Expert: Pattie - 8/19/2008

Question
QUESTION: I have a coffee mug with john's self portrait, signature facimile and the dates "1940-1990". I have thought this to be a misprint, but was recently told it is purposfully done to commemorate what would have been his 50th birthday. (maks no sense to me, 2 dates seperated by hyphen = birth-death, right?) I have searched extensively looking for any information,having found nothing, I was wondering if you have any info about it. The mug is black with white pic and lettering. The bottom says "The Galaxy V.I.P. Collection molded into the mug. Thank You very much for your input.....

ANSWER: Hi Minnie!

Well, I wish I had a definite answer for you, but unfortunately, I'm not familiar with that particular mug. I can tell you that YES, there were a series of products sold in 1990 to commemorate what would have been John's 50th (mostly t-shirts and a Japanese CD), but in looking through my old catalogs, I don't see that particular mug or anything else from "The Galaxy V.I.P. Collection". I haven't given up the ship because I've forwarded the question to a few friends who may have more information. What I think you probably own is an un-licensed product, and there are so many un-licensed products out there related to John and the Beatles, it would make your head spin. Unless it says "Lennono", "Spirit Foundation" or "The John Lennon Collection" on it somewhere, you've likely got an un-licensed product. I'll post again if I get any more information for you, but in the meantime, thanks for the question!

Peace,
Pattie
8^)

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks so much for responding quickly. I too believe this is an unlicensed product. It was a gift that was purchased off of QVC. There are pics of it posted now in ebay....Do any of the birthday commemorative items you have reference to show dates such as this? It's just weird to me for it to be done that way unless it is a misprint....

ANSWER: Hi again, Minnie...

Well, actually, your response changes my answer. If you are positive that this was purchased via QVC, then it had to be licensed, at least at that time, because QVC does not sell un-licensed products. What puzzles me is that there is no record or reference anywhere to that company (Galaxy VIP Collection) ever being associated with the Estate of John Lennon, which is how all of the official products were distributed.

I found the mug on eBay that you referred to and now that I've seen it, it looks like a mis-printed date. All of the "official" items that came out in 1990 to commemorate John's birthday did have that same date, printed out that way, however, somewhere on them was always "50th Birthday Celebration", or something referencing his 50th. You've got a rare item! Thanks so much for the follow up...

Peace,
Pattie
8^)

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks again, man you get back quickly! A final request; if you get any opinion/information from the friends that you forwaded my initial question to, would you please pass it on to me too?
Glad to meet you,
Minnie

Answer
Absolutely. I did make a call to some people I know at Lennono and they're not familiar with the mug, but they did say a lot of companies came and went in the late 80's and early 90's. I'll keep you posted for sure. Thanks for the great rating, by the way!

Peace,
Pattie
8^)