Axl Rose’s Hand-Written Love Letters Not Worth Nearly as Much as J.D. Salinger’s Hand-Written Love Letters
In 1999, Joyce Maynard, ex-lover of reclusive Catcher in the Rye author J.D. Salinger, auctioned off love letters wrote to her during their relationship for $156,500. In 2013, Erin Everly, ex-wife of reclusive “Catcher in the Rye” author Axl Rose, will auction off love letters Rose wrote to her during their relationship; they’re expected to fetch somewhere between $300 and $500, according to this bidding guide from Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, where Everly will hock these items and more December 6-7. (Other items from the Rose/Everly relationship being auctioned include tour itineraries, backstage passes, and an Appetite for Destruction t-shirt that allegedly once belonged to Rose.)
It’s hard to believe that the hand-written sentiments of the man who wrote the lyric “Turn around bitch, I got a use for you” is valued at so much less than the hand-written sentiments of the man who wrote Franny and Zooey. I mean, did any of Salinger’s letters to Maynard have a cartoon of a mooing cow on them? I doubt it! But that’s dumb American society for ya. No appreciation for the arts whatsoever.
This incredibly sad auction is just the latest incredibly sad chapter of the incredibly sad Rose/Everly saga. The daughter of Don Everly from the Everly Brothers, Erin started dating Rose in 1986, and was the inspiration for the song “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (she also appears in the video for that song). She and Rose were married in April of 1990, according to her because he threatened to kill himself if they weren’t wed. Rose filed for divorce a month later; then they reconciled; Everly became pregnant; Everly had a miscarriage; the broke-up again, and the marriage was finally annulled in January of ’91. It seems safe to assume that a lot of the lyrics on the Use Your Illusion albums, which were released in September of that same year, are about Everly, too; unsurprisingly, they’re not nearly as sweet-natured as the ones for “Sweet Child” (sample from the song “Locomotive”: “Sweetness is a virtue, and you lost your virtue long ago/ And you know I’d like to hurt you, but my conscience always tells me ‘no’”). In 1994, she accused Rose of assault and sexual battery during their relationship; the lawsuit was eventually settled out of court. The exact amount Everly was paid has never been publicly revealed, and although the rumor that it was a cool million, I have to think it was considerably less if Everly is now selling this stuff off for a relatively small sum.
Anyway, if anyone is looking to buy me a nice Hanukkah gift…
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