John Lennon | In His Own Write, 1964, inscribed, with a second copy and a photographic portrait

John Lennon

In His Own Write. London: Jonathan Cape, 1964

Small 8vo, FIRST EDITION, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR ("To Tom the Maschler | thanks awful | good John Lennon | (your pal and buddy).") on front free endpaper, original pictorial boards, slightly bumped at head and foot of spine, a little worn at joints

[with:] Brian Duffy, vintage print of John Lennon, half-length, smiling and holding a ‘Nothing Box’ device designed by ‘Magic Alex’, taken London, September 1965, 366 x 295mm

[and:] In His Own Write, introduced by Paul McCartney. Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 2014

PRESENTATION COPY TO THE PUBLISHER.

Tom Maschler was working at Jonathan Cape as a publisher in 1963 when a journalist, Michael Braun, handed him a number of drawings and writings on the back of hotel notepaper. When he heard these extraordinarily witty sketches were by John Lennon, he said "You're kidding. When can I get to see him?". It was this that led to the publisher and the pop star's collaboration to create In His Own Write. The initial print run was 20,000, followed by another 50,000 within a week, and then 100,000 two weeks following. The book sold more than 600,000 copies and was translated into Japanese and Icelandic, with Lennon's writing being compared to Hilaire Bellloc and Edward Lear.

The photograph that accompanies the inscribed book was taken just after Lennon returned from the Beatles 1965 US tour; he is smiling broadly to show off his freshly fixed teeth, which he had had done in New York. Lennon told photographer Duffy at the shoot that the box he was holding was a UFO detector he had purchased from a novelty store in New York. It was in fact a ‘Nothing Box’ created by the infamous ‘Magic’ Alex Mardas, a Greek electronics engineer who later became head of The Beatles company ‘Apple Electronics.’ These units, as their name suggests, did nothing: the eight lights simply blinked continuously until the batteries ran out. Apple Electronics had limited commercial success.

PROVENANCE:

From the collection of Tom Maschler.