial comment in pencil initialed (" A propos Q[uery] think this was better in! (RCH)"), one page, foolscap (13 x 8 in.; 330 x 203 mm, "64 Mill Bond Extra Strong" watermark) ESTIMATE 15,000-25,000 USD Lot Sold: 56,250 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE "...Partly Dave was a raving salesman with the gift of the gob..." The working manuscript and corrected typescript of the first piece in In His Own Write, published on p.15, a typically bizarre vignette tinged with pathos and menace, about a man who unnerves his wife with his habit of muttering "I'm
partly Dave". The manuscript is one of the few items in the collection on hotel headed notepaper, allowing for unusual precision in dating. The Beatles were staying in Birmingham on 15 December 1963 filming for the television series Thank Your Lucky Stars. This was just one day after Lennon's meeting with Tom Maschler at which he agreed to write the book that became In His Own Write. 'Partly Dave' was evidently written in an initial fit of enthusiasm, and was probably the first piece written after Lennon accepted the commission (see also lot 37). 'Partly Dave' was one of a relatively small number of pieces for In His Own Write that Lennon composed by hand: a larger number were initially composed in very rough and ready typescript (lot 49), and Lennon probably wrote this piece out simply because he did not have a typewriter available. Lennon's manuscript was then typed up for submission to Cape, and that typescript is also included in this lot. Like many other typescripts in this sale, this is not a professional typescript produced by Jonathan Cape but an authorial typescript that was probably produced by Lennon himself, but could have been the work of someone within his inner circle on the author's behalf. Lennon had been an enthusiastic typist from his teens - impressing the young Paul McCartney by showing off his typing on Paul's first visit to Mendips (see Lewisohn, p.694) - but he was untrained and somewhat inaccurate. At least some of the corrections to this and other typescripts in the collection are identifiably in Lennon's hand but others are likely to be the work of a copy editor, although surviving letters typed by Lennon show him making surprisingly detailed textual corrections by hand. When the corrected typescript reached Cape it was evidently sent to a reader and - like several other typescripts in the collection - it retains the editorial comments of an unidentified reader for the publishing house.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 5
LENNON, JOHN "A LOT OF FLIES ON HIS WIFE" FROM 'NO FLIES ON FRANK' 4 13/16 x 8 1/10 in.; 123 x 206 mm, ink drawing in black with editorial notes added in blue ink on single leaf (8 x 10in.; 203 x 254 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, slight creasing, some soiling ESTIMATE 7,000-9,000 USD Lot Sold: 18,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE A drawing of Frank's wife "lying about the kitchen floor" and covered in "a lot of flies", as published on page 16 of In His Own Write. A short film by John Lennon and Yoko Ono entitled Fly was premièred at the Cannes Film Festival in 1970. For 25 minutes a fly crawled over a young woman's naked body.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 6
LENNON, JOHN "NO FLIES ON FRANK", CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT subtitle ("A foible") added in blue ink but deleted, corrections in blue ink to a further 5 words, 3 pages, large post 4to (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 202 mm, unwatermarked), stapled, slight creasing ESTIMATE 7,000-9,000 USD Lot Sold: 8,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE This macabre story, published on pp.17-19 of In His Own Write, in which Frank ("a responsible citizen with a wife and child") kills his wife after unexpectedly finding himself "twelve inches more tall heavy" on the bathroom scales, then attempts to return her body to her mother, is one of the most arresting and successful prose works in In His Own Write . Tom Wolfe observed the distinct nature of Lennon's prose works in a piece originally written for Book Week in May 1964: "He seems to take the general format for his stories, fables, playlets, poems and drawings from a British humorist named Spike Milligan. But the underlying bitterness of much of what Lennon writes about marriage and family life, for
example, as well as his Joycean excursions into language fantasies, are something else altogether." (The Lennon Companion, p. 47)
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 7
LENNON, JOHN 'GOOD DOG NIGEL', PEN AND INK DRAWING TOGETHER WITH TYPESCRIPT, COMPRISING i) "Our little hairy friend" from 'Good Dog Nigel', 7/16 x 2 in.; 11 x 52 mm, ink drawing in black with page number added in blue ink on single leaf (4 1/16 by 8 in.; 104 by 203 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, two staples in lower right corner and sheet secured to larger sheet with adhesive tape, adhesive tape browning; ii) 'Good Dog Nigel', fair copy typescript, one page, large post 4to (10 x 8 in.; 252 x 201 mm, "Don Valley Bond" watermark), browning ESTIMATE 3,000-5,000 USD Lot Sold: 13,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE This typescript is one of a group of eight similar typescripts submitted to Cape, all on paper watermarked "Don Valley Bond", that were evidently not typed by Lennon himself. They are laid out on the page with much greater professionalism and are typed far more accurately than are Lennon's own typescripts. The "Don Valley" group of typescripts were taken from a group of ten pieces typed out by Lennon on three pages of foolscap paper (lot 50). Many of these (including 'Good Dog Nigel') also survive in an earlier rough composition typescript (lot 49). 'Good Dog Nigel' was published on pp.20-21 of In His Own Write with the illustration appearing on p.21.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 8
LENNON, JOHN "AT THE DENIS", AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT blue ink, one correction, one page, 4to (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 205 mm), formerly folded ESTIMATE 10,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 31,250 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE "...'Sly down in that legchair madam and open your gorble wide - your mouse is all but toothless..." A dialogue in which an enthusiastic dentist extracts a tooth, offering his patient in return "a free Nasty Heath [i.e. National Health] set" of false teeth, published on pp.22-23 of In His Own Write. The origin of this piece is remembered by Tom Maschler: "I was frequently bemused as to how John came up with his ideas. There is one I can account for. I happen to own a cottage in the Black Mountains in South Wales. One day, driving there I passed through the village of Ross-on-Wye where I came across an antique book fair. I picked up an Italian phrase book for the equivalent of 10p. I thought it made hilarious reading and so I gave the book to John. He liked it, especially the section that related to `Things one might say at the dentist’. For example one entry read: “I have me a terrible tooth pain”.
Next time I saw John he handed me a piece of paper entitled At The Denis." Lennon's own teeth have now even become collector's items: one molar - "rather gruesome, yellowy, browny with a cavity" - which had been extracted in the mid-60s and given to the housekeeper at Kenwood, Dot Jarlett, was sold at auction in 2011 for £19,500 ($31,300). In fact Lennon's dentist, John Riley, played a somewhat unexpected role in the development of '60s counterculture when, in April 1965, he introduced Lennon to LSD. Riley hosted a dinner party at which Lennon, together with his wife Cynthia, George Harrison and Patti Boyd, were all given coffee spiked with the drug.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 9
LENNON, JOHN "THE FAT GROWTH ON ERIC HEARBLE", CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT scattered corrections throughout in blue ink, including the insertion of three words, editorial note in pencil ("needs another ending") crossed through in ink, 1 page, 4to (10 x 4 1/8 in.; 255 x 105 mm, "64 Mill Bond Extra Strong" watermark) ESTIMATE 5,000-7,000 USD Lot Sold: 15,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE "...One fat morning Eric Hearble wake up with an abnorman fat growth a bombly on his head..." This story about a speaking carbuncle, published on p.24 of In His Own Write, shows Lennon's humour at its cruellest. Jokes about physical disability were, of course, much more culturally acceptable in the 1960s, but biographers such as Philip Norman have speculated that the frequency with which Lennon returned to the subject exposed a deep-seated anxiety. Pete Best, for example, recalled Lennon hurrying from a restaurant when a maimed war veteran was assisted to a nearby table (Norman, p. 203).
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 10
LENNON, JOHN "AN ABNORMAN FAT GROWTH" FROM 'THE FAT GROWTH ON ERIC HEARBLE' 9 1/10 x 7 7/10 in.; 231 x 196 mm, ink drawing in black with editorial notes added in blue ink and pencil on single leaf (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 204 mm, unwatermarked), titled by the artist, unsigned, small nick to top edge, slight creasing ESTIMATE 7,000-9,000 USD Lot Sold: 22,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on page 25 of In His Own Write as a full-page illustration. For publication the image was reversed.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 11
LENNON, JOHN "THIS WONDROUS BEAST" FROM 'THE WRESTLING DOG' 4 1/8 x 10 in.; 105 x 255 mm., ink drawing in black with editorial notes added in blue ink on single leaf (8 x 10 in.; 204 x 255 mm., unwatermarked), unsigned, loss to lower right corner not affecting image ESTIMATE 12,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 31,250 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published across pages 26 and 27 of In His Own Write, although without the signboard that appears in the book proclaiming the title of the story.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 12
LENNON, JOHN "THE WRESTLING DOG", CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT scattered corrections in blue ink, editorial note in pencil, one page, 4to (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 205 mm, "64 Mill Extra Strong Bond" watermark), small staple holes, minor marks ESTIMATE 3,000-5,000 USD Lot Sold: 3,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE The comic use of bathos is at the heart of this story, in which what commences as a parody of a folk-tale comes to an abrupt halt when it transpires that, quite understandably, no-one would fight a wrestling dog. It was published on pp.26-27 of In His Own Write. In 1965 Lennon recited this piece on Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's ground-breaking comedy television series Not Only ... But Also.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 13
LENNON, JOHN "THE FAMOUS FIVE THROUGH WOENOW ABBEY BY GREEDY BLYTON", TYPESCRIPT 2 pages, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 257 x 202 mm, "Don Valley Bond" watermark), pin holes and retaining old pin ESTIMATE 3,000-5,000 USD Lot Sold: 5,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE A pastiche of the "Famous Five" children's books, a series of novels that had been avidly read by a young John Lennon. They were written by Enid Blyton, whose name here becomes "Greedy Blyton" (a version omitted from the printed text, perhaps out of fear of litigation), "Enig Blyter", and even "Greenod Bladder". Lennon distils the narrative to the essentials - repeated many times by Blyton - of a holiday trip ("...'Gruddy Pod, Gruddy Pod,' the train seemed to say...") visiting a friendly relation, followed by a meeting with a "furtive stranger" who, inevitably, is revealed as being the key to the "mysterious Woenow Abbey Hill". This piece appears on pp.32-33 of In His Own Write.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 14
LENNON, JOHN "SAD MICHAEL", CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT corrections to four words and punctuation added in blue ink, seven words deleted in black ink, one page, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 205 mm, "64 Mill Bond Extra Strong" watermark), pin holes, very slight adhesive marks ESTIMATE 5,000-7,000 USD Lot Sold: 6,250 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE This short piece about the "debb and duff" Michael is one of the most personally revealing stories in In his Own Write, where it is published on p.35. Michael is inexplicably sad despite the fact that "everyone liked him, (the scab)" and he "has everything", just as Lennon was beginning to discover that fame did not bring personal happiness, and his description of Michael's fortune in having a wife who is "well controlled" echoes the possessiveness of his own relationship with Cynthia. "Sad Michael" includes the first appearance in print of the phrase "a hard day's night", which was to become the title of the Beatles first film, third studio album, and a song which is often considered (by Ian Macdonald, for example, in Revolution in the Head) as heralding the beginning of the band's period of greatest
creativity. Lennon later said that "a hard day's night" was a "Ringoism", a malapropism uttered after an exhausting day's filming on 19 March 1964. As so often with the Beatles, however, memories are hazy: In His Own Write was written before filming on A Hard Day's Night began on 2 March.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 15
LENNON, JOHN "I WANDERED", CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT title added in Lennon's hand in black ink, a final unmetrical line erased in black ink, three corrections in black ink and two corrections in red ink, with a doodle of an animal face in black ink below the text, one page, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 257 x 205 mm, unwatermarked) ESTIMATE 6,000-8,000 USD Lot Sold: 12,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE "...Past grisby tress and hulky builds Past ratters and bradder sheep..." This poem, published on p. 36 of In His Own Write, is one of the more "literary" pieces in the book. It was such pieces that encouraged the book's remarkably effusive reviews from the high-brow press. The Times Literary Supplement, for example, wrote that the book "is worth the attention of anyone who fears for the impoverishment of the English
language and the British imagination ... the humourists have done much more to preserve and enrich these assets than most serious critics allow. Theirs is arguably our liveliest stream of “experimental writing” and Mr Lennon shows himself well equipped to take it farther."
