How times have changed, especially in the rock memorabilia world.
Sales of pop star items, alive or dead, are increasingly commonplace.
But in general, Cohen items rarely pop up on the memorabilia circuit.
Portrait of Canadian poet, novelist, and musician Leonard Cohen (1934 - 2016), dressed in black, as he holds a cigarette in one hand, August 1967.Jack Robinson/Getty Images
The [official Cohen] archives vacuumed up anything that came in the market rather quickly, Thomas says.
So there isnt a lot available, nor will there be.
So this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
Layton and her late ex-husband, Canadian poet Irving Layton, first met Cohen in the mid-1950s.
One of Laytons family members discovered Cohens black fisherman cap in a box in her former Montreal home.
The hat dates back to Cohens years in Greece, and the times the Laytons would visit him there.
And Leonard said, Ive got this cap, its a magic cap.
Ive written all my early songs wearing this cap.
Unfortunately it only seemed to work for Leonard.
(The keys havelongbeen replaced, she says, to reassure its current occupants.)
Inside are Cohens handwritten drafts for the songs Its Torn and Treaty, as well as some personal reflections.
We used to bet on everything.
Obscene amounts of money.
Luckily for him, I never collected on it.
Thomas is also selling a poem Cohen gave to her for her 50th birthday.
I cried when he wrote that, and then he cried because I cried, she says.
So it was a sweet emotional experience to read.
That locket also contains a piece of Cohens hair.
And I thought it was a traditional thing to put a snippet of hair in a locket.
Its a very olden-times-custom.
Christies 2019 auction of the letters to Ihlen netted a total of $876,000.
The notebook in Thomas possession is alone estimated to go for between $100,000 and $150,000.
Luckily, I have the things I have.
Leonard was a prolific gift-giver.
But Im 91 going on 91, and it was time to let it go.
