The piece “spotted” by musicians in San Francisco in 1966 can fetch $ 25,000
The Washington Post – After Beatles touched the Park of the candlesticksin San Francisco, in 1966, fans remained to collect souvenirs: ticket stubs, an amplifier cable, and even cigarette butts from the stage. It turned out to be the band’s last official gig, bringing those memories with added meaning.
Joe Vilardi, owner of a catering company in San Francisco, has come up with something more unusual than a cigarette butt. That evening, he served the band the pre-concert meal: roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, stuffed baked potatoes, salad and a French pastry, which the band “ate” on a white tablecloth sprinkled with gravy, the San Francisco Chronicle in season. On the tablecloth they also drew “psychedelic persuasion scribbles” and signed impromptu art, according to chronicle.
Vilardi and his catering company claimed the tablecloth and hung it on the window of their company headquarters. For about six days he stayed there – an attraction that drew crowds, he said chronicle – until someone broke into his window and fled with the tarp. Apparently, he has been lost forever.
But in a twist, Vilardi’s surviving family members claim the tablecloth was returned to them out of thin air last year – and the piece is now available at an online public auction. It is estimated to be worth between $ 15,000 and $ 25,000, according to Bonhams, the London-based auction house.
The tablecloth features a John Lennon sketch of a “hairy creature on a bicycle next to a set of wheels,” according to Bonhams. Ringo Starr And George Harrison they signed their names, while “Paul McCartney“is written in bubble letters next to the words” You didn’t put your hand on this table. “The tablecloth also features sketchy portraits of the folk singer. Giovanna Baezwho joined the band for dinner, wrote to the auction house.
For Michael Vilardi, Joe Vilardi’s grandson, the tablecloth was a family legend, a story he often heard from his grandfather during holiday dinners. Michael Vilardi was only 6 when the tablecloth was stolen and has few memories of that day, other than a vague memory of sweeping the glass from his grandfather’s broken window.
The fate of the tablecloth “has always been a mystery,” said Michael Vilardi The Washington Post.
After Joe Vilardi’s death in the late 1990s, Michael’s father and uncle scoured the internet for fabric, but nothing materialized. After their deaths, Michael began his research online, which resulted in nothing.
Then, one day in March 2021, Michael Vilardi was sitting on his couch when he got a call from a Texas woman.
“She was very emotional and told me a story that her brother has had the tablecloth all these years,” said Vilardi The mail.
While Vilardi described her story as “a bit confusing” – after all, it may have changed over time – he said the woman told him that her brother took the tablecloth several years after the theft while living in San Francisco. During a discussion about money, one of her roommates pulled the tablecloth off the table, threw it at her, and said it was worth enough to settle the dispute. The woman told Vilardi that she had been in the possession of her brother for more than five decades. She never showed it and took it off just to show it to her family and friends of hers, the woman told Vilardi.
“And that’s why it has never been damaged, it has never faded,” said Vilardi.
Last year, the woman’s brother tried to sell the tablecloth, she told Vilardi. But a trader told them that it was probably stolen and that they might have a hard time selling it. Then the woman said she convinced her brother that the right thing would be to find the Vilardis, who had been documented in the news of her as the original owners, and return them.
“I was elated and tried to stay calm,” said Vilardi.
A family mystery had, in many ways, come to an end. After receiving the tablecloth, everyone had a chance to look at it and touch it, but they agreed they shouldn’t hold it, Vilardi said. Although the tablecloth was very special to the family, he said everyone decided to put it up for auction in the hope that it would be displayed somewhere.
“It’s a unique piece of history,” said Vilardi. “And, you know, I have the story. I can tell the story. We live the story.”
+The best content in your email for free. Choose your favorite Earth Newsletter. Click here!
Source: Terra
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