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 16
LENNON, JOHN 'A LETTER', CORRECTED TYPESCRIPT nine words crossed-through and revised text of seven words supplied in black ink, in a scribal hand, also with an editorial note in pencil, one page, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 254 x 202 mm, "Don Valley Bond" watermark) ESTIMATE 5,000-7,000 USD Lot Sold: 6,250 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Lennon's satirical take on the "fanzines" and the demands of pop music's young audience who "like it when Alec jumb about and shoes"; lines which suggest his weariness at the hysteria of Beatlemania and live performance. It was published on p.37 of In His Own Write. This typescript contains one of the few textual changes to Lennon's text and shows the author's continued involvement in the development of the text. The Cape reader here makes one of his blunt and caustic comments on Lennon's work, condemning the end of the letter as "No good", and complaining that signing off the letter "Your hardened admirer" was "glib smut". In most cases, the reader's comments were overridden and Lennon's texts were published as submitted, but in this case the text was amended. Cape presumably ensured
that Lennon did not actually see the reader's comments - it is unlikely that he would have responded well - and the hand-written revisions are not in Lennon's hand. These final changes were therefore probably dictated by the author, most likely during one of Tom Maschler's visits to Lennon's flat.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 17
LENNON, JOHN "AN ADMIRER" FROM 'A LETTER' 3 5/8 x 7 in.; 93 x 177 mm, ink drawing in black with page number added in blue ink on single leaf (5 3/8 x 6 9/10 in.; 137 x 177 mm, "Basildon Bond" watermark), unsigned, slight creasing ESTIMATE 10,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 21,250 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE An image of the author of a fan letter, requesting "more pidgers and writty about our favourit group...", published on page 37 of In His Own Write.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 18
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF THEATRE CURTAINS FROM 'SCENE THREE ACT ONE' 3 1/2 x 8 in.; 90 x 204 mm., ink drawing in black with page number added in blue ink and pencil title on single leaf (10 x 8 in.; 255 by 204 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, slight creasing and minor browning ESTIMATE 3,000-5,000 USD Lot Sold: 13,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on page 38 of In His Own Write, providing a theatrical environment for Lennon's short play scene. Note the face peering out behind the right hand curtain. Scene Three Act One was the working title of Adrienne Kennedy's play based on In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works. It was given a workshop production by the National Theatre and ran for one night only on 3 December 1967. The following year it was developed into a one-act play (see lot 37, footnote).
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 19
LENNON, JOHN 'SCENE THREE ACT ONE', CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT scattered corrections in black ink, including at least six in Lennon's autograph such as the alteration of the name "Lungboot" to "Taddpill", one correction in red ink and two minor corrections in pencil, two pages, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 203 mm, unwatermarked), stapled, slightly creased ESTIMATE 8,000-12,000 USD Lot Sold: 10,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE A comic depiction of a confrontation between a "scruddy working clog" and a "big fat catipalyst boss", published on pp.38-40 of In His Own Write. The bloody-minded trade union official was a common satirical target of British comedy in the decades after World War II, perhaps most memorably in the character of Fred Kite, played by Peter Sellers in the 1959 film I'm All Right Jack. Sellers was one of Lennon's favorite actors.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 20
LENNON, JOHN 'TREASURE IVAN', CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT with about 30 corrections in red and black ink, including about eight words in autograph, 2 pages, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 204 mm, unwatermarked), stapled, slight creasing ESTIMATE 10,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 12,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE "...Large John began to look upon Jack as a son or something, for he was ever putting his arm about him and saying, "Ha Haaaaar", especially with a Parable on his shouldy..." In this amusing parody of Treasure Island (published on pp.42-44 of In His Own Write), as in the 'Famous Five' piece, Lennon was writing a nonsense version of his childhood reading. The use of simple and deeply familiar narratives is crucial to these works, for the rampant wordplay and invented words would otherwise render them unintelligible. 'Treasure Ivan' is an accomplished parody of the sort that Lennon had written for his amusement since his schooldays, when he had spent his time writing and illustrating his comic, The Daily Howl, rather than paying attention to his lessons. Robert Louis Stevenson's adventure was something of a favorite of Lennon's: during the summer of 1960 the band then known as the Silver Beetles toured Scotland backing the singer Johnny Gentle, and John briefly adopted the pseudonym "Long John".
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 21
LENNON, JOHN 'ALL ABORD SPEECHING OR THE ART OF CORRECT DICKSON', TYPESCRIPT with one word corrected in blue ink, caustic editorial note in pencil under the text ("This is too tiny and too bad"), one page, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 204 mm, "Don Valley Bond" watermark), light creasing [together with:] a photostat copy of the typescript with a pencil note ("expand?") crossed through and an additional paragraph in Lennon's autograph added to the bottom of the page, also with a brief memorandum on the verso listing material still required for the book, two pages, quarto (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 203 mm) ESTIMATE 4,000-6,000 USD Lot Sold: 5,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE This lot comprises the typescript supplied by Lennon to Cape, together with a photocopy of the typescript (omitting, no doubt for diplomatic reasons, the editor's disparaging note on the piece) returned to the author for revision. Lennon's
target in this short parody (which lost its subtitle in the printed version of the text) is the widespread obsession, shared by his own aunt Mimi, with correct pronunciation and its connotations with social class. 'All Abord Speeching', published on p.45 of In His Own Write, depicts a world in which subtle differences between "Oxfam" and "Caimbilge" English are worthy of careful delineation; a world, of course, that had been disturbed when four young men had shot to fame despite speaking in public with Scouse accents.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 22
LENNON, JOHN 'THE FINGLETOAD RESORT OF TEDDIVISCIOUS', CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT with corrections in blue ink including one word in autograph, additional corrections in black ink, editorial corrections in pencil, the leaf torn in half to remove the final unpublished piece which is marked "NOT TO BE USED", one page, foolscap folio (13 x 8 in.; 330 x 204 mm, "64 Mill Bond Extra Strong" watermark), crudely torn in half, pin holes ESTIMATE 7,000-9,000 USD Lot Sold: 8,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE A series of short parodies about television, including an unpublished piece. 'The Fingletoad Resort', which appears on pp.48-49 of In His Own Write, includes references to the Grenada television program People and Places ("Peokle and Braces") on which the Beatles made one of their first television appearances, and the long-running BBC current affairs series Panorama ("Panorasthma"), which asks the pressing question: "Do you prepare Rinkled Dinglebone [i.e. Richard Dimbleby] or Tichie Bimplebean?" ("....Who the hell is Pimpled Dinkletoes?..."). The final unpublished piece is entitled "GODFRY WIND", in a reference to the newspaper columnist Godfrey Winn, and was almost certainly cut from In His Own Write because of its overtly sexual content. It is an absurdist agony column in which a man whose wife insists "on having the postman deliver the letters upstairs" is advised: "Jealousy can wreck a marriage, try getting to know the postman". It also has an interview with a very young wife ("...I'm only 12 yer know...") whose husband is
nearly 83. For the earlier and even more outrageous version of "Godfry Wind" see lot 49.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 23
LENNON, JOHN FIVE (OF SEVEN) UNTITLED ILLUSTRATIONS OF TELEVISIONS, COMPRISING: i) untitled illustration of a kissing couple on a tv screen, 2 1/4 x 2 1/2 in.; 58 x 63 mm, on single leaf (2 3/4 x 3 in.; 70 x 76 mm., unwatermarked), originally laid down but now loose with original backing card present; ii) untitled illustration of a vicar with halo on a tv screen, 3 3/8 x 2 3/4 in.; 85 x 70 mm, on single leaf (3 3/4 x 3 3/8 in.; 95 x 85mm, unwatermarked), with added slip laid down to remove drawing of the Crucifixion, originally laid down but now loose with original backing card present; iii) untitled illustration of an interview on a tv screen, 1 13/16 x 1 7/8 in.; 45 x 50 mm, on single leaf (2 x 2 3/16 in.; 50 x 55 mm., unwatermarked), laid down to card; iv) untitled illustration of man with fish on head on a tv screen, 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 in.; 60 x 58 mm, on single leaf (2 1/2 x 2 1/2 in.; 65 x 65 mm, unwatermarked), laid down to card; v) untitled illustration of a man wearing glasses together with a man who has a button for an eye on a tv screen, 3 x 3 1/8 in; 77 x 80 mm, on single leaf (3 3/8 x 3 1/2 in; 86 x 91 mm, unwatermarked), originally laid down but now loose with original backing card present; all ink drawings in black, unsigned, browning and soiling from adhesive
