Letter Signed by John Lennon on Day of His Murder Up for Auction

A letter signed by John Lennon on the day of his murder will go up for auction on Wednesday at Gotta Have Rock and Roll.

The legal document, which is dated Dec. 8, 1980, is most likely one of the last items Lennon signed before his death. It was sent by the late Beatle to his accountant, Barry Nichols. In the typed letter, three people are listed as Lennon’s proxy voters, permitting them to vote at the Apple Corps Limited Annual General Meeting, due to take place nine days later in London. The letter is expected to fetch between $50,000 and $70,000. (The letter’s full text can be seen on the website.)

On the evening of Dec. 8, 1980, Lennon was shot by Mark David Chapman outside his home at the Dakota Building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He was taken to nearby Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Chapman was denied parole for the 12th time last month.

Another letter from Lennon went to auction earlier this year - one sent to Paul McCartney in which Lennon voiced his frustrations over his former bandmate’s claims that Lennon would not cooperate when it came to finally ending the Beatles‘ business dealings. “We’d just sign the paper and hand it to the business people and let them sort it out,” McCartney told Melody Maker at the time. “That’s all I want now, but John won’t do it. Everybody thinks I am the aggressor but I’m not, you know. I just want out.”

Lennon’s burning reply arrived four days later, in which he defended his solo music and his newfound home in New York City. He also claimed that it was McCartney who was stalling the negotiations. “No hard feelings to you either,” Lennon wrote. “I know we basically want the same thing, and as I said on the phone and in this letter, whenever you want to meet, all you have to do is call.”

Other Beatles-related items currently at auction include various signed albums, a tambourine owned by George Harrison and one of Lennon’s guitar picks.