LENNON, John. A Spaniard in the Works (First edition)

London: Jonathan Cape, 1965. First edition. Small quarto. pp. 109. Original pictorial boards designed from a photograph by Robert Freeman. A very good copy, the boards showing light rubbing and minor wear to extremities. Internally clean and bright throughout.

The second book of prose, verse, drawings and absurdist humour by John Lennon, published at the height of Beatlemania. Following the success of In His Own Write (1964), Lennon expanded his distinctive style of surreal wordplay, linguistic invention and satirical nonsense. The collection includes stories, poems, sketches and comic dialogues, illustrated throughout with Lennon’s own drawings.

The title derives from a Liverpool expression meaning “a spanner in the works”, reflecting the book’s playful subversion of language and convention. Many pieces display the same wit, irreverence and verbal experimentation that characterised Lennon’s songwriting during the mid-1960s. Contemporary reviews praised the originality of the work, and it remains one of the most sought-after literary publications associated with any member of The Beatles.

An increasingly collectible first edition, appealing to Beatles collectors, Lennon enthusiasts and collectors of twentieth-century popular culture. The striking Robert Freeman cover photograph has become one of the most recognisable images associated with Lennon’s solo literary output.

[WR]