A pair of green-tinted sunglasses once belonging to former-Beatle John Lennon sold at auction Friday for an eye-catching equivalent of $183,000.
The glasses were put up for auction at Sotheby’s London by Ringo Starr‘s former chauffeur and personal assistant, Alan Herring, who was told by the auction house that the glasses should only sell for between eight and ten-thousand dollars. The non-prescription glasses were originally given to Lennon in 1966, along with an Army haircut, to prepare for his role in the film How I Won The War.
[Photo via Sotheby’s]
In a letter of authenticity, Herring detailed how he came to be in possession of Lennon’s iconic “granny” glasses.
“In the summer of 1968 I had picked John up with Ringo and George in Ringo’s Mercedes and driven the boys into the office,” Herring said. “When John got out of the car I noticed that he’d left these sunglasses on the back seat and one lens and one arm had become disconnected. I asked John if he’d like me to get them fixed for him. He told me not to worry they were just for the look! He said he’d send out for some that fit. I never did get them mended I just kept them as they were as John had left them.”
The damage on the gold-framed glasses is confined to a missing screw on one of the arms and some small scratches on one of the green lenses.
The identity of whomever bought the glasses is unknown, but as for why Herring now decided to sell the glasses after over 50 years of hanging onto them, he told the BBC, “for my family’s sake, it makes sense for me to say goodbye to my collection now while I can still tell all the stories behind everything.”
[H/T Rolling Stone]