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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Paul McCartney reportedly bought one of John Lennon’s love letters to his first wife, Cynthia, had it framed, and sent it back to her as a gift. The account comes from Cynthia’s memoir as recounted in a 2005 Washington Post review—not from a direct statement by McCartney in the reviewed material. The review also describes a separate Lennon letter that McCartney gave to Julian Lennon, a story that is easy to confuse with the one about Cynthia.
What did Paul McCartney do with John Lennon’s letter to Cynthia?
According to Cynthia Lennon’s account, McCartney bought one of the love letters John had written to her, framed it, and returned it to her as a gift. The 2005 Washington Post review of her memoir John recounts the gesture, but does not identify the letter by date or wording, name the auction, or give a purchase price or return date. It also does not reproduce a first-hand comment from McCartney about the purchase.
The story is therefore best understood as a reported recollection from Cynthia, rather than a fully documented account of a specific letter’s journey. Cynthia described the memoir as her own point of view: “This is my book, my experience, and if it’s not the same as somebody else’s, that’s fair game. I have to speak from my point of view and my feelings about the whole story.” That statement frames her memoir generally; it is not a direct quote about McCartney’s gift.
Why is McCartney also linked to a letter given to Julian?
The same review tells a second story involving a different recipient and a letter with a stated date. McCartney reportedly bought at auction a 1965 letter John had addressed to Paul and Linda, then gave it to Julian Lennon. In the passage described by the review, John reflects on regretting the time he had not spent with his son.
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The review discusses this separately from the undated love letter returned to Cynthia. It does not establish whether the two anecdotes concern the same document, so they should not be merged: one is described as a letter returned to Cynthia, the other as a 1965 letter given to Julian.
What do the 1991 sale and the 1962 Hamburg letter establish?
Cynthia’s memorabilia sale
In 1991, Cynthia sold memorabilia connected with her life with John at Christie’s. A contemporary Washington Post report says 48 mementos were offered and that a 1958 Christmas card was the top sale. It provides context for the public circulation of Lennon memorabilia, but it does not identify McCartney as a buyer or connect a specific lot to the later gift.
The catalogued 1962 letter
Christie’s describes a multi-page letter John wrote to Cynthia over five days in April 1962 while the Beatles were in Hamburg. It mentions John’s concern about Cynthia sharing a home with Dot Rhone, McCartney’s girlfriend, and includes a joke or complaint about McCartney’s snoring. The Christie’s catalogue entry traces the letter from Cynthia to a 1991 sale to Bruno Tillander, then to its acquisition by the present owners in 1993. It does not say McCartney bought that letter, and it cannot identify it as the one he reportedly returned.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the events fit together
| Year | Event | What the source establishes |
|---|---|---|
| 1958 | John sends Cynthia a Christmas card. | The card later appears among items in Cynthia’s 1991 memorabilia sale, according to the Washington Post report. |
| April 1962 | John writes Cynthia a letter from Hamburg. | Christie’s catalogues its contents and provenance; it does not link McCartney to its purchase. |
| 1962–1968 | John and Cynthia marry, have Julian, and later divorce. | Christie’s catalogue gives the marriage and divorce dates; Julian was born in 1963. |
| 1991 | Cynthia sells Lennon-related memorabilia. | The Washington Post reports that 48 mementos were offered. |
| 2005 | Cynthia’s memoir John is published. | A Washington Post review recounts both McCartney-letter anecdotes, separately. |
The publisher describes John as Cynthia’s recollection of her marriage and the events that followed. The review reports her account while cautioning readers not to treat every detail in the memoir as definitive. That makes attribution important: the return of the love letter is reported through Cynthia’s memoir, while the auction record and Christie’s catalogue establish other details of the letters’ circulation, not the identity of the returned one.
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Where to read more
- Cynthia Lennon’s John is the memoir underlying the return anecdote.
- The official John Lennon site’s description of The John Lennon Letters, collected by Hunter Davies, offers broader context on Lennon’s correspondence; it does not confirm McCartney’s purchase.
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