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Amazing textured-finish 8 x 10 photo of Lennon and his family at a Tokyo park during their 1977 summer trip to Japan, signed and inscribed in black ink, "To Mae West, with love John Lennon, 78" and "Yoko Ono (& Sean)," with Lennon adding classic doodles of himself, Yoko, and their young son. The reverse is also annotated in black ink by Lennon, “Japan 77," and is signed in blue ballpoint by Nishi Saimaru, the Lennon family's personal photographer and assistant between 1976 and 1979. In fine condition, with a bit of light creasing along the edges.
Accompanied by a letter of provenance, in part: “The photograph was given to me by the late Joe Gold, proprietor of the legendary original Gold’s Gym, in Venice, CA. It was from the estate of Paul Novak, aka Charles Krauser. Paul, who was Mr. Baltimore of 1947, became Mae West’s longtime lover and companion…and he regarded Joe as his best friend. Paul and Joe were recruited by Mae’s friend George Eiferman, a Mr. America and Mr. Universe, to appear in a loincloth-clad bodybuilder chorus line in her famous 1950s nightclub act. Mae’s closest confidante, the late Dolly Dempsey, told me that John Lennon had sent her the autographed picture inscribed to her in return for giving the Beatles the right to use her likeness on the cover of their ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Band.’ I helped Joe in settling Paul’s estate, and he gave me the photo and other items in appreciation.”
Unlike other celebrities thrilled to adorn the cover of the Beatles’ forthcoming eighth studio album, West initially balked at the honor, matter-of-factly responding: ‘What would I be doing in a lonely hearts club band?’ The Golden Age actress only relented after all four Beatles wrote her letters imploring her to change her mind. A heartwarming family photograph augmented furthermore by its legendary recipient, one of the 58 faces found on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band cover.
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