1950's John Lennon 'Nazi' sketches
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Offered here is a single page from John Lennon's sketch book during his Art School days in the late 1950's. It is believed to be from the period 1956 to 1958. The page features four pen and ink sketches by John. Three of Nazi insignia, one a line drawing of Adolf Hitler with the wording 'All you people' underneath in John's typical scratchy writing. The previous owner explains the sketches (the full, five page transcript is included in the sale) :
"If we look more closely they become more interesting. The circular badge on the upper right is a representation of the D.J.V. membership badge. Almost certainly from John's collection. However, instead of the D.J.V. lightning flash, John has changed it to a flashing 'J' for John. The 'flag sketch' is of a HJ pennant, and the third emblem appears to be the stylised national emblem used by the NS Lehrerbund (National Socialist Teachers' Alliance), again, probably taken from the circular membership badge in his collection. All these items were common and cheap to buy in the mid/late 1950s in Britain. Now to that wording under the Adolf Hitler sketch. Am I being too fanciful to suggest this could well be the forerunner of 'Power to the People' -- one of John's later songs? Certainly, such thoughts were always in John's mind, even as we can see, from this early stage. Once again, am I being too fanciful, to suggest that it was this generic force in his life that first attracted him to Adolf Hitler, and further, which I will reference later in this entry, remained a part of him and was indeed embedded in his psyché? It's fascinating."
The sketch book was formerly the property of Cynthia Lennon. The previous owned purchased it - along with several other Lennon items - directly from Cynthia in 1991. They met at the exhibition of the Cynthia Lennon Collection held at Christie's London saleroom that summer, where Cynthia signed a copy of the catalogue (see final photo) for her - this is not included with the sale of this sketch as we are selling it with one of the other Lennon drawings. We will however include scans of the catalogue to help with the provenance. The Christie's auction featured several other Lennon sketches. Coincidentally this sketch, along with three others we acquired, weren't accepted into the Christie's sale due to their policy of refusing Nazi-related material. Due to illness and the associated medical costs the owner recently decided to sell the drawings via auction here in the UK. We acquired them directly from the auction and are now offering these unique pieces to the general public. The sketch is accompanied by an auction house LOA, a handwritten note from the previous owner and a typed manuscript explaining exactly how she met Cynthia and agreed to buy the items from her. Please make sure to read the transcript in it's entirety, it's a fascinating read! This is an extremely desirable piece as it emanates from so early in John's life and gives a wonderful insight into the politically incorrect mind that he would later become famous for. The page itself measures 30 x 21 cm. It's in very good condition with some handling creases and a couple of spots of staining around the ring binder holes.
"If we look more closely they become more interesting. The circular badge on the upper right is a representation of the D.J.V. membership badge. Almost certainly from John's collection. However, instead of the D.J.V. lightning flash, John has changed it to a flashing 'J' for John. The 'flag sketch' is of a HJ pennant, and the third emblem appears to be the stylised national emblem used by the NS Lehrerbund (National Socialist Teachers' Alliance), again, probably taken from the circular membership badge in his collection. All these items were common and cheap to buy in the mid/late 1950s in Britain. Now to that wording under the Adolf Hitler sketch. Am I being too fanciful to suggest this could well be the forerunner of 'Power to the People' -- one of John's later songs? Certainly, such thoughts were always in John's mind, even as we can see, from this early stage. Once again, am I being too fanciful, to suggest that it was this generic force in his life that first attracted him to Adolf Hitler, and further, which I will reference later in this entry, remained a part of him and was indeed embedded in his psyché? It's fascinating."
The sketch book was formerly the property of Cynthia Lennon. The previous owned purchased it - along with several other Lennon items - directly from Cynthia in 1991. They met at the exhibition of the Cynthia Lennon Collection held at Christie's London saleroom that summer, where Cynthia signed a copy of the catalogue (see final photo) for her - this is not included with the sale of this sketch as we are selling it with one of the other Lennon drawings. We will however include scans of the catalogue to help with the provenance. The Christie's auction featured several other Lennon sketches. Coincidentally this sketch, along with three others we acquired, weren't accepted into the Christie's sale due to their policy of refusing Nazi-related material. Due to illness and the associated medical costs the owner recently decided to sell the drawings via auction here in the UK. We acquired them directly from the auction and are now offering these unique pieces to the general public. The sketch is accompanied by an auction house LOA, a handwritten note from the previous owner and a typed manuscript explaining exactly how she met Cynthia and agreed to buy the items from her. Please make sure to read the transcript in it's entirety, it's a fascinating read! This is an extremely desirable piece as it emanates from so early in John's life and gives a wonderful insight into the politically incorrect mind that he would later become famous for. The page itself measures 30 x 21 cm. It's in very good condition with some handling creases and a couple of spots of staining around the ring binder holes.
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