Book signed by John Lennon sells for £2,000

A copy of a book written by John Lennon and signed by both him and his first wife has sold at auction for £2,000.

The book, originally published in 1964, went under the hammer at the Cotswold Auction Company in Cheltenham.

"It's a little gem, it has drawings, poems and little articles by John," said auctioneer and director of the company, Lindsey Braune.

She added it went to a "very keen bidder" on the telephone, based in the UK.

The hardback book is an illustrated collection of humorous and surreal poems, short stories and observations that Lennon wrote down.

Around 300,000 copies were printed when the book was first issued.

The copy that was sold was given to the owner's son on his 21st birthday.

"There's a few of these books around but they don't come up at auction that often," said Ms Braune.

Items relating to the Beatles are highly sought after by collectors.

"There are so many autographs that were purported to be by them, but they were so often actually done by secretaries or roadies as the band had so many to do," Ms Braune said.

"Anything with a real John Lennon signature on it are very rare, and the fact it's the book he wrote is extra special."

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