ESTIMATE 10,000-12,000 USD Lot Sold: 23,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on pages 46 and 47 of In His Own Write. The published images show horizontal lines added to each of the television screens, these are not present on Lennon's original drawings. The missing two illustrations from the complete set of seven appear to be no longer extant.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 24
LENNON, JOHN 'ALEC SPEAKING', TYPESCRIPT one page, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 254 x 203 mm, "Don Valley Bond" watermark), tear (c. 3/8 in.; 10 mm) at top edge, very slight rust marks ESTIMATE 1,500-2,500 USD Lot Sold: 12,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE "He is putting it lithely when he says Quobble in the Grass" With its wild inventions and crazed Latin conjugations, 'Alec Speaking', published on p.50 of In His Own Write, is a poem that pulls apart rote-learning with a distinctive schoolboy humor: "This is your revenge on all the language, life and literature that people are asking you to take seriously. You bend and break what they teach you; you make their world sound like Wonderland." (Michael Wood, 'John Lennon's Schooldays', reprinted in The Lennon Companion, p.146)
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 25
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF A MAN AND AN ALIEN 5 3/4 x 7 1/5 in.; 147 x 184 mm, ink drawing in black with page number added in blue ink on single leaf (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 204 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, short tear to left edge, slight creasing ESTIMATE 10,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 28,125 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE An illustration published on page 51 of In His Own Write. Talking about his illustrations in 1964 and 1965, Lennon noted "...that's the most amount of drawings I've done since I left college... I used to draw with almost anything, usually black pen, or an ordinary fountain pen with black ink. So when it came to doing the book I said, 'Well, I can draw as well, you know,' since they'd mainly taken just the writing; and the drawings were very scrappy because I'm heavy-handed. I draw like I write. I just start to draw and if it looks like something vaguely to do with the story, I do it." (See The Beatles Anthology, London, 2000, p. 134)
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 26
LENNON, JOHN 'LIDDYPOOL', CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT typed title ("AROUND AND ABOUT by Beatcomber") crossed through in blue ink, alternative title "Beatcomber I" written in blue ink in a scribal hand and canceled in black ink, the final title "LIDDYPOOL" then added above in black ink, an additional two words ("but slowly") added in the same scribal hand, one correction in blue ink, fifteen lines canceled in black ink, editorial comment in pencil at the foot of the page ("Either eliminate or regroup & reform. As it stands this is pure fill"), one page, foolscap folio (13 x 8 in.; 330 x 203 mm., "64 Mill Bond Extra Strong" watermark), small red ink marks ESTIMATE 12,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 15,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Lennon's satirical guide to the city of his birth and a highly idiosyncratic evocation of Liverpool in the early 1960s. This piece was originally written for the weekly newspaper Mersey Beat, founded by Lennon's art college friend Bill Harry in 1961 to report on Liverpool's burgeoning youth culture, before it appeared on p.54 of In His Own Write. A small number of comic articles by Lennon were published in Mersey Beat, and this piece had appeared on 14 September 1961 with the title 'Around and About' and under the pseudonym of Beatcomber, a reference to the surreal comic column in the Daily Express, "Beachcomber". Lennon wrote a far greater number of pieces for Mersey Beat than were ever published, but in the summer of 1962 a stack of some 250 pieces that Lennon had given Bill Harry were lost in an office move: "We had to let John know and met him that night at the Blue Angel. When we told him he broke down and cried" (Lewisohn, p.694).
'Liddypool' includes a host of local references, from the Tudor manor house Speke Hall ("Talk Hall"), which is "very histerical with old things wot are fakes", to Speke Airport ("Shout Airborne") - "handy for planes if you like" - which in 2002 was renamed John Lennon International Airport. Lennon's guide to local clubs is of particular interest, although it was cut from In His Own Write, presumably for being too parochial. He refers to the Casbah ("THE CASBIN"), which was run by Mona Best, mother of the Beatles's early drummer Pete Best, and where the band had their first residency; the Jacaranda ("THE JACKARANDY - Membrains only"), a favorite beatnik hang-out; and Streates coffee bar, a center of the developing poetry scene ("The Bohernia of Liddypool"). Curiously, however, the Cavern Club, where the Beatles played regularly from February 1961 and the venue most closely associated with the band, is missing from the list.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 27
LENNON, JOHN 'YOU MIGHT WELL ARSK', CORRECTED TYPESCRIPT editorial comments and revisions in pencil, including the addition of the title and the movement of verbs to the past tense, these revisions then over-written in black ink, one page, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 253 x 202 mm, "Don Valley Bond" watermark), small tear (1/2 in.; 10 mm.) at top of page, slight creasing ESTIMATE 3,000-5,000 USD Lot Sold: 6,250 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE This short piece, in which news headlines are transmogrified into bizarre prose poems through Lennon's pun-filled prose, was almost certainly written some time before In His Own Write was commissioned, as all the contemporary references are to the summer of 1962. These references range from the dismissal of the British Chancellor of the Exchequer ("...Why was Seldom Loyled [Selwyn Lloyd] sagged?..."), to the joint attendance at a mass in Reims of President de Gaulle and the German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer ("Docker Adenoid"), to Jamaican independence.
Like other early pieces that found their way into the book, this typescript (on the same "Don Valley Bond" paper used in other items in the collection that were not typed by Lennon himself) was produced for submission to Cape in early 1964. The reader at Cape was concerned that the references were no longer topical, but Lennon's skill was in adapting the rhythm of the newspaper headline rather than in topical satire. It was published on p.55 of In His Own Write.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 28
LENNON, JOHN 'NICELY NICELY CLIVE', CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT the final sentence added in autograph in black ink then corrected in red ink by a scribal hand, ten scattered corrections in black and red ink, one page, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 203 mm, unwatermarked), slight creasing at edges ESTIMATE 6,000-8,000 USD Lot Sold: 7,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE The sardonic tone of this piece about preparations for a wedding is enhanced by it being narrated from the perspective of the observer Clive Barrow rather than the groom, Roger, excited on his "red lettuce day", or his brideto-be Anne in her "flowing weddy drag". The cruel tone is encapsulated in Lennon's sharp parody of wedding vows: "To have and to harm ... till death duty part". Once again, it is tempting to speculate that the use of nonsense and word-play allowed Lennon to express his darker thoughts (in this case, about his own marriage) in a more or less disguised form. It appears on p.56 of In His Own Write.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 29
LENNON, JOHN "ANNE SMILED THE SMILE OF SOMEONE WHO'S SEEN A FEW LAUGHS" FROM 'NICELY NICELY CLIVE' 6 1/10 x 9 9/10 in.; 156 x 251 mm., ink drawing in black with title of poem added by Lennon and page number added in blue ink on single leaf (8 x 10 1/10 in.; 204 x 255 mm., unwatermarked), unsigned, some staining in lower section of leaf ESTIMATE 7,000-9,000 USD Lot Sold: 22,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE The illustration is published on page 57 of In His Own Write. In late 1960, when Stuart Sutcliffe restarted painting large canvases in the Kirchherr household in Hamburg, it 'kicked off a reciprocal motor inside John', according to Philip Norman. Astrid Kirchherr remembered that 'Whenever John came to our house to see Stuart, he would sit down and start to draw, but always cartoons of crippled people...' (Norman, p. 237)
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 30
LENNON, JOHN "PUFFING AND GLOBBERING THEY DRUGGED THEYSELVES RAMPLING OR DANCING WITH WILD ABDOMEN, STUBBING IN WILD POSTUMES AMONGST THEMSELVES..." FROM 'NEVILLE CLUB' 4 1/2 x 8 in.; 117 x 205 mm, ink drawing in black with "M.B." in top left corner and page number added in blue ink on single leaf (8 x 10 in.; 204 x 255 mm, unwatermarked), adhesive tape marks not affecting image, slight creasing ESTIMATE 18,000-22,000 USD Lot Sold: 43,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE This orgy of drink, drugs and dancing is published on pages 58-59 of In His Own Write and is one of only two illustrations in the book that are given a printed title. The image shows the people within the 'Neville Club', described as "a seemy hole". A photograph of Lennon in the hallway of his home in Weybridge taken by Robert Freeman in 1964 shows a section of this illustration, hugely enlarged, in the background (see Herzogenrath and Hanse, John Lennon - Drawings, Performances, Films (London, 1995), p.207).
