One of the rarest, and possibly most morbid, pieces of music memorabilia is about to hit the open market tomorrow morning. The album that Beatles legend, John Lennon, signed for the man that shot and killed him just hours later is up for sale.
December 8th, 1980 is an awful day in not just music history, but simply in history; John Lennon was shot and killed on this day.
This blog is sponsored by JUST COLLECT where we specialize in buying vintage cards, autographs, and collections including Beatles items. If you have any of THESE cards, give us a shout; we'd be interested in buying.
JOHN LENNON'S DEATH:
Double Fantasy, the fifth John Lennon album, was released on November 17th, 1980. A mere three weeks after the release, a fan of the Beatles, Mark David Chapman, carried the record to the Dakota building where Lennon resided. Around 5:50 PM that day, Chapman had asked Lennon to sign the album as Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, were leaving their Manhattan, NY. residence to go to a recording session. Lennon obliged the autograph request and inked the Double Fantasy record along with the year of 1980. Little did Lennon know that he would be signing an autograph to the man that was about to take his life.
A few hours after Lennon signed the album to Mark David Chaman, he and Ono returned home to the Dakota around 10:50 PM. Sadly, Mark David Chapman was waiting in front of the build with a .38 revolver. Five shots were fired, four of which hit John Lennon. Within the hour Lennon was pronounced dead.
THE FINAL AUTOGRAPH:
When police arrived at the Dakota, Chapman was standing calmly with a book in his hands - The Catcher in the Rye. No album was in Chapman's possessions. After Chapman's arrest, a building superintendent located the autographed album hidden in a flower planter outside of the the Dakota. The record was turned over to police so it could be used as evidence. After the case, the signed record was given back to the superintendent by the district attorney. The autographed album, the last item John Lennon ever signed, is now coming to auction TOMORROW.
THE AUCTION:
WHEN:
Monday, 11/23/2020 at 12:00:00 AM until December 12-13
WHERE:
GOLDIN AUCTIONS site HERE
HOW MUCH:
Minimum Bid = $400,000
If you're stopping by our blog for the first time, we're sponsored by JUST COLLECT where we specialize in buying vintage cards and autographs, Just Collect over the years has purchased and sold some AWESOME autographs. Check out some of the rare and unique signatures that Just Collect has purchased or sold; you may have never seen some of the autographs before:
P.T. Barnum. Perhaps you've been to a Barnum and Bailey circus? Yep - that Barnum. HERE is a story about an autograph of P.T. Barnum from 1885 that Just Collect sold.
Andy Warhol. The most famous of Pop Art artists himself signed a 1977 original poster that Just Collect offered. Read about the unique Warhol autograph HERE.
Babe Ruth. The most famous athlete is Babe Ruth. Whether you know sports or not, you know The Babe's name. Just Collect picked up a postcard that Ruth signed, and it is postmarked Oct 19, 1935. The postcard was sent from NYC to a recipient in Reading, MA. We LOVE autographs with a story and seeing a Babe Ruth autograph with an actual date attached it is so cool. Read about the signed postcard story HERE.
Even though we've purchased and sold some rare, and I mean RARE autographs, this signed album is quite possibly simultaneously the rarest and strangest autograph we've heard of. An iconic person signing an autograph to their killer; there are no words or price tag we could fathom that could be describe this piece.
WOULD YOU BUY THE SIGNED ALBUM?
If money were no option to you, would you want to own the album that Mark David Chapman had autographed by John Lennon right before he murdered the man? Post here on the blog or let us know in our Faceook page.
The album isn't the murder weapon, but the autographed record is a tad too creepy for me. Not sure I'd want that record sitting in my house...
To each their own, though. If you want in, have at it! That's the beauty of collecting - you can collect whatever makes you happy 😀
If you happen to have any OTHER albums or autographs from John Lennon, we'd certainly be interested in buying!
WANT TO SELL YOUR COLLECTION? WE WANT TO BUY IT!
Earlier we mentioned that JUST COLLECT specializes in buying collections.
- We offer FREE appraisals HERE
- Learn how to PROTECT your cards HERE
- Shipping Tips for your cards HERE
One of the best features we offer for an appraisal is to SHIP your cards to us! With safety and travel restrictions being an issue during the Covid pandemic, we want to provide the safest and easiest way for you to sell your cards. We also know it takes forever to send photos of each card if you're looking to sell a full set or collection. If you choose to mail your cards, we will evaluate your cards for FREE still. If you choose not to sell the cards, we will ship them back shipping fees paid by us!
Shipping information is all listed out in our free appraisal form.
Plenty of ways to reach out to us:
