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1.
In His Own Write.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1964. First edition.
SIGNED by John Lennon in black ink on the front free endpaper.
12mo. Laminated boards. 80pp. Book design by Robert Freeman, with his photo-portrait of the author to front cover. Introduction by Paul McCartney, who also supplied the book’s title.
Lennon’s first book, a collection of 8 poems, 23 short stories and 26 drawings. Lennon’s wordplay, satirical wit (verbal and visual), and humorous misspelling, originally created for his own amusement, owes much to the influence of Lewis Carroll, Stanley Unwin, Ronald Searle, and Spike Milligan, whose 1959 book, “Silly Verse for Kids”, was the book’s direct antecedent.
Lennon was first introduced to the book’s publisher, Tom Maschler, by Michael Braun on December 14, 1963, at the Beatles’ Wimbledon Palais concert, where Braun was following the band during preparation for his book, “Love Me Do”. Following a series of meetings at his Kensington flat, Lennon signed a contract with Jonathan Cape on January 6, 1964, and the book was published on March 23 (the launch party, attended by Lennon, was held at the publisher’s London office the day before).
25,000 copies of the first edition were printed, and following widespread acclaim, the book sold out within five days, necessitating two reprints in the last week of March, and five more by January 1965.
Signed on the title page by Nathaniel Tarn, from whose library this copy was acquired (Tarn was introduced to Tom Maschler by John Fowles in November 1963, and Cape published his first collection of poetry in late 1964).
A beautiful, very Near Fine copy, retaining the original lustre of its laminated boards, and with John Lennon’s clear and bold signature.
Price:
£5,000.00