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 31
LENNON, JOHN 'NEVILLE CLUB', CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT five corrections in black ink, one page, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 204 mm, unwatermarked), two lines of seemingly unrelated numbers written in blue ink on the verso ESTIMATE 8,000-12,000 USD Lot Sold: 10,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE "...All of a southern I notice boils and girks sitting in hubbered lumps smoking Hernia taking Odeon and going very high..." A satirical account of drug-taking in a "seemy hole" of a nightclub, published on p.60 of In His Own Write. The Beatles's performances had long been fueled by amphetamines and alcohol, but this account of the drug scene was that of an outsider: Lennon was famously introduced to Marijuana by Bob Dylan in August 1964, and his experimentation with hallucinogens and opiates lay further in the future. 'Neville Club' was written shortly before Lennon accepted Tom Maschler's offer to publish a book of his work. A reading of the piece formed part of an interview with Dibs Mather on 10 December 1963 for Australian radio:
Mather: It’s said, John Lennon, that you have the most Goon-type humor of the four Beatles. Lennon: Who said that? Mather: I think I read it in one of the newspapers. Lennon: You know what the newspapers are like. Mather: I don’t know. What are they like? Lennon: Wrong. Mather: [laughs] This is going wrong…I want to get a nice “personality” bit. Lennon: I haven’t got a nice personality. Mather: [laughs] Is this evidence of Goon-type humor? Lennon: No, I don’t think I really have Goon-type humor. That’s just an expression people use. [...] Mather: Do you think a career as a comic might open up to you? Lennon: No. [laughs] I don’t stand a chance being a comic ... I’m not funny enough. Mather: You were interested in poetry in school. Lennon: Who said? Mather: It’s printed in a book compiled by the Beatles and entitled, The Beatles. Lennon: [laughs] I haven’t read that book. We don’t normally write those things. Mather: Written any good comic poems lately? Lennon: Yes. Mather: [laughs] I just happened to have it here by sheerest coincidence. Lennon then read the first half of 'Neville Club', concluding with the comment: "But things like that just help me keep sane." Mather: Is this business enough to drive you insane? Lennon: No, I'm quite normal really. If you read in the Beatle books... it says I'm quite normal."
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 32
LENNON, JOHN 'ON SAFAIRY WITH WHIDE HUNTER', CORRECTED TYPESCRIPT, two words underlined with one marginal annotation suggesting a minor textual change, two pages, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 254 x 202 mm, "Don Valley Bond" watermark), pin holes, slight discoloration at top edge ESTIMATE 2,000-3,000 USD Lot Sold: 3,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE This piece is a parody of the cliché-ridden television series White Hunter (“Wipe Hudnose” etc.). The hero of the series – conveniently named John Hunter – was played by Rhodes Reason (a name that could itself have come from Lennon’s pen), and was assisted in his African adventures by a loyal native sidekick Atimbu (“Otumbad” etc.). It was, according to the book’s contents page, “written in conjugal with Paul”, and is the earliest piece in In His Own Write, where it appears on pp.62-63. It had been written in 1958, when Lennon and McCartney were still students and living at home, and was first published in Mersey Beat (6 September 1962). The short initial paragraph first appeared in the 1962 version and is a rare example of Lennon revising his own work (see Lewisohn, p.196 and note).
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 33
LENNON, JOHN "TO MY SURPRISE THE LADY, GOT UP - AND FLEW AWAY" FROM 'I SAT BELONELY" 6 1/2 x 13 in.; 165 x 330 mm, ink drawing in black with editorial note and page number added in blue ink on two leaves ( 8 x 10 in.; 203 x 254 mm, unwatermarked, laid-down to 8 3/5 x 12 in.; 218 x 303 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, some creases, browning resulting from adhesive ESTIMATE 7,000-9,000 USD Lot Sold: 37,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE This illustration was published, reversed, on pages 52-53 of In His Own Write. Although the poem entitled 'I Sat Belonely' appears later in the book, on page 64, it appears that the subject matter of the illustration and poem are linked. Moreover, what seems to be a variant version of this drawing (see photocopy in lot 51) is annotated by Lennon "I sat Belonely".
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 34
LENNON, JOHN 'I SAT BELONELY', AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT black ink, one page, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 254 x 204 mm, unwatermarked), stain at centre of leaf, 1 3/4 x 1 3/4 in.; 45 x 45 mm. section of paper at bottom right corner torn away [with:] typescript, the title added in capitals in black ink, editorial note in pencil, one page, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 254 x 204 mm., unwatermarked) ESTIMATE 25,000-35,000 USD Lot Sold: 137,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE "...I'm looking up and at the sky, to find such wondrous voice. Puzzly puzzle, wonder why, I hear but have no choice..."
These wistful verses probably constitute the most successful poem in In His Own Write, where it is published on p.64, and 'I Sat Belonely' has been widely reprinted. "His inspiration in verse seems to be Lewis Carroll", wrote Tom Wolfe in his review of In His Own Write, "But Lennon adds an anarchic cynicism that, for better or worse, goes beyond Carroll's kind of jabberwocky" (Book Week, 3 May 1964). John Lennon recites this poem in the Beatles' film Help! as he walks down a street with Ringo, barely noticing when his companion nearly loses his hand to an assassin hiding in a post-box.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 35
LENNON, JOHN "I SAT BELONELY DOWN A TREE, HUMBLED FAT AND SMALL" FROM 'I SAT BELONELY' 8 x 7 3/10 in.; 202 x 188 mm, ink drawing in black on single leaf (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 203 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, slight creasing, adhesive tape marks not affecting image ESTIMATE 12,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 28,125 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE This is a more elaborate version of the drawing presented as lot 36. The paper shows signs of heavy inking and Lennon presumably produced the simplified version as a tracing of the present piece. It is assumed that Lennon chose to remove superfluous detail for a cleaner line for publication. As a more elaborate and abandoned version of a published drawing, the present piece demonstrates some of Lennon's working methods.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 36
LENNON, JOHN "I SAT BELONELY DOWN A TREE, HUMBLED FAT AND SMALL" FROM 'I SAT BELONELY' 5 1/2 x 7 4/5 in.; 140 x 198 mm, ink drawing in black with page number added in blue ink on single leaf (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 203 mm., unwatermarked), unsigned, slight creasing, adhesive tape marks not affecting image ESTIMATE 10,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 68,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE This illustration appears on page 65 of In His Own Write. It is a simplified version of the drawing in lot 35. It was evidently one of Lennon's favorite drawings as he reproduced it on at least two occasions. Hunter Davies' The John Lennon Letters (London, 2012) includes an illustration of a birthday card Lennon sent to Colin Boyd, George Harrison's brother-in-law. In this card 'Beneath the deep Ambrosia tree | The Subtle Woffell lies...' (see Christie's, 30 April 2003, lot 193). The drawing is remarkably similar to that for 'I sat belonely down a tree'. A single leaf with the opening of the poem and a drawing of the humbled fat and small man was created by Lennon for "Leslie" (see Christie's, 27 April 1989, lot 617).
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 37
LENNON, JOHN 'HENRY AND HARRY', AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT one deletion of three words, blue ink, four pages, large post octavo (8 x 5 in.; 202 x 126 mm), headed stationery of the Albany Hotel, Birmingham, pin holes, slight staining on verso of second sheet [with:] authorial typescript, nine corrections in blue ink, initially marked "Untitled", revised to "Henry and Harry", editorial comments in pencil, one page, foolscap folio (13 x 8 in.; 330 x 203 mm, "64 Mill Bond Extra Strong" watermark) ESTIMATE 30,000-40,000 USD Lot Sold: 87,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE This manuscript is written on the stationery of the same Birmingham hotel as 'Partly Dave' (see lot 4), and like that work was almost certainly written on or around 15 December 1963, immediately after Lennon accepted Tom Maschler's commission to write a book. His parody brilliantly captures the essential characteristics of the "kitchen sink"
dramas of the 1950s and 60s, in which the imagination and ambitions of a young protagonist are smothered by his dour conservative surroundings in the declining industrial north of England. In Lennon's version, Harry's wish to become a golfer is set against his father's wish for him to follow in the "farst dying" trade of "Brummer Striving". It is published on pp.66-67 of In His Own Write. In 1968 the playwright Adrienne Kennedy and Victor Spinetti adapted Lennon's literary works for the National Theatre. The Lennon Play: In His Own Write was performed at London's Old Vic theatre and starred Ronald Pickup as "Me". 'Henry and Harry' was at the heart of the play, and was revealingly discussed by Lennon and Spinetti in an interview for BBC television: "...Interviewer: It's all about Brummer Striving, do tell us about Brummer Striving. John: Brummer Striving is Brummer Striving, all those jobs that people have that they don't want, and there's probably about 90% Brummer Strivers watching in at the moment. But you don't have to be a Brummer Striver, you see. It depends how involved in Brummer Striving you are, but Brummer Striving... Paul explained it at the beginning of the book, is, errr, it doesn't... What does he say he was saying? - 'What is Brummer Striving?' It isn't anything. Victor: It's grafting, it's doing a job... It is any kind of job you have to graft at, like going to a steelworks, or to a coal mine to follow your father. John: The universal sorrow just hits you about once a week, now - Bang - And then you say, 'Oh, oh well', and then you're back to 'Well, get on with it', you know, 'Get on with it'. Interviewer: And laugh. John: Well, I mean there are laughs to compensate, 'cus if there weren't it'd be very melancholy..."
