People will often collect mementos from their favorite celebrities. The normal ones would be happy with an autograph or a selfie. Then there are the more obsessive ones who would go for personal items like a piece of clothing.
But on top of the tier are the ones who go for pieces of celebrity DNA, whether it be a hair, toenail clips or Harry Style’s vomit on the curb. It’s actually an old human tradition, some Christian denominations would venerate the pieces of flesh and bone from a saint which they refer to as relics.
So it isn’t really surprising that a shirt stained with the blood of Beatles member John Lennon would fetch quite a price.
To those who don’t remember, or who are too young to know, on December 8, 1980, Lennon was fatally shot by Mark David Chapman. The tragic incident happened just outside The Dakota, the building in New York where he resided. Lennon was with his wife, Yoko Ono.
A concierge by the name of Jay Hastings was on duty that day. Lennon, who at that point had sustained two shots in the back and two in the shoulders, stumbled into the entrance. Jay immediately covered the singer with his suit jacket. Lennon’s blood would seep into the shirt, covering the areas on the chest and the sleeves.
It is this shirt that sold for an impressive $40,819. Originally it was expected to fetch only $9,000.
The auction would also include a copy of Lennon’s 1980 album Double Fantasy which he gave to Hastings since it includes a handwritten message which reads “To Jay, Love John Lennon Yoko Ono”.
The buyer also purchased another memento from that tragic event, which is a typed letter from Yoko thanking the staff of the building for their help, as well as 1978 Thanksgiving card from Lennon with a drawing and his signature .
