A letter which John Lennon sent to Eric Clapton following his split with the Beatles has sold with strong results as part of the Property of a Distinguished American Collector auction, which was held on December 18 in California.

The letter, which sees the former Beatle attempting to recruit Clapton for a super-group, sold for $35,000, achieving a 16.6% increase on its $20,000-30,000 estimate.

Lennon had originally wanted Clapton to replace George Harrison

Dated September 29, 1971 - one year after his departure from the Beatles - this draft copy sees Lennon detailing his respect and admiration for the guitarist, as well as their shared experiences in the music industry. He writes:

"Both of us have been thru the same kind of shit/pain that I know you've had—and I know we could help each other in that area—but mainly Eric—I know I can bring out something great—in fact greater in you that had been so far evident in your music, I hope to bring out the same kind of greatness in all of us—which I know will happen if/when we get together."

The Plastic Ono Band: Clapton had a better relationship with Ono than most of the original Beatles

However, this wasn't the first time the legendary pair had worked together; Clapton famously played on the Beatles' While My Guitar Gently Weeps, as well as forming part of the Plastic Ono Band. He was also Lennon's preferred candidate to replace George Harrison when he threatened to quit the Beatles in early 1969.

Paul Fraser Collectibles has a John Lennon signed photograph for sale and a signed John Lennon original drawing. We also offer a range of the finest Beatles memorabilia.