A handwritten letter by an 11-year-old John Lennon, the oldest letter known, is the star of TracksAuctions.com's 300+ lot sale of music autographs and memorabilia opening March 24. 

In the letter, Lennon thanks his aunt, Harriet Birch, for the Christmas presents she gave him in 1951:

Dear Harrie

Thankyou for the book that you sent to me for Christmas and for the towel with my name on it, And I think it is the best towel I have ever seen.
The book that you sent to me is a very interesting one. I am at the bottom of page 18 at the moment. The story is famous Ships its all about a man called Captain kidd the pirate.
I am on the second chapter, the first chapter is called the Victory and the second chapter is called the Mary Celeste.
Thankyou for the red jumper that you sent to me.
I hope you have a happy new year. Love from
John x

John Lennon’s aunt Harriet lived in Woolton, not far from where John was living with his aunt Mimi. The letter is from the collection of John’s cousin and Harriet's son, David Birch, and comes with a letter from Birch that reads:

To whom it may concern, this is to confirm that the enclosed ‘Dear Harrie’ thank you letter was written by my cousin John Lennon to my mother Harriet Birch. I estimate the date to be Christmas 1950.

John's letter is expected to bring at least £30,000 ($43,000) by the time the online auction concludes on April 3.