Pattie Boyd—British model and photographer—is auctioning off handwritten lyrics and letters by her former husbands, George Harrison and Eric Clapton. Allegedly, she inspired songs like “Something,” “Wonderful Tonight,” and “Layla.”
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The Pattie Boyd Collection, which includes clothing and jewelry as well as the letters and lyrics, will be available at auction until March 22. The lots include original artwork used for Clapton’s 1970 album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, with an estimated price starting at more than $50,000. Additionally, handwritten lyrics to Harrison’s 1982 song “Mystical One” are estimated to start at nearly $40,000.
“If I had one big treasure chest that explained me and my life, all these items here would be in it… these are all examples of the wonderful life I have been living,” Boyd said during a press preview of the collection on March 14, per The New Paper.
There are also photos of Boyd and Harrison, as well as postcards from Harrison, included in the collection. Photos of Clapton, including images of him alongside Harrison, are included as well. There is also a letter written to Boyd in 1970 from Clapton in which he wrote, “…what I wish to ask you is if you still love your husband…”
The Intertwined Love Stories of Pattie Boyd, George Harrison, and Eric Clapton
Boyd met George Harrison first, on the set of the Beatles’ 1964 film A Hard Day’s Night. They married in 1966. During their marriage, Eric Clapton would stay at their country house and quickly fell in love with Boyd. He wrote her letters and was photographed alongside Boyd and Harrison. In the above-mentioned letter, Clapton continued, “…all these questions are very impertinent, I know, but if there is still a feeling in your heart for me… you must let me know!”
Harrison and Boyd split in 1977, and Boyd married Clapton in 1979. They were married until 1989.
“When I looked at the letters from Eric in particular, it kind of broke my heart because I realised that… I was young, when he wrote them, it was too large to take in,” Boyd said. “[It] was so emotional and full of deep, deep passion that as a… girl, [a] woman, I couldn’t absorb it all too much.”
She continued, “I want somebody else to sort of feel the pain, feel the love, feel the vibration, the energy.”
Featured Image by Express/Archive Photos/Getty Images
