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Lot 1433
A John Lennon handwritten letter to political activist Tariq-Ali
25 June 2006, 10:00 PDT
Los AngelesUS$15,000 - US$20,000
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Find your local specialistA John Lennon handwritten letter to political activist Tariq-Ali
Autograph letter signed (“John”) to Tariq-Ali, one page legal folio, no place or date, a fold line and some creases at the top, otherwise very fine. Matted and framed.
Tariq Ali conducted the first interview exclusively related to John’s political views, and their association had a pronounced effect on the former Beatle’s developing political awareness. John, however, never the ideologue or one to follow any movement for long (other than his own) remained steadfast in his commitment to revolutionize the world through art. In this important letter John makes this clear, no doubt responding to a request he take a financial interest in an anti-establishment movement in terms of supporting Tariq’s publishing adventures. In whole: “Dear Tariq & Robin / After a few month’s thought, talk with and without you. After carefully trying to read your paper [Tariq published a newspaper, “The Red Mole”] -- which as far as we can see can never have anything but a limited intellectual appeal to a few students, we’ve decided it would be a complete waste of money to cough up P15,000 to print even more words. We are still going ahead with the foundation idea. By ourselves .. “ He then crosses out the following passage …”it will be completely controlled by us in some way.” And writes and then crosses out of the margin “may be dangerous to write this.” Continuing, “We enjoyed meeting you and Robin and found it quite interesting, but our primary concern must inevitably be to revolutionize through art. Maybe in certain circumstances there would be a reason for the J + Y Freedom Fund to allocate money to your group in future, one never knows. We’re sending a copy of this to Robin – so as you’ll both be able to compare notes. Love John.” He then adds a curious postscript “Never talk in front of chauffeurs – it’s a typically middle class mistake!” We suppose John knows too well of what he speaks.
21 ½ x 33in
Tariq Ali conducted the first interview exclusively related to John’s political views, and their association had a pronounced effect on the former Beatle’s developing political awareness. John, however, never the ideologue or one to follow any movement for long (other than his own) remained steadfast in his commitment to revolutionize the world through art. In this important letter John makes this clear, no doubt responding to a request he take a financial interest in an anti-establishment movement in terms of supporting Tariq’s publishing adventures. In whole: “Dear Tariq & Robin / After a few month’s thought, talk with and without you. After carefully trying to read your paper [Tariq published a newspaper, “The Red Mole”] -- which as far as we can see can never have anything but a limited intellectual appeal to a few students, we’ve decided it would be a complete waste of money to cough up P15,000 to print even more words. We are still going ahead with the foundation idea. By ourselves .. “ He then crosses out the following passage …”it will be completely controlled by us in some way.” And writes and then crosses out of the margin “may be dangerous to write this.” Continuing, “We enjoyed meeting you and Robin and found it quite interesting, but our primary concern must inevitably be to revolutionize through art. Maybe in certain circumstances there would be a reason for the J + Y Freedom Fund to allocate money to your group in future, one never knows. We’re sending a copy of this to Robin – so as you’ll both be able to compare notes. Love John.” He then adds a curious postscript “Never talk in front of chauffeurs – it’s a typically middle class mistake!” We suppose John knows too well of what he speaks.
21 ½ x 33in