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 38
LENNON, JOHN 'DEAF TED, DANOOTA - AND ME', CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT also including a 14-line unpublished prose satire on the Liverpool music industry, about 19 authorial corrections in blue ink, two pages, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 254 x 203 mm, "64 Mill Bond Extra Strong" watermark), stapled [with:] fair copy typescript, without the prose piece, two pages, large post quarto (10 x 8 in; 254 x 202 mm, "Don Valley Bond" watermark), pin holes ESTIMATE 8,000-12,000 USD Lot Sold: 10,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE 'Deaf Ted, Danoota, (and me)', which appears on p.68 of In His Own Write, was read aloud in the House of Commons on 19 June 1964 during a debate on, of all things, automation, in one of the more bizarre (and unintentionally amusing) examples of the ubiquity of the Beatles in the 1960s. A Conservative MP, Charles Curran, evidently did not understand that the poem's misspellings and puns were deliberate, so used the work to attack the standard of education in Liverpool: "I quote that poem not because of its literary merit, but because one can see from it ... two things about John Lennon: he has a feeling for words and story telling and he is in a state of pathetic near-literacy. He seems to have picked up bits of Tennyson, Browning and Robert Louis Stevenson while listening with one ear to the football results on the wireless." (Quoted in The Lennon Companion, pp.48-49) Lennon typed a rejected piece on the pop music industry on the same leaf of paper. This describes Brian Epstein,
who here becomes "Bryatt Nemstrove" or later "Shebstseve", the "dabber disturbin of the North", talking up a new star, a "right old R & B singer" called "Jeffrey F.D.A. Burkky". It also refers to Bill Harry's Mersey Beat and the influential local DJ Bob Wooler ("Bobb Bobber"). For similar rejected pieces on the music scene see lots 49 and 50.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 39
LENNON, JOHN "DEAF TED, DANOOTA, AND ME" FROM 'DEAF TED, DANOOTA, (AND ME)' 7 1/10 x 6 3/5 in.; 180 x 168 mm, ink drawing in black with page number added in blue ink on single leaf (8 x 10 in.; 203 x 254 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, slight creasing ESTIMATE 12,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 28,125 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on page 69 of In His Own Write.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 40
LENNON, JOHN 'A SUPRISE FOR LITTLE BOBBY', CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT with eight corrections in blue ink, including at least one in Lennon's hand, one page, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 254 x 203 mm, "64 Mill Bond Extra Strong" watermark) ESTIMATE 3,000-5,000 USD Lot Sold: 5,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Lennon's humor at its blackest. Maimed veterans of World War II were a common sight in Lennon's childhood, and here Lennon imagines Bobby, whose "very fist was jopped off (The War)" receiving a "birthday hook" - only to discover it is for the wrong hand. The piece was published on p.70 of In His Own Write.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 41
LENNON, JOHN 'HALBUT RETURB (A PLAY)', TYPESCRIPT fair copy, with editorial comment in pencil below the text ("I enjoyed this but the implication might be distasteful to some people.") canceled in blue ink, 1 page, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 253 x 202 mm, "Don Valley Bond" watermark) ESTIMATE 1,500-2,500 USD Lot Sold: 5,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE This brief "play", which targets the "old South" as romanticized in such works as Gone with the Wind, is undoubtedly one of the cruelest pieces in In His Own Write, where it is published on p.71.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 42
LENNON, JOHN 'UNHAPPY FRANK', CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT 12 corrections in blue ink, three additional corrections in pencil, one page, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 254 x 201 mm), staple holes, slight staining at bottom of leaf ESTIMATE 5,000-7,000 USD Lot Sold: 25,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE "...Wart am I but a slave tow look upon with deesekfrebit all the peegle larfing and buzing me in front of all the worled..." This short prose portrait of depression, published on p.72 of In His Own Write, has intriguing hints of autobiography. When discussing the book in an interview, Lennon admitted that "I suppose it was all manifestations of hidden cruelties. They are very Alice in Wonderland and Winnie the Pooh. I was very hung-up; it was my version of what was happening then" (Anthology, p.134). For Lennon, the years of Beatlemania were characterized by a growing sense of malaise. He considered 'Help!' to be his most personal - and therefore best - song of the period, and 'Unhappy Frank' draws on similar feelings. Lennon's complex feelings about his mother come through strongly in Frank, who kicks his
mother in the head in one paragraph and remembers her lovingly in the next. The final sentences of 'Unhappy Frank' curiously prefigure Lennon's own later life: "So he sold it all and left the country and settled down in another country which he did not like half as much as his dear old home in England with his dear old quaint old luvly mother what he (Frank) lost due to a bad harvest. Which judd do to show what happens."
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 43
LENNON, JOHN 'ON THIS CHURLY MORN', CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT untitled, each stanza numbered, with ten corrections in black ink, 2 numbered pages, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 254 x 203 mm, unwatermarked), stapled, small nick at top of first leaf ESTIMATE 6,000-8,000 USD Lot Sold: 7,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE "...They rabble till they're tatter Don't creem the midnight hour Big Doris flitter flatter And blacky blackpoo tower..." The distinctive strangeness of Lennon's language sent many critics in search of influences and comparable writers James Joyce's name was often invoked, for example. The language of traditional hymns unmistakably lies behind the closing stanzas of this inventive nonsense poem, but Lennon was quick to admit to the limits of his reading. "I mean to read Joyce but I never have. I got a laugh from all those intellectuals saying I was like him. I've read some Thurber
stories though. And Alice in Wonderland." (Interview with Gloria Steinem, Cosmopolitan, December 1964, reprinted in The Lennon Companion, p. 37).The poem is published on pp.74-75 of In His Own Write.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 44
LENNON, JOHN 'VICTOR TRIUMPHS AGAIN AND MRS WETHERBY LEARNS A LESSON', CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT with eleven corrections in red and black ink, one page, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 253 x 203mm, unwatermarked), small stains ESTIMATE 5,000-7,000 USD Lot Sold: 7,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Lennon here directs his biting wit at two targets: the conservatism of middle England (the action takes place in the "small village, Squirmly on the Slug"), and religious bigotry. The piece, which is published on p.77 of In His Own Write , is an early intimation of the caustic opinions on Christianity that would cause such enormous upset in 1966, when Lennon said that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus". This brief portrayal of "Victor Hardly, a harmless boot", victimized by the great and the good of the village is typical of Lennon's politics, which were always, whatever their other inconsistencies, dominated by a heartfelt sympathy for the underdog. In a 1971 interview with the radical magazine Red Mole Lennon cited his books as proof that "I was always political in my way": "even though they were
written in a sort of Joycean gobbledegook, there’s many knocks at religion ... I’ve been satirising the system since my childhood."
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 45
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF A KISSING COUPLE 7 x 4 1/2 in.; 180 x 113 mm, ink drawing in black with page number added in blue ink on single leaf ( 8 x 10 in.; 204 x 255 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned ESTIMATE 10,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 50,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Although published on page 76 of In His Own Write and, therefore, opposite 'Victor Triumphs Again and Mrs. Weatherby Learns a Lesson', this drawing appears to have no relevance to the text.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 46
LENNON, JOHN "VILE RUPERTS" FROM 'VICTOR TRIUMPHS AGAIN AND MRS. WEATHERBY LEARNS A LESSON' 2 x 3 1/4 in.; 53 x 83 mm, ink drawing in black on single leaf (7 x 5 3/8 in.; 177 x 137 mm, "Basildon Bond" watermark), titled by the artist ESTIMATE 6,000-8,000 USD Lot Sold: 25,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Apparently titled twice by Lennon: "vile ruperts" and "Victor triumphs". This is an unpublished illustration for 'Victor Triumphs Again and Mrs. Weatherby Learns a Lesson' from In His Own Write. As noted for lot 45, the published illustration that appears opposite the text apparently bears no connection. Here, however, we see two people gossiping while walking their dogs ("...vile ruperts spread fat and thick amongst the inhabidads what libed there...")
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 47
LENNON, JOHN "NOW HE'S DEAD ON LINE" FROM 'I REMEMBER ARNOLD' 4 1/2 x 6 3/10 in.; 113 x 160 mm, ink drawing in black with page number added in blue ink on single leaf (8 x 10 in.; 203 x 255 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, some adhesive tape marks not affecting image ESTIMATE 7,000-9,000 USD Lot Sold: 16,250 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on page 79 of In His Own Write.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 48
LENNON, JOHN 'I REMEMBER ARNOLD', CORRECTED AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT five corrections in blue ink including the consistent alteration of "Takky Hargreaves" to "Kakky Hargreaves", editorial note in pencil below the text, one page, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 253 x 202 mm, "64 Mill Bond Extra Strong" watermark) ESTIMATE 5,000-7,000 USD Lot Sold: 8,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE 'I Remember Arnold', which is published on p.78 of In His Own Write, had previously appeared, unsigned, in an early issue of Mersey Beat dated 17 August 1961 - an issue which also included a number of absurd classified ads paid for by Lennon ("...Whistling Jock Lenon wishes to contact HOT NOSE..."). Like other early pieces, this was, however, retyped by Lennon for submission to Cape.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 49
LENNON, JOHN A GROUP OF DRAFTS TYPED BY LENNON crudely typed, largely in capitals, containing the text of 17 pieces, 'Alec Speaking', 'Good Dog Nigel', 'A Letter' (here untitled), 'Stub Press', 'On Safairy with Whide Hunter', 'The Famous Five Through Woenoew Abbey', 'All Abord Speeching', 'Halbut Returb' (here untitled), 'The Fingletoad Resort of Teddiviscious', 'Godfrey Wind' (including an additional seven lines cancelled in blue ink), 'You Might Well Arsk' (here untitled), 'The Beafles (a band)', 'The Fat Growth on Eric Hearble', 'The Wrestling Dog', 'A Surprise for Little Bobby', 'Unhappy Frank', and 'Randolf's Party', 8 pages, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 252 x 202 mm), at least two paperstocks (one with "Orbit" watermark, the other unwatermarked), one leaf lacking the bottom half, nicks and tears, scattered staining ESTIMATE 15,000-20,000 USD Lot Sold: 40,625 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE
A major group of early typescripts comprising about half of the textual content of In His Own Write. This is the composition typescript, produced in a rather chaotic manner and written after shows whilst on tour. Lennon here types almost exclusively in upper case with occasionally uneven spacing, and with some fragments typed on the versos or upside down - for example an abandoned parody of the Robin Hood theme ("...ROTTY HOOK AND SOME MUDDY MEN RILING THROUGH THE GLEN ROTTY HOOK..."). Lennon later recalled the composition process: “I typed a lot of the book and I can only type very slowly, so the stories are short because I couldn’t be bothered going on. And all my life, I never quite got the idea of spelling. English and writing, fine, but actually spelling the words ... I'd spell it as you say it - like Latin, really. Or just try and do it the simplest way, to get it over with, because all I'm trying to do is tell a story and what the words are spelt like is irrelevant. And if it makes you laugh because the word is spelt like that - great. The thing is the story and the sound of the word.” (Anthology, p.134) These pages contain three pieces that were not included in the book, including two pieces relating to the Beatles (see also next lot) and a first version of the absurd agony column here titled "GODFRY WIND (TO HELP YOU)" (see lot 22) that includes an additional seven lines that were dropped from the later draft. These deleted lines are even more outrageous than the rest of the piece. They include "Fanny of Cheshirt" complaining that "MY HUSBAND CONSTANTLY LOCKS ME IN THE ATTIC WHEN ENTERTAINING HIS FRIENDS", whilst "Godfry" advises one young man: "WELL SYDNEY I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY - TRY DRUGS." This group of typescripts probably predate the other typescripts and manuscripts in the current collection by as much as eighteen months. 'You Might Well Arsk' contains many contemporary references to the summer of 1962 (see lot 27), and one of the unpublished pieces relating to The Beatles can be dated to September of that year, as it refers to the band's famous first recording session at Abbey Road studios. This brief "news" item announces the band's first single 'Love Me Do' ("Lub me Jew"), which was recorded 4-11 September of that year and released on 5 October. The piece also comments that "On the udder sibe is names 'How Do 'ee Dob'." This refers to the song 'How Do You Do It', which was recorded at the same sessions and which George Martin originally intended should be the band's first single. In the end 'How Do You Do It' was not released and the Beatles' first B-side was another Lennon-McCartney song, 'P.S. I Love You', so Lennon's "news" item must have been written during the brief window between the recording sessions and the cutting of the record.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 50
LENNON, JOHN AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPTS OF TEN PIECES 'Alec Speaking', 'Good Dog Nigel', 'On Safairy with Whide Hunter', 'The Famous Five Through Woenoew Abbey - by Greedy Blyton', 'All Abord Speeching - or the Art of Correct Dickson', 'Halbut Returb', 'You Might Well Arsk' (here untitled), an untitled and unpublished piece about the Beatles beginning "The Beafles (a band) hab jud make a regord for Pardonphobe...", 'A Letter', and 'Stub Press' (unpublished), approximately 60 corrections in blue ink including 11 words in autograph, three pages, foolscap folio (13 x 8 in.; 330 x 202 mm), the first two leaves stapled, all three leaves with old staple holes ESTIMATE 15,000-25,000 USD Lot Sold: 18,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE An important set of authorial typescripts. These typescript pages comprise a set of authorial typescripts of pieces that were among those that were then cleanly retyped on paper with a "Don Valley Bond" watermark (lots 7, 13, 16, 21, 24,
27, 32, 38 and 41), and also includes two short rejected pieces, both about the world of pop music. The rejection of these pieces suggests a deliberate (and remarkably brave) decision by Cape to distance In His Own Write from The Beatles, and ensure that the book did not appear to be a cynical cash-in. One of these pieces is a spoof tip by Brian Epstein ("Bright Extein") in which Chubby Checker's "Twist" becomes "Ebry Dobby Twitch" ("...nod one of Chuddy's best..."). The other is a brief "news" item announcing the Beatles first single, "a sog they whripe themshelves called 'Lub Me Jew'" (see previous lot), which Lennon signs off by wishing himself luck: "...The Beagles (Johb, Paub, Georb and Rigo) hop to sell maby coddies of it. God luck lads..."
