Original Handwritten Lyrics To 1956 Elvis Presley Hit Heartbreak Hotel Will Headline Weiss Auction
Also Offered Will Be A Copy Of Yoko Ono’s Book “Grapefruit” Signed By John Lennon And Ono And A Rare Titanic Item
November 13, 2020
The original handwritten lyrics to the classic 1956 Elvis Presley hit song Heartbreak Hotel, a copy of Yoko Onos book Grapefruit signed by John Lennon and twice signed by Ono, a rare Titanic item with a reference to the American businessman John Jacob Astor, and a scarce and highly collectible Pokmon trading card will all come up for bid in Weiss Auctions major online-only auction planned for Thursday and Friday, Nov. 19 and 20, at 10 a.m. The two-day auction will have Internet bidding available through LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted. The first session will feature sports, comics and comic art. The second will contain rock n roll memorabilia, Hollywood collectibles, advertising items and historical memorabilia. Heartbreak Hotel was written in October 1955 by Mae Boren Axton, a high school teacher with a background in musical promotion, and Tommy Durden, a Jacksonville singer-songwriter. The lyrics were inspired by a newspaper account of a man who committed suicide by jumping to his death from a hotel window, leaving a note that said, I walk a lonely street. Axton presented the song to Presley, and he loved it, recording the hit in January 1956 for his new label, RCA Victor. Axton and Durdens signed lyrics, in pencil with corrections, is a rare slice of rocknroll history. Grapefruit is an artists book written by Yoko Ono and originally published in 1964. It has become famous as an early example of conceptual art, containing a series of event scores that replace the physical works of art (the traditional stock-in-trade of artists) with instructions that an individual may, or may not, wish to enact. The book would be rare and valuable by itself, but the fact that this copy was signed by John Lennon and signed and inscribed by Yoko ups its value. The Titanic artifact is a Record of Bodies and Effects of the passengers and crew, including Bodies Buried at Sea and Bodies Delivered at Morgue in Halifax (Nova Scotia). This is a list of the 306 bodies that were recovered after a seven-day operation of the cable steamer Mackay-Bennett. Of the 306 bodies, 116 were buried at sea, 190 were on board and delivered to the morgue in Halifax, and 56 bodies were identified. On this list is John Jacob Astor (body No.124). Comics in both single and group lots, as well as CBCS-graded examples, will be sold. Key books include Archie #1 (1942, CBCS 5.0); PEP Comics #36 (1943, CBCS 7.0) and #42 (1943, CBCS 5.0); Fantastic Four #1 (1961, CBCS 7.0); Batman #23 (1944, CBCS 8.0); and Jackpot Comics #4 (1941, CBCS 5.5). Sports will be headlined by a 2013-2014 Select Silver Prizm #178 Giannis Antetokounmpo RC rookie basketball card, graded PSA 10 Gem Mint, the highest PSA grade. A similar card sold on eBay a few months ago for $12,000. Antetokounmpo, 25, is a superstar player for the Milwaukee Bucks. He was born in Athens, Greece, to Nigerian parents. Also sold will be a Michael Jordan 1986-87 Fleer rookie card (GAI 5.5, EX+) and a Michael Jordan signed Chicago Bulls retirement jersey. Other star lots set to cross the auction block include a rare Pokmon Black Star promotional Ishihara GX trading card graded PSA 8, only the fourth copy ever to come to market; a pulp cover illustration of a cowboy riding a horse in winter by Remington Schuyler; a Buster Brown Sunday art page by Richard Outcault; and a Peanuts original daily comic strip art by Charles Schulz from 1952, featuring Fort Snoopy and Schroeder. A private collection of Civil War documents and paraphernalia relating to the 14th Brooklyn Regiment, to include an important presentation sword, is also in the sale, as is a collection of Theodore Roosevelt material, including signed documents, political buttons and banners. To conclude, Weiss will be selling part one of a vintage 12,000-piece collection of 1930s-50s Western lobby cards. To contact Philip Weiss, email Phil@WeissAuctions.com.
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