Wednesday 7 September 2011

Auction Prices Highlights

For various reasons we do not issue a complete list of prices from the auction.

However I can bring you some selected highlights from this year's event.

Anthology Book signed by Neil Aspinall - £122
Beatles Brooch - £30
Scrapbook of the Blackbird Singing signing event signed by Paul McCartney and sold for a local charity - £450
Star shaped tambourine signed by Ringo Starr and sold for a charity - £390
Toy Beatles Harmonica - £120
Fan Club Juke Box Jury programme - £250
A John Lennon figure radio from 1980 - £65
A photo of the Beatles outside Forthlin Road signed by John, George and Paul - £1700
Cavern Handbill from 1959 featuring Rory Storm and The Hurricanes - £200
Life sized poster of Paul McCartney from 1964 £110
A Desk from the Liverpool Institute for Boys - £290
A cap that used to belong to John Lennon - £3900
The original front door from the Phillips Recording Studios at 38 Kensington, Liverpool - £2200
(I'm very happy to report that the door is staying in Liverpool and will be on display in the Liverpool Museum at some point in the future)
1961 Cavern Club Card - £650
1962 Cavern Club Card - £200
Washington Pottery original cup and saucer set from 1964 - £75
A handbag that was taken by its previous owner to the original Cavern regularly - £110 (and the new owner has already taken it down to the current club!)
Complete ticket for the Northern premiere of the Hard Day's Night film in Liverpool - £600
Love Me Do and Please Please Me singles, fully signed by the Beatles - £7000 each.
A section of Paul McCartney's shirt from the 1960s - £220
Typed and signed letter from Maureen Starkey - £320
Cavern Club Brick - £380
Love Me Do Demo record with A label - £2100
Press pack for the re-opening of The Cavern Club in 1966 - £240
Love Me Do single signed by John, Paul and George on both the A side and the B side - £3600
Please Please Me single signed by all four Beatles on both the A side and the B side - £8000
Contracts for Rufus Thomas and Solomon Burke to play the Cavern Club in 1966 - £190 and £170 respectively
Unused Cavern window Sticker - £70
Unused Cavern Autograph book - £190
Unused Cavern Address book - £170
Two 1967 Cavern tickets including one for Status Quo - £110
Letter from the Cavern to the Gas Board regarding the imminent demolition of the club in 1973 - £90

We've already had calls from people with some nice items to go into next auction. We will start taking in items from about November so bookmark this blog, or subscribe via google or your RSS reader of choice for details of items as we get them in.




The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, where lots are still being taken in up until June. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.

If you have any items of interest for the auction please contact us. Click the link on the right for details of how to get in touch.

Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

Thursday 18 August 2011

How Absentee Bidding Works

We've had a few questions about how the absentee bidding works.

All you need to do is to tell us the amount you would bid up to if you were in the room. Once we have a note of this limit we will bid on your behalf up to that amount. We are required to obtain the item for the best price within  your limit depending on reserves and bids in the room. 

So, for example - you choose a top bid of £100
In the auction room the bidding begins at £50, a bidder in the room bids £55, the reserve is £60 so the auctioneer will bid that amount on your behalf, the bidder increases their bid to £65, the auctioneer will bid £70. The other bidder drops out. The item is yours for £70 (plus buyers premium and postage of course)

Please note - Bids in the room take precedence over absentee bids so in the above example, if the bidder in the room took the bid up to £100 they would win the item not you.

Not all items have reserves on them, but we are not allowed to give details of any reserve prices on items.
We also cannot tell you what other absentee bidders have bid on items, however we can advise you whether your bid has a good chance of success. (But please do note that this is in no way a guarantee that you will be successful, we don't know how things will go in the room on the day.)

Absentee bids need to be placed with us at least 24 hours in advance as we need to make sure all the information is with the auctioneer on the day. Placing an absentee bid is a clear intention to buy. Bids may be withdrawn at any time up to 24 hours before the auction.

This means all absentee bids need to be with us by the morning of Friday 26th August. This is also the last opportunity to increase, change or withdraw your bid.

You can fax your bid to us on 0113 2779750, or from the USA 0144113 2779750. Or you can email bids 
to auction@thebeatleshop.co.uk,  please get in touch if an emailed bid is not acknowledged within two days.
We need the following information for absentee bids
-Lot Number
-Top bid (a clear figure, not a range or vague amount. We do not accept unlimited or "buy" bids)
-Your name and contact details.
You may be asked to secure an absentee bid by giving credit card details. No payment will be taken using these details unless you default on a winning bid. Winning bidders will be contacted as soon as possible after the sale to arrange/confirm payment details.


If you have any more questions email via the above link or telephone 0151 236 8066.  

Monday 15 August 2011

Important Information for Bidders

How to Bid in Person
If you are attending the auction with the intention to bid on an item you need to register for a bidding paddle first. You can register on the viewing day as well as the morning of the auction. We will need contact details including your home address, where you are staying in Liverpool if applicable, a phone number where possible, and email address. This information is not passed on to other parties. Your email address will be used next year to send you notification about to download future auction catalogues. 
The bidding paddle is numbered, if you are the winning bidder you need to make sure the auctioneer has noted this number.


