Off-white Pan Am first class boarding pass folder, 8.75 x 4, signed on the cover in black ballpoint, “All the best! Paul McCartney.” Accompanied by a letter of provenance from the Pan Am employee who acquired the signature on McCartney’s January 16, 1980 flight to Tokyo, Japan. She writes, in part, “The date was January 16, 1980, and Paul was on Flight 801…Once I put Mr. McCartney on his flight, he gave me his autograph on his boarding pass folder.” On that same day, Paul McCartney and Wings went to Tokyo for a concert tour. As McCartney went through customs, officials found 7.7 ounces of cannabis in his luggage. He was arrested and taken to a Tokyo prison while the Japanese government decided what to do. Public figures called McCartney to be tried by a jury for drug-smuggling. Had he been tried and convicted, he would have faced up to seven years in prison. The members of Wings cancelled the tour and left Japan. After ten days in jail, McCartney was released and deported. He was told that he would not be welcome in Japan again, although a decade later he played a concert in Tokyo. In very fine condition. COA Roger Epperson/REAL and R&R COA.