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 51
LENNON, JOHN A COLLECTION OF MISCELLANEOUS MATERIAL RELATING TO IN HIS OWN WRITE, COMPRISING: (i) mock-up of upper cover including a line drawing from Robert Freeman's cover photograph of Lennon, 6 x 3 5/8 in.; 150 x 93 mm, ink drawing in black presumed to be by an in-house designer at Jonathan Cape on single sheet of artist's board (7 x 5 1/2 in.; 178 x 140 mm), unsigned, some soiling and browning from adhesive; (ii) line drawing from Freeman's cover photograph of Lennon, 3 1/2 x 3 1/16 in.; 90 x 77 mm, ink drawing in black presumed to be by an in-house designer at Jonathan Cape on single sheet (4 by 3 1/2 in.; 100 by 88 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, previously mounted on item (i); (iii) typescript list of contents, not matching the order of the printed text and concluding with "one untitled poem", 2 pages, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 203 mm, "Croxley Extra Strong" watermark); (iv) "I Sat Belonely", 6 3/5 x 8 4/5 in.; 168 x 220 mm, photocopy of ink drawing with added title in ink by Lennon on single sheet (8 x 10 in.; 203 x 255 mm, unwatermarked), some creasing; (v) "Frank" from 'Unhappy Frank", photograph ( 8 9/10 x 7 3/10 in.; 225 x 187 mm), some creasing
ESTIMATE 500-700 USD Lot Sold: 6,250 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE The original design in the first item shows Lennon upside down. To correct this, the second item was originally laiddown on top with Lennon the correct way up. The fourth item is a photocopy, with original title in ink by Lennon, of an alternative version of the illustration comprising lot 33.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 52
LENNON, JOHN 'ABOUT THE AWFUL', AUTHORIAL TYPESCRIPT two autograph corrections in blue ink including "Bottles" altered to "beatles", one page, large post quarto (10 x 8 in.; 253 x 203 mm), lightly creased and slightly stained ESTIMATE 10,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 25,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE John Lennon's own comic summary of his life so far, which was published on the back cover of In His Own Write. He manages to sneak a mildly obscene joke about Hitler ("...Madalf Heatlump (Who only had one)...") into the first sentence, which describes his birth during the Liverpool Blitz, and his adolescence is summarized succinctly in a single sentence: "I attended varicous scools in Lippypol And still didn't pass much to my Aunties supplies". After a nod to the "most publified beatles" he admits that: "this correction of short writty is the most wonderfoul larf I've ever ready."
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 53
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF SEVEN PEOPLE AND A DOG 4 3/8 by 6 1/5 in.; 112 by 157 mm, ink drawing in blue on single sheet (8 x 5 in.; 202 x 126 mm, headed stationery of the Imperial Hotel, Torquay, "CROXLEY SCRIPT" watermark), unsigned ESTIMATE 10,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 43,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE An unpublished illustration. The headed stationery suggests that Lennon drew this illustration during the filming of A Hard Day's Night in the first week of March 1964, when filming in nearby Newton Abbot. The female on the right of the group also features as 'Portrait of a Lady', sold at Christie's, 24 August 1989, lot 485. This drawing was also on Imperial Hotel stationery and dated 1964 in a different hand. 'Portrait of a Lady' was used on the cover of the souvenir program for 'The Night of a Hundred Stars' at the London Palladium on 23 July 1964.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 54
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF A BESPECTACLED CREATURE WITH CLAWED FEET 7 2/5 x 3 1/2 in.; 185 x 88 mm, ink drawing in black on single leaf (8 1/2 by 6 7/10 in.; 217 by 170 mm), unsigned, adhesive tape marks not affecting image, top edge unevenly trimmed ESTIMATE 6,000-8,000 USD Lot Sold: 16,250 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on page 1 of A Spaniard in the Works. For publication the image was reversed.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 55
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF A THIN LONG-NECKED CREATURE 2 3/4 x 5 1/4 in.; 71 x 133 mm, ink drawing in black on single leaf (7 x 10 in.; 177 x 254 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, some minor smudging, adhesive tape marks not affecting image ESTIMATE 5,000-7,000 USD Lot Sold: 17,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published as a double-page illustration on pages 4 and 5 of A Spaniard in the Works.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 56
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF A LARGE FOUR-LEGGED CREATURE 5 3/4 x 7 in.; 148 x 178 mm, ink drawing in black on single leaf (7 x 10 in.; 177 x 254 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks not affecting image, minor nick on left side not affecting image ESTIMATE 5,000-7,000 USD Lot Sold: 20,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published as a double-page illustration on pages 6 and 7 of A Spaniard in the Works.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 57
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF A SEATED MAN CONFRONTED BY A FLOATING CREATURE 5 1/4 x 11 6/10 in.; 135 x 296 mm, ink drawing in black with editorial note added in blue ink on single leaf (6 x 11 7/10 in.; 15 x 297 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks not affecting image, three edges unevenly trimmed ESTIMATE 8,000-12,000 USD Lot Sold: 20,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published as a double-page illustration on pages 8 and 9 of A Spaniard in the Works. For publication the floating creature was moved further away from the seated man and also printed in green.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 58
LENNON, JOHN "A SPANIARD IN THE WORKS" 5 3/4 x 13 3/5 in.; 142 x 348 mm, ink drawing in black on single sheet (8 1/2 x 14 in.; 215 x 355 mm), unsigned, laid down to white card, some browning and adhesive marks, left edge unevenly trimmed ESTIMATE 12,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 28,125 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE The sheet has been laid down to white card and a section of the car has been drawn on this backing (with a window cut in the sheet).
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 59
LENNON, JOHN 'THE FAT BUDGIE', AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT Fair copy with one correction, twelve numbered stanzas with the title written in capitals down the right margin of the first page, in green ink, 3 pages, text on rectos only, the final verso with an autograph fragment ("unfortunately they were stump[s] so she couldn't walk very fast") in black felt-tip, 8vo (7 x 5 1/4 in.; 177 x 132 mm, unwatermarked), yellow writing paper ESTIMATE 25,000-35,000 USD Lot Sold: 143,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE The original manuscript of one of Lennon's best-loved and funniest poems. John Lennon recited part of this poem in an interview for the BBC radio programme World of Books recorded on 16 June 1965, a week before the publication of A Spaniard in the Works, where it is published on pp.18-19. It was a revealing interview in which Lennon acknowledged that writing this book was a very different experience from In His Own Write: "The second book was
more disciplined because it was starting from scratch. They sort of say, 'You've got so many months to write a book in.' The first book, a lot of it I'd written at odd times during my life." He also commented on his method of composition and the relative lack of revision (which is evident throughout the manuscripts): "...Interviewer: You know, these little pieces in the book-- they give an appearance of great finish-- of perfection. Do you revise them? Lennon: Do they? Interviewer: Yes. Now I mean, they're not... they don't look all that spontaneous. They look as though they've been worked over. Do you work them over? Lennon: They're not at all. I never-- nobody's ever said that to me. Wonderful. They are spontaneous, and I hardly ever alter anything because I'm selfish about what I write or bigheaded about it. Once I've written it, I like it. And the publisher sometimes says, you know, 'Should we leave this out, or change that?' and I fight like mad 'cuz once I've done it I like to keep it. I might add things when I go over it before it's published, but I seldom take anything out. So it is spontaneous..."
