Some would say that, when it comes to wearing cowboy hats, nobody did it better than John Wayne.
But, never one to be upstaged, the late Beatle John Lennon has beaten Heritage's upcoming sale of Wayne's never-before-released private collection in October...
It was during The Beatles' US tour in 1965 that Lennon acquired his own black cowboy hat, which sold alongside a pair of sunglasses also owned by Lennon in Berkshire on Tuesday (August 9).
Ever seen John Lennon sat on |
Lennon gave the hat and sunglasses to his uncle Charlie Lennon, who according to many accounts was a like a stepfather to the Love Me Do singer.
Charlie then passed them to long-time friend Larry Warren, an American who lives in the Beatles' home town of Liverpool, UK.
"I knew Charlie Lennon well and I bought these items from him. He didn't want to take any money for them but I insisted," Warren told the UK's Guardian newspaper.
The hat was valued at £8,000-plus, which proved to be a little over the mark. In the end, it sold for £5,500 with buyer's premium ($8,930) at Cameo Auctioneers' sale.
"The hat is quite a famous hat, I think everybody would recognise it," said auctioneer Glen Norcliffe to the BBC.
Meanwhile, Lennon's sunglasses from 1967 brought £3,000.
Both were authenticated by uncle Charlie, who left the items to Warren after his death in 2002.
Lennon memorabilia has been selling prolifically on the markets in recent times, with values rising in the wake of his 70th birthday (and 30th death anniversary) last year.
John Lennon's cowboy hat from 1965 (above); and his iconic sunglasses |
Successful 2010 Lennon sales included Julien's Auctions sale of a jacket Lennon wore in a 1966 Life magazine photo shoot. It was sold for $240,000 in December.
Elsewhere, an original copy of his handwritten lyrics to "A Day in The Life" sold for $1.2 million at a Sotheby's New York auction in June.
And, in August, John Lennon's porcelain toilet from his Berkshire home sold for £9,500 at an auction organised by Beatles expert Stephen Bailey.