April 2014 Auction Ends Tuesday, April 29th, 5pm Pacific

John Lennon Owned Coat

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/29/2014

John Lennon personally owned coat. Blue cropped coat features an asymmetrical design, epaulettes and silver tone metal buttons. Features a brand label of Great Coat Fireman in size 3. Missing a button, else near fine. Provenance from Andrew B. Harvey, whose COA reads in full, ''This British fireman's coat once belonged to John Lennon. It was given to me in 1978 by Jon Hendricks, my (then) common-law wife's uncle. Brothers Jon and Jeff Hendricks own adjoining houses on Greenwich St. in the West Village. They jointly run (or ran) a mail-order art gallery called Backworks. Both Jeff and Jon were involved in the art movement know as 'fluxism' as was Yoko Ono. Through this they got to know the Lennons in the early seventies. Jon got the job of minding Julian Lennon on a trip (or trips) across the Atlantic. In 1978 we went to stay with Jon for a few weeks. He told me the fireman's coat hanging in the hall had been left there by John Lennon when he'd called in a few months earlier. I think that was the last time he saw John Lennon, (but his brother must still have been on good terms with Yoko because later, in 1982, he invited us on a New Year's eve jaunt in a Rolls that she had lent him and some friends for the evening). Jon asked me if I wanted the coat, as I was off on a cross-country hitch-hiking trip and I didn't have one. I wore it through a couple of hard years. It may well be the coat that John Lennon is wearing on the back of the British album release (I think) as 'Life With The Lions', - unless he had several of them. The picture shows John and Yoko surrounded by British policemen, after John's drug bust.'' In addition, coat is accompanied by a notarized letter reading, ''...In 1996 I acquired the Fireman's Pea coat which is photo'd on the back if this letter from Jon Hendricks with a letter dated March 10, 1991, from Andrew B. Harvey. I have no reason to doubt the veracity of the attached letter. Apparently Jon had second thoughts about giving this wonderful relic of Rock and Roll and asked for the coat to be returned to him. Jon reiterated the facts to me that are expressed in this letter. Andrew B. Harvey had it for about 5 years until it was returned''.