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 60
LENNON, JOHN "SNORE WIFE AND SOME SEVERAL DWARTS" FROM 'SNORE WIFE AND SOME SEVERAL DWARTS' 7 4/10 x 9 1/10 in.; 190 x 230 mm, ink drawing in black on single leaf (8 1/2 x 10 in.; 217 x 255 mm, unwatermarked), two small ink blots, soiling in top right corner, adhesive tape marks ESTIMATE 12,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 43,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on pages 20 and 21 of A Spaniard in the Works. For publication the image was reversed and the apple was printed in green.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 61
LENNON, JOHN 'THE SINGULARGE EXPERIENCE OF MISS ANNE DUFFIELD', AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT fair copy with occasional corrections, blue then black ink (the author having changed pen four lines from the bottom of the fifth page), text on rectos only, nine pages, 4to (10 1/2 x 8 1/4 in.; 268 x 208 mm, "Extra Strong" watermark), lightweight writing paper, the sixth leaf torn in two and repaired with adhesive tape, other nicks and tears at edges, some creasing ESTIMATE 50,000-70,000 USD Lot Sold: 209,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE "Jack the Nipple ... is not only a vicious murderer but a sex meany of the lowest orgy" The manuscript of John Lennon's bizarre and hilarious parody of Sherlock Holmes, published on pp.24-33 of A Spaniard in the Works. This short story was described by the author as "The longest thing I've written" (interview 18 June 1965), and this is one of the most extensive Lennon manuscripts in existence. Like many of the pieces in Spaniard, the wordplay is more obscene than In His Own Write (for example the great detective's residence is here
sited on "Bugger St") and the story - such as it is - revolves around the killing of a prostitute, Mary Atkins, murdered in her "happy humping ground" by "Jack the Nipple" who is looking for revenge on the women who gave him the "dreadfoot V.D. (Valentine Dyall)". The cruel side of Lennon's humor is in evidence both in the wordplay - as when Jack vows to "kill them all womb by womb" - and in the description of the prostitute: "...Mary Atkins pruned herselves in the mirrage, running her hand wantanly through her large blond hair. Her tight dress was cut low revealingly three or four black heads, carefully scrubbed on her chess. She addled the final touches to her makeup and fixed her teeth firmly in her head..." It is also among the funniest of Lennon's compositions, for example in Shamrock Womlbs's repeated explanations to the befuddled Whopper: "But how do you know Womlbs?" "Alibabba my dead Whopper, I have seen the film." or: "How did you guess?" I inquired all puzzle "Alecguiness my deep Whopper, the mud on the inspectres' left, and also the buttock on his waistbox is misting." "Lennon recalled the composition of this piece in a 1968 interview: "I had a holiday after we first made it big as Beatles in Tahiti, and there was nothing on the boat but books. And Tahiti and all those Islands, great, but I still got into reading, so I was writing Spaniard in the Works and I knew, I never got past a story longer than a page, so I read a whole stack, sort of ‘The Madman’s Sherlock Holmes' where you get all the stories in one and I realised that every story was the same story, so I just wrote one Shamrock Womlbs after three weeks of Sherlock Holmes in Tahiti. And that was the end of it." (for BBC television, Release, 6 June 1968) This holiday took place in May 1964, in other words less than two months after the publication of In His Own Write , and George Harrison also remembered Lennon's writing whilst in Tahiti: "I remember coming up with a lot of little phrases while he sat at the table making it up and speaking it out. If anybody said anything it would go in the book." ( Anthology, p.135). Lennon even appropriated names from those around him: one character in the story, "Sydnees Aspinall", takes his surname from the Beatles' personal assistant, Neil Aspinall.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 62
LENNON, JOHN TWO ILLUSTRATIONS FROM 'THE SINGULARGE EXPERIENCE OF MISS ANNE DUFFIELD', COMPRISING: i) Untitled illustration of a magnifying glass, 4 1/16 x 2 1/8 in.; 120 x 54 mm, ink drawing in black on single leaf (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 203 mm, "[...]erton Bond" watermark), unsigned, adhesive tape mark not affecting image; ii) Untitled illustration of Shamrock Womlbs with magnifying glass and Doctored Whopper, 6 3/10 x 4in.; 160 x 105mm., ink drawing in black on single leaf (10 x 7 in.; 254 x 177 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks, some browning ESTIMATE 10,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 37,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on pages 24 and 25 of A Spaniard in the Works respectively. The first drawing forms part of the title for the story with the word "large" (from "Singularge") appearing within the magnifiying glass.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 63
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF SHAMROCK WOMLBS EXAMINING A SMALL MAN FROM 'THE SINGULARGE EXPERIENCE OF MISS ANNE DUFFIELD' 4 1/4 x 7 7/10 in.; 110 x 195 mm., ink drawing in black on single leaf (7 x 10 in.; 177 x 254 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks, mounted at top corners on card ESTIMATE 8,000-12,000 USD Lot Sold: 22,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Reproduced on pages 30 and 31 of A Spaniard in the Works. The published drawing shows the small man printed in green.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 64
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF SHAMROCK WOMLBS WEARING A CAPE TOGETHER WITH DOCTORED WHOPPER FROM 'THE SINGULARGE EXPERIENCE OF MISS ANNE DUFFIELD' 7 4/10 x 4 1/8 in.; 185 x 105 mm, ink drawing in black on single leaf (10 by 7 in.; 254 by 177 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks, slight browning ESTIMATE 8,000-12,000 USD Lot Sold: 37,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published, as a vignette, on page 33 of A Spaniard in the Works.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 65
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF TWO MEN WITH TWO CREATURES ON LEADS 3 3/4 x 7 4/10 in.; 95 x 188 mm, ink drawing in black on single leaf (7 x 10 in.; 177 x 254 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks not affecting image, some soiling ESTIMATE 12,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 37,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Although published on pages 34 and 35 of A Spaniard in the Works and, therefore, appearing to accompany the text of 'The Faulty Bagnose', this drawing seems to have no relevance to the text. In the published version the creatures are printed in green.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 66
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF POLITICIAN WITH BABY FROM 'WE MUST NOT FORGET... THE GENERAL ERECTION' 4 1/2 x 8 in.; 114 x 205 mm, ink drawing in black on single leaf (8 x 10 in.; 202 x 253 mm, "SECRETARY" watermark), unsigned, adhesive tape marks ESTIMATE 12,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 40,625 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published, as a reversed image, on page 37 of A Spaniard in the Works. The "Vote For Me" slogan on the politician's paddle is deleted. The image was published with filled-in color on the camera, pram and dress.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 67
LENNON, JOHN "VOTE HERE" FROM 'WE MUST NOT FORGET... THE GENERAL ERECTION' 8 x 10 in.; 202 x 253 mm, ink drawing in black on single leaf (8 x 10 in.; 202 x 253 mm, "SECRETARY" watermark), unsigned, adhesive tape mark ESTIMATE 10,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 37,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published as a double-page spread on pages 38 and 39 of A Spaniard in the Works. The image was very slightly cropped for publication.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 68
LENNON, JOHN "THE BARKING OF THEE TRADE ONIONS" FROM 'WE MUST NOT FORGET... THE GENERAL ERECTION' 6 1/5 x 7 9/10 in.; 157 x 202 mm, ink drawing in black on single leaf (8 x 10 in.; 202 x 254 mm, "SECRETARY" watermark), unsigned, adhesive tape marks, creasing ESTIMATE 7,000-9,000 USD Lot Sold: 43,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on page 40 of A Spaniard in the Works.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 69
LENNON, JOHN "MRS WILSOD SHOWING HER TOILETS ON TELLY" FROM 'WE MUST NOT FORGET... THE GENERAL ERECTION' 6 x 8 1/5 in.; 150 x 210 mm, ink drawing in black with pencil shading on single leaf (8 x 10 in.; 202 x 253 mm, "SECRETARY" watermark), unsigned, adhesive tape mark not affecting image ESTIMATE 8,000-12,000 USD Lot Sold: 25,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on page 41 of A Spaniard in the Works and providing Lennon's comment on the general election of October 1964. "Mrs Wilsod" is a reference to Mary Wilson, wife of Harold Wilson, the leader of the Labour Party who became Prime Minister after the election.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 70
LENNON, JOHN "A WORK FERCE BOTTLE" FROM 'BENJAMAN DISTASTEFUL' 7 7/10 x 12 7/10 in.; 196 x 323 mm, ink drawing in black with editorial notes added in pencil on single sheet (10 x 14 in.; 254 x 356 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks (not affecting image), some browning, smudged section with hole and abrasions, slight creasing ESTIMATE 18,000-22,000 USD Lot Sold: 46,875 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on pages 42 and 43 of A Spaniard in the Works. While drawing the figure swinging on a rope with a huge club, Lennon smudged the illustration and created a hole in the sheet. The mistake is annotated in pencil, in an editorial hand, "CLEAN! please". The solution was to crop the top of the illustration for publication and the club was eliminated.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 71
LENNON, JOHN "HIM FRIENDLY MAGIC DOG" FROM 'THE WUMBERLOG (OR THE MAGIC DOG)' 6 4/5 x 6 9/10 in.; 173 x 176 mm, ink drawing in black on single leaf (10 x 7 in.; 254 x 177 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks, some browning, slight creasing ESTIMATE 10,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 31,250 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on page 46 of A Spaniard in the Works. The fence and dog are printed in green.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 72
LENNON, JOHN "WITH JUST THEIR HEADS ABOVE THE GROUND" FROM 'THE WUMBERLOG (OR THE MAGIC DOG)' 6 1/5 x 13 3/5 in.; 156 x 350 mm, ink drawing in black on single sheet (10 x 14 in.; 254 x 356 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks, some minor soiling and browning ESTIMATE 18,000-22,000 USD Lot Sold: 75,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on pages 50 and 51 of A Spaniard in the Works. On the reverse of this sheet is a second drawing, comprising a variant version of the same scene, crossed through in blue ink.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 73
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF A HAIRY WOMAN HOLDING A MINIATURE MAN BY THE ARM 7 3/10 x 14 in.; 186 x 356 mm, ink drawing in black on single sheet (10 x 14 in.; 254 x 356 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks, surface abrasions, slight browning ESTIMATE 12,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 31,250 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on pages 52 and 53 of A Spaniard in the Works. Some surface abrasions reveal where Lennon has scraped away lines. Although appearing opposite the text of 'Araminta Ditch' the illustration does not directly correspond with the story. On the reverse of the sheet there is a second drawing, comprising an abandoned illustration crossed through in blue ink. Philip Norman probably refers to this illustration on pp.520-521 of his biography: "...one day in a London bookshop [Yoko Ono] was checking the O section for her poetry, Grapefruit, and in the adjacent L section found John Lennon: In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works. Flipping through the pages, she noticed... a picture of an ugly woman whose naked body was covered with flies. [It appears that Yoko Ono interpreted the hairs as flies.] As it happened, a similar image haunted Yoko's mind as a possible film idea. 'The book showed me John's soul,' she would later write. 'A witty, funny and relentlessly romantic spirit with a taste for the grotesque."
