JOHN LETTER TO PAUL TO REACH £40,000 AT AUCTION

A draft letter by John showing animosity towards Paul is set to reach £40,000 in an online auction.

A draft letter typed by John which shows tensions within The Beatles in the early Seventies is to go on sale in May.

The two-page letter contains corrections and is addressed to Lennon's bandmate Paul and his wife Linda. The stationery shows Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono within a circle with their lips almost touching.

Lennon's letter is undated, but the angry tone within the text suggests that it was written in the context of the band's split in 1970.

A quote reads: "Do you really think most of today's art came about because of the Beatles? I don't believe you're that insane – Paul – do you believe that? When you stop believing it you might wake up!"

The letter is expected to reach between $40,000 – $60,000 (£26,300 – £39,000), and will go on sale in an online auction run by Profiles In History on May 30.

A similar letter by John to the McCartneys, spanning six pages and discussing the end of The Beatles and the band's treatment of Ono was auctioned at Christie's in London last October, but failed to reach the £63,000 reserve price.

Also in the sale is another undated letter, from Marilyn Monroe to her mentor, acting teacher Lee Strasberg, which tells of her lack of confidence and professional problems. Monroe writes, "I get before a camera and my concentration and everything I'm trying to learn leaves me. Then I feel like I'm not existing in the human race at all."