A Scarce Original `The New Standard` Headline Billboard Sheet; 'John Lennon Shot Dead' c.1980
SOLD
Origin: British
Period: Late Twentieth Century
Provenance: Unknown
Date: 1980
Height: 28 inches
Width: 16.5 inches
Framed: 33.75 x 22.25 inches
Condition: B-
Having originally been displayed at a news stand or kiosk from the day after John Lennon`s death on Monday 8th December 1980, the dramatic headline flyer simply reading “John Lennon Shot Dead” in capital bold text over the mid blue bannered logo of The New Standard news group.
The sheet has been folded but is still in very good condition, presented and glazed in a simple black frame. There is a small area towards the top where the sheet shows more discoloration, though entirely commensurate with age.
John Lennon was an English musician who gained worldwide fame as one of the founders of The Beatles, for his subsequent solo career, and for his political activism and pacifism. He was shot with five bullets by Mark David Chapman at the entrance of the building where he lived, The Dakota, in New York City. Lennon had just returned from Record Plant Studio with his wife, Yoko Ono.
Lennon was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, where it was stated that nobody could have lived for more than a few minutes after sustaining such injuries. Shortly after local news stations reported Lennon's death, crowds gathered at Roosevelt Hospital and in front of The Dakota. He was cremated on 10 December 1980, at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York; the ashes were given to Ono, who chose not to hold a funeral for him. The first report of his death to a national audience was announced by Howard Cosell, on ABC's Monday Night Football.
A scarce survival and one that continues to strike a cord, the bold typeface unashamedly reminding us that life is precious, as it recounts the nerve jangling day when the world stopped and contemplated the shock of the assassination of a much loved figure of recent times.