What do you get that hard to shop for person on your Christmas list? That autograph collector that seems to have every signature from the local baseball team. Well, on December 18^th Profiles in History is having an auction from an American collector getting rid of his 300 historical documents.

If that autograph collector is the person you got for your Secret Santa, and they like art – might I suggest the letter written by Vincent van Gogh?  It’s expected to bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars. I say if you win that, buy a rubber ear inside a stocking. It’ll be the gag gift that goes perfectly with the letter van Gogh wrote in 1890 to proprietors of the Café de la Gare in France.

Now, I’m a music lover and would go nuts over the John Lennon letter. What makes it an interesting piece is that the letter is written to Eric Clapton (who many don’t realize played the guitar on While My Guitar Gently Weeps from the White Album). That’s expected to fetch over $20,000. Obviously, it would be cooler to have handwritten lyrics by Lennon, but I’m not picking. If any of you want to get this for me, I’d love it. This two page letter is signed “John & Yoko” (both in Lennons hand), and he talks about travel, rehearsel, and meeting up at the St. Regis Hotel (with a phone number and extension written out).

I remember in Clapton’s autobiography, he spoke a bit negatively about Lennon in one chapter. He was asked by John to perform at a benefit, and he and a few other big name musicians agreed, even though it was last minute. As they got off the plane and were waiting for the cars, they watched as John & Yoko got into a long limo. As they stood around waiting, finally an old ratty van showed up. The rest of the band had to stuff themselves into that.

Anyway, if you ask me – I think the St. Regis should bid on it. That would like great framed in their lobby.