Absentee Bids
You can fax your bid to us on 0113 2779750, or from the USA 0144113 2779750. Or you can email bids 
to auction@thebeatleshop.co.uk,  please get in touch if an emailed bid is not acknowledged within two days.
We need the following information for absentee bids
-Lot Number
-Top bid (a clear figure, not a range or vague amount. We do not accept unlimited or "buy" bids)
-Your name and contact details.
You may be asked to secure an absentee bid by giving credit card details. No payment will be taken using these details unless you default on a winning bid. Winning bidders will be contacted as soon as possible after the sale to arrange/confirm payment details. 


Important Notice
Unless stated in the description no certificates of authenticity or letters of provenance will be provided.

Tuesday 2 August 2011

Covering the Cavern Club from beginning to end!

The 2011 Liverpool Beatles Auction boasts lots that cover the entire history of the original Cavern Club from its roots as a Jazz club through to its final demise.

The Hessys publication Frank Comments (Lot 92 – three issues) and Merseyside Jazz Magazine (lot 91) carried adverts for the Cavern Club and it organised it's own Jazz Festival in 1960 with a programme of events (lot 95) that included Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, featuring Ringo Starr on drums.

When the Beatles were playing in the Cavern one fan took her records Love Me Do (lot 206) and Please Please Me (lot 205) down to the club in her handbag (lot 200) to get signed.

When the Cavern stage was replaced in the 1960s it was cut into pieces and sold off to Beatles fans (lot 259). The Cavern closed in the mid sixties, but it did not go quietly, there were protests and eventually the club reopened in July 1966. The Prime Minister came along to the reopening. There was a programme for the event (lot 214) and Rufus Thomas and Solomon Burke were contracted to play during the day (lots 273 & 274)

After the reopening the club started to sell branded merchandising. There are quite a few examples in the auction including a very rare Cavern Tshirt (lot 264) and a full price list for merchandise available to fans. (lot 287)

The club was finally subjected to a Compulsory purchase order from the Railways (lot 253) and set for demolition. But not before the gas meters were all read. The club contacted the Gas Board by letter (lot 216) informing them that demolition was imminent and they weren't responsible for damage to Gas Board equipment that wasn't removed.

And just when you think the story of the original Cavern is over, building work on the site a decade after the club was demolished yields a number of original bricks from the original club that are sold off by the new site owners for a local charity. (lot 215.)

And this is only skimming the surface of Cavern items in this year's auction!

2011 Liverpool Beatles Auction Catalogue now available to download.

The 2011 auction catalogue is now available to download in pdf format.
Most browsers will open the file but you can also right click to save it onto your own computer.

2011 Liverpool Beatles Auction Catalogue Download. (118kb approx pdf file)
2011 Catalogue photographs - (9.65Mb approx pdf file) Please note, these photo pages are laid out for the print catalogue, hence the large file size.


If you do need a pdf reader it is available free from adobe.
You can also read pdf files on an number of devices including the Kindle by simply dragging the files your device.

A large number of lots have been covered in this blog, to find them use the search facility provided on the right, or go through the archives also listed on the right.

The printed version of the catalogue is not yet available. Details will appear on this blog as soon as we have them available to send out/collect.

Monday 1 August 2011

So Good They Signed It Twice...

These copies of Love Me Do and Please Please Me are both red label versions of the singles and are both signed, on both sides! 
Love Me Do is signed by John, Paul and George on both the A-side and the B-side. Estimate £2000-£2500


Please Please Me is signed on both sides of the record by all four Beatles. Estimate £7000-8000


(click on the photos to see larger versions.)




The catalogue for the 2011 Liverpool Beatles Auction will be available very soon. Details of how to get a copy will appear on this site as soon as possible.

Friday 29 July 2011

Early Signed promotional cards.

This early promotional photo card features Pete Best.

109a

and is signed on the reverse by John Lennon.

109b

Estimate – £850-£950

And this promotional card features a slightly different version of the photo and is signed on the reverse by Paul McCartney.

110a110b

Estimate - £350-£400.

This Star Club promotional card is signed on the reverse by both John and Paul.

144a144b

Estimate £900-£1000

The catalogue for the 2011 Liverpool Beatles Auction will be available very soon. Details of how to get a copy will appear on this site as soon as possible.

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Early Beatles Signatures on Photographs.

Below is a photograph by Mike McCartney of Paul, George and John at Forthlin Road, signed on the back by all three, with an extra “hee hee” from Paul.

89a89b

Estimate- £1000-£1200

This photo was taken of the group at The Majestic Ballroom and is signed on the reverse by John.

247a247b

Estimate - £800-£900

The catalogue for the 2011 Liverpool Beatles Auction will be available very soon. Details of how to get a copy will appear on this site as soon as possible.

Saturday 23 July 2011

End of the Cavern era.

We really are covering the entire existence of the original Cavern Club in this year's auction.
This is the Compulsory Purchase Order that meant the end for the Cavern Club.

