Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

John Lennon: Earliest known letter written by star expected to fetch more than £30,000 at auction

The thank-you note  – with a few grammatical errors – to his mother ’s younger sister is his first known letter

Kim Pilling
Sunday 06 March 2016 20:06 EST
Comments
The letter, written when Lennon was 11, thanks his aunt for her Christmas gifts
The letter, written when Lennon was 11, thanks his aunt for her Christmas gifts (PA)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The earliest known letter written by John Lennon is expected to fetch more than £30,000 at auction next month.

The 11-year-old Lennon put pen to a fold-out note card shortly after Christmas 1951 to thank his Aunt Harriet for her presents, including a book about famous ships.

Lennon wrote to family and friends throughout his Beatles career but the thank-you note – with a few grammatical errors – to his mother ’s younger sister is his first known letter.

He wrote: “Dear Harrie Thankyou for the book that you sent to me for Christmas and for the towel with my name on it, And I think it is the best towel I’ve ever seen.

“The book that you sent to me is a very interesting one. I am at the bottom of page 18 at the moment. The story is famous Ships its all about a man called Captain kidd the pirate. I am on the second chapter, the first chapter is called the Victory and the second is called the Mary Celeste.

“Thankyou for the red jumper that you sent to me.

“I hope you have a happy new year. Love from John x”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in