Julien’s is launching a new auction of Leonard Cohen memorabilia next month. Bidding on “Celebrating Leonard Cohen – The Collections of Aviva Layton, Anjani Thomas & More” begins on February 28 at 1 PM EST / 10 AM PST, and it’s being billed as “the largest group of privately held collections of the legendary poet, singer and songwriter’s archival material and personal effects ever to come to auction.” It includes items owned by Cohen’s collaborator and partner, Anjani Thomas; his longtime friend Aviva Layton; and Viking Press editor Cork Smith and another longtime friend of Cohen’s, editor Nancy Bacal.
A personal composition notebook from 2007 with 76 pages of notes, poems, and drafts is among the items up for auction. It has the highest estimate of the lot, $100,000-$150,00, and it comes from Thomas’ collection. She says, “Perhaps the most unusual item is the notebook we shared containing snippets of Leonard’s verses in the works, a poem for me, and a list of our bets and debts. We used to bet on any number of things and the stakes were ridiculously high but I never collected on them. We’d bet on things like whether or not Phil Spector would go to jail, and I said he would. This is the only notebook of Leonard’s in private hands outside of the Cohen Family Trust Archives, and I imagine those will never be available for purchase.”
Also up for auction are a 1963 letter from Hydra, Greece with original drawings; various letters, manuscripts, and poems, both typed and handwritten; Cohen’s “magic writing” fisherman’s cap; various jewelry, including a locket with a lock of Cohen’s hair in it; a key to Cohen’s house in Hyrda; I Ching coins; photographs; a pair of his glasses that Thomas says were his favorites; a signed check; concert passes and badges; a miniature Menorah; candlesticks; evil eye protecors; and more. See a few pictures below, and the full lot here.