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 74
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF TWO CATS 2 1/16 x 3 1/2 in.; 53 x 88 mm, ink drawing in black on single leaf (7 x 10 in.; 177 x 254 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks not affecting image ESTIMATE 5,000-7,000 USD Lot Sold: 37,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on page 57 of A Spaniard in the Works. The drawing, as published, was printed with sections in green. It does not appear to illustrate any of the text. John Lennon adored cats. In Cynthia Lennon's book John (London, 2005) we learn that the Lennon household included as many as ten cats, one of which was called Mimi after John's aunt. Philip Norman concludes his biography with the murder of Lennon and then finishes the chapter with the simple statement 'For days afterward, up in apartment 72 [of the Dakota building], whenever the kitchen door opened, three cats came bounding forward to greet him'.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 75
LENNON, JOHN "I AM BLIND... I CAN SEE QUITE CLEARLY" 6 x 8 9/10 in.; 154 x 225 mm, ink drawing in black on single sheet (8 x 10 in.; 204 x 254 mm), unsigned, laid down to white card, some browning, some significant surface abrasion ESTIMATE 8,000-12,000 USD Lot Sold: 37,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE An untitled Lennon cartoon. The sheet has been laid down to white card and the placard around the perfectly sighted trumpet-player has been drawn on the backing (with a window cut in the sheet). Published on pp.58-59 of A Spaniard in the Works. Philip Norman notes that ...'in contrast with his kind heart and impulsive generosity, [Lennon] could show a lack of sensitivity and compassion that even roistering Liverpool boys sometimes felt to be going too far. This was not an era of verbal tact toward the physically and mentally handicapped, but John seemed to find all forms of affliction hilarious. His drawings teemed with hideously misshapen, obese or skeletal figures, endowed with too few or too many limbs and covered with warts or sores. A blind person tapping along with a white stick, or a child-on-crutches collection box would reduce him to giggles - a device with which many people try to disguise fear or repugnance.' (Norman, p. 53)
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 76
LENNON, JOHN "A BALD OLD GET WITH GLASSES" FROM 'CASSANDLE' 7 4/5 x 6 4/5 in.; 197 x 172 mm, ink drawing in black on single sheet (10 x 7 in.; 254 x 177 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks, minor creasing in lower right corner ESTIMATE 5,000-7,000 USD Lot Sold: 34,375 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published twice in A Spaniard in the Works. The illustration appears on page 60 as part of text entitled 'Cassandle'. The illustration is introduced as "I know I'm a bald old get with glasses..." The drawing is repeated, as a full-page illustration, on page 61.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 77
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF A LARGE MAN WITH A SMALLER MAN AND DOG 9 1/2 x 7 9/10 in.; 240 x 201 mm, ink drawing in black on single sheet (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 203 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape mark, some browning, small stain at top edge, slight creasing ESTIMATE 7,000-9,000 USD Lot Sold: 30,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Although published on page 67 of A Spaniard in the Works, and therefore within the text of 'Silly Norman', the illustration does not appear to be connected with the story. The published version printed the large man in green.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 78
LENNON, JOHN "MY MILK COMES OUT IN BOTTLES" FROM 'THE NATIONAL HEALTH COW' 6 1/5 x 7 3/5 in.; 158 x 192 mm, ink drawing in black with editorial note added in pencil on single sheet (7 x 10 in.; 177 x 253 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks ESTIMATE 10,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 31,250 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Lennon's original drawing reveals an outline of the British Isles which was removed for publication on page 62 of A Spaniard in the Works.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 79
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF A MAN SCREAMING DOWN A TELEPHONE 5 3/4 x 7 7/10 in.; 147 x 197 mm, ink drawing in black on single sheet (7 x 10 in.; 177 x 254 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, some browning, adhesive tape marks ESTIMATE 8,000-12,000 USD Lot Sold: 28,125 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on page 64 of A Spaniard in the Works where the words 'Readers Lettuce' appeared in the frame.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 80
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF A MAN HOLDING A FLOWER 5 3/4 x 6 2/5 in.; 146 x 164 mm, ink drawing in black on single sheet (7 x 10 in.; 177 x 254 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks, significant abrasions in top left corner, some ink soiling ESTIMATE 7,000-9,000 USD Lot Sold: 55,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on page 70 of A Spaniard in the Works, where the flower is printed in green. Although appearing below the title of 'Mr. Boris Morris', there is no immediate connection between text and illustration.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 81
LENNON, JOHN "OH DEAR SHEEP" FROM 'BERNICE'S SHEEP' 10 x 14 in.; 254 x 355 mm, ink and watercolour drawing on single sheet (10 x 14 in.; 254 x 355 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, some minor spotting and soiling ESTIMATE 20,000-30,000 USD Lot Sold: 81,250 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE This appears to be a colored and unpublished variant of the drawing published in A Spaniard in the Works on pages 74 and 75. It is rare to find an ink drawing by Lennon with additional watercolor. "John Lennon's drawings are creative masterpieces situated between free drawing, caricature and illustration. Even today, they still bear witness to the keen sense of observation, wit and profound irony with which Lennon saw the world around him. In his works he is always interested in people, and even if they sometimes get on his nerves, certain characters, scenes or chance occurrences touch him. His works are precise observations, often based on personal experience, always reflecting his own sentiments... He draws with simple stroke and clear line, often concluding with a single confident flourish..." (Herzogenrath, p.10)
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 82
LENNON, JOHN "THIS WAY UP" FROM 'LAST WILL AND TESTICLE' 5 1/16 x 5 3/8 in.; 128 x 136 mm, ink drawing in black on single sheet (7 x 10 in.; 177 x 254 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks not affecting image ESTIMATE 7,000-9,000 USD Lot Sold: 30,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on page 79 of A Spaniard in the Works, presumably illustrating little Elsie 'entombed in her made to marion box'.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 83
LENNON, JOHN "THIS WAY" 3 5/8 x 9 9/10 in.; 91 x 252 mm, ink drawing in black on single sheet (7 x 10 in.; 177 x 254 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks not affecting image, some soiling, some browning ESTIMATE 10,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 25,000 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on pages 80 and 81 of A Spaniard in the Works. For publication the box and signs were set on grass which was printed in green.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 84
LENNON, JOHN "OLD DAD WAS CUMBERSOME..." FROM 'OUR DAD' 9 1/5 x 5 1/2 in.; 235 x 140 mm, ink drawing in black with editorial page reference added on single sheet (10 x 7 in.; 253 x 178 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks, slight creasing ESTIMATE 7,000-9,000 USD Lot Sold: 22,500 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on page 82 of A Spaniard in the Works, as a reversed image in green.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 85
LENNON, JOHN "TELL ME VICAR" FROM 'I BELIEVE, BOOT...' 4 5/8 x 9 9/10 in.; 120 x 252 mm, ink drawing in black on single sheet (7 x 10 in.; 177 x 254 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks, some browning ESTIMATE 6,000-8,000 USD Lot Sold: 21,250 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on page 88 of A Spaniard in the Works.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 86
LENNON, JOHN "MORE FISH" 7 x 10 in.; 177 x 254 mm, ink drawing in black on single sheet (7 x 10 in.; 177 x 254 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks, very slight browning ESTIMATE 12,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 53,125 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published on pages 86 and 87 of A Spaniard in the Works. For publication, the fish were colored green.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 87
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF A VICAR GAZING AT A NAKED COUPLE 4 3/8 x 5 3/4 in.; 111 x 147 mm, ink drawing in black on single sheet (7 x 10 in.; 177 x 254 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks (not affecting image), some minor spotting ESTIMATE 10,000-15,000 USD Lot Sold: 59,375 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published, as a vignette, on page 91 of A Spaniard in the Works. The illustration has a resonance with the back cover of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1968 album Unfinished Music No 1 - Two Virgins.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 88
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF A MAN WORSHIPPING AT THE FEET OF A WOMAN ON A CHAIR 4 3/4 x 7 9/10 in.; 121 x 200 mm, ink drawing in black on single sheet (6 3/10 x 10 in.; 160 x 254 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, adhesive tape marks, some browning, lower edge unevenly trimmed ESTIMATE 6,000-8,000 USD Lot Sold: 43,750 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE Published, as the final illustration, on pages 92 and 93 of A Spaniard in the Works.
John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk" New York | 04 Jun 2014, 10:00 AM | N09156
LOT 89
LENNON, JOHN UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF A FOUR-EYED GUITAR PLAYER 7 9/10 x 9 1/10 in.; 202 x 233 mm, ink drawing in black on single sheet (10 x 14 in.; 255 x 356 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, minor nicks to top edge, slight creasing ESTIMATE 15,000-25,000 USD Lot Sold: 109,375 USD
CATALOGUE NOTE An unpublished illustration.
