John Lennon's Last autograph

[liesabath]

'Final' Lennon autograph for sale

Lennon signed the note for Ribeah (sic) on 8 December 1980

A note featuring what is believed to be John Lennon's last autograph is on sale for $325,000 (£179,500).

The singer signed the note for Rabiah Seminole, a switchboard operator at his New York recording studio, just before he was shot dead in December 1980.

The former Beatle's last autograph was previously believed to be the one he signed for his killer, Mark Chapman, six hours before his murder.

Seminole is selling the note to raise money for her Virginia horse sanctuary.

Lennon drew a cartoon self-portrait and signed his name as he left the Record Plant studio in New York on 8 December.

Fifteen minutes later, he was gunned down outside his apartment by Chapman.

Seminole kept the signed note on her bedroom wall for years before deciding to sell it via memorabilia website Moments in Time.

Mark Chapman's signed copy of Lennon's Double Fantasy LP

The same site offered Chapman's signed copy of Lennon's Double Fantasy LP last year for $525,000 (£290,000).

"I didn't want to capitalise on John's death, but he was a nature lover and I think he would have wanted me to sell it for the horses," said Seminole.

A spokesman for Moments in Time called the note "an incredible find".

More than two decades after his death, Lennon's possessions continue to fetch substantial sums at auction.

His hand-written lyrics to the Beatles song Nowhere Man sold for $455,000 (£251,000) at Christie's in New York in November 2003.

And a guitar thought to have belonged to the musician went on sale in February for £1.3m.

[liesabath]

Lennon signed the note for Ribeah (sic) on 8 December 1980

This is the autograph

[Kooperman]

It might be hard for her to prove that that was actually signed when she claims unless she has a picture of the event, or Yoko would back her up on it. The Chapman album autograph was actually chronicled in a photo that another onlooker took, so it has a lot of legitimacy attached to it.

[desdemona]

anyone have John &Yoko/Pastic Ono Band the album that looks like a newspaper front page? what a window to the 60's & 70's! it's a double album and the individual album paper covers are great too, one is a copy of Frank Zappa's "Mothers" Fillmore East - june 1971, john wrote all over it, front and back, if you want an insight to john lennon, this would be an interesting album to hear and just look at, lol

this was a clip of the weather in the upper right corner of the album, as it used to be on the front page of papers everywhere:

WEATHER: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Edited April 19, 2004 by desdemona

[Kooperman]

I had a friend who bought that album, Sometime In New York City, when it came out, and I'll never forget how disappointed we were in it. As I recall there was some awful music on it, but I do recall liking the song John Sinclaire. I never bought it myself, and that was unprecedented. I've since picked the album up.....*elsewhere*....and I may give it a listen again.

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&u...l=A63320r4ac48p

Edited April 19, 2004 by Kooperman

[desdemona]

you're right kooper, musically it didn't appeal to me at the time, but I think it was mostly composed to get out his message. For the times, he really had alot of nerve, in my opinion, today, he'd really be viewed as a radical more so than back then!

[Kooperman]

The Nixon administration had a large FBI folder on Lennon and his activities. he was constantly batlling against being deported....I wish to hell he had been...he might still be with us.

[desdemona]

you know, on these award shows they look down on artists expressing their political views, another example of the changing times, artists would make a point of using their music and lyrics along with influence to speak out during the lennon years, did u ever "imagine" it would get to this point?