On December 8, 1980 - just hours before he was murdered by a deranged fan near the entranceway to his New York apartment - John Lennon welcomed photographer Annie Leibowitz into the building so she could take his photo for the cover of Rolling Stone. "The session took place in a bright, sunny room overlooking the park," Yoko Ono recalled in 2004. "We were feeling comfortable because it was Annie, whom we respected and trusted, so John seemed not to have any problem taking off his clothes."

The image of a naked, vulnerable Lennon curled up next to a clothed Ono on their bed appeared on the January 22, 1981 cover without any text. The newsstands were flooded with Lennon tributes at this point, but this haunting cover stood out above all of them, and became instantly iconic. In 2005, it was named the best magazine cover of the previous 40 years by the American Society of Magazine Editors. 

The issue has become a coveted collector's item over the past four decades and is very hard to find today in any condition, but a stack of copies was recently discovered in our archives, and we're auctioning one of them. 

• Collector’s copy is signed by Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner
• Pulled from the Penske Media Archive vault, the preserved Rolling Stone magazine, Issue 335, featuring Yoko Ono and John Lennon is stored in a climate-controlled environment, and has light wear and tear damage, along with a lightly bent lower left-hand corner from the original shipping back in 1981.

Rolling Stone supports the campaign to end gun violence and will donate 100% of net auction proceeds to gun violence prevention efforts.

Auction Rules:

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• You must bid in increments of $100 with the starting bid of $1,000.
• The auction will run from Monday, December 5th at 9am EST to Friday, December 16th at 5pm EST. 
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• This auction is not open to residents of any jurisdiction where it is barred by law. 
• All payments must be made in U.S. dollars via the method identified in the email sent to the presumptive winner(s).  Notwithstanding anything herein or any policy applicable to the Rolling Stone Shop to the contrary, the sale via the auction is final and there will be no exchange or refund of the item after payment is made.  The item is sold “as is”, and the Winner of the auction assumes all risk and responsibility for any loss or damage to the item. 
• All taxes, shipping or customs costs are the responsibility of the Winner. Rolling Stone will not be responsible for any issues, delays or damages related to the shipping of the item. 
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