LYNBROOK, N.Y. - Oct. 25, 2020 - The original handwritten lyrics to the classic 1956 Elvis Presley hit song Heartbreak Hotel, a copy of Yoko Ono's book Grapefruit signed by John Lennon and twice signed by Yoko, a rare Titanic item with a reference to the American businessman John Jacob Astor, and a scarce and highly collectible Pokémon trading card will all come up for bid in Weiss Auctions' major online-only auction planned for November 19th-20th at 10 am Eastern both days.
The Thursday-Friday auction will have Internet bidding available through LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted. The Thursday, November 19th session will feature sports, comics and comic art. The Friday session will contain rock 'n' roll memorabilia, Hollywood collectibles, advertising items and historical memorabilia.
Heartbreak Hotel was written in October 1955 by Mae Boren Axton, a high school teacher with a background in musical promotion, and Tommy Durden, a Jacksonville singer-songwriter. The lyrics were inspired by a newspaper account of a man who committed suicide by jumping to his death from a hotel window, leaving a note that said, "I walk a lonely street." Axton presented the song to Presley and he loved it, recording the hit in January 1956 for his new label, RCA Victor. Axton and Durden's signed lyrics, in pencil with corrections, is a rare slice of rock'n'roll history.
Grapefruit is an artist's book written by Yoko Ono and originally published in 1964. It has become famous as an early example of conceptual art, containing a series of "event scores" that replace the physical works of art (the traditional stock-in-trade of artists) with instructions that an individual may, or may not, wish to enact. The book would be rare and valuable by itself, but the fact that this copy was signed by John Lennon and signed and inscribed by Yoko ups its value.
The Titanic artifact is a Record of Bodies and Effects of the passengers and crew, including Bodies Buried at Sea and Bodies Delivered at Morgue in Halifax (Nova Scotia). This is a list of the 306 bodies that were recovered after a seven-day operation of the cable steamer Mackay-Bennett. Of the 306 bodies, 116 were buried at sea, 190 were on board and delivered to the morgue in Halifax and 56 bodies were identified. On this list is John Jacob Astor (body No.124).
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For more information, visit www.WeissAuctions.com.
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