This has a very important place in the history of Liverpool and the The Cavern Club.
Estimate is to be confirmed.





The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, where lots are still being taken in up until June. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.

If you have any items of interest for the auction please contact us. Click the link on the right for details of how to get in touch.

Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

Cavern T-shirt

This rare original Cavern t-shirt dates for 1967.


Estimate £225-£250






The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, where lots are still being taken in up until June. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.

If you have any items of interest for the auction please contact us. Click the link on the right for details of how to get in touch.

Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

Friday 22 July 2011

Merry Christmas From The Cavern

Rare Cavern Christmas Card

265527_10150260203144658_640049657_7074427_543699_o

Estimate - £25-£30

 

 

The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, lots are no longer being taken for this year’s auction but they start to take items for 2012 from November this year. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.



Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

Cavern Tickets

There are some tickets for Cavern shows going up for sale in our auction next month.

283037_10150260203889658_640049657_7074439_2803675_n281677_10150260204124658_640049657_7074441_3988331_n

These two tickets, including a Cavern appearance by Status Quo are estimated at £40-50 (for the pair)

285092_10150260203229658_640049657_7074428_4048566_n

An invite to a Cavern Party on a Mersey Ferry – Estimate - £30-40

282787_10150260203794658_640049657_7074438_468642_n 

A ticket for a session filmed for French TV  - Estimate - £30-£40

 

 

The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, lots are no longer being taken for this year’s auction but they start to take items for 2012 from November this year. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.



Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

And did those feet…

The Beatles graced the stage at the Cavern Club a little shy of 300 times. Sometime after they became world famous the original Cavern stage was taken up, divided into small sections and sold to fans.

One of these pieces, complete with its label explaining what it is, is up for grabs in our auction next month.

279467_10150260204439658_640049657_7074444_3817703_o

Estimate - £1600-£1800

 

The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, lots are no longer being taken for this year’s auction but they start to take items for 2012 from November this year. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.



Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

Thursday 21 July 2011

Cavern Souvenirs

After the Cavern reopened in 1966 it began to offer Cavern branded merchandise.

There are several examples going up for auction next month.

Address book

269787_10150260203514658_640049657_7074433_7132579_n

Estimate £80-£100

Autograph book

269812_10150260203419658_640049657_7074432_7755140_n

Estimate £120-£150

PVC Card Holder

266271_10150260203719658_640049657_7074436_1398400_o

Estimate £80-£90

Pennants

278203_10150260204239658_640049657_7074442_5754120_o283368_10150260268384658_640049657_7075122_7861125_n

(one plastic, one felt – sold as one lot)

Estimate £80-£120

 

Window Sticker

268882_10150260203309658_640049657_7074429_2922129_n

Estimate £30-£40

And to keep track of what was for sale here’s a list of Cavern Merchandise from the time.

267831_10150260268774658_640049657_7075132_795885_n

(click to enlarge)

Estimate £150-£175

 

The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, lots are no longer being taken for this year’s auction but they start to take items for 2012 from November this year. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.



Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

New Beginnings At The Cavern Club

In February 1966 the Cavern Club was closed despite fan protests. However it changed hands and reopened in July 1966.

Harold Wilson officially reopened the club and the ceremony was attended by, among several others, Bessie Braddock MP, Ken Dodd, Billy J Kramer, The Fourmost, Georgie Fame, Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick and Tich, Jimmy Savile and Simon Dee.

As well as the previously mentioned programme for the event, we have a number of other lots from the grand re-opening.

Here is an invitation the reception attended by the Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

273015_10150260203639658_640049657_7074435_5324909_o

Estimate £130-£160

Several artists appeared at the re-opening. Here are two contracts for performers appearing during the afternoon. One is for Solomon Burke and the other is for Rufus Thomas.

281872_10150260202264658_640049657_7074413_7968635_n270302_10150260202399658_640049657_7074415_2552778_n

These carry estimates of £80-£100 each.

To see the entertainment for the day you would have needed a ticket to get into the club. They looked like this.

280202_10150262501264658_640049657_7095161_3833404_o

Estimate £80-£100

The Press obviously covered the re-opening, and this pressbook was provided to give them information about the event.

285107_10150260204574658_640049657_7074445_8363594_n

Estimate £180-£220

Not everyone could attend the event so some sent telegrams wishing the club well. Two of these (from Noel Gay Artists and Peter & Gordon) are up for sale in the auction.

282057_10150260204754658_640049657_7074447_379561_n281987_10150260205319658_640049657_7074456_2352926_n

They have estimates of £75-£100 each.

 

 

The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, lots are no longer being taken for this year’s auction but they start to take items for 2012 from November this year. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.



Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

Tuesday 19 July 2011

The Beatles at your feet!

This Beatles rug was made in Belgium in the 60s.

282409_10150256880589658_640049657_7048606_4019518_n

It will be offered for sale in our auction next month and is estimated at £125-£150

The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, where lots are still being taken in up until June. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.



Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

As They Write This Letter

Here are a couple of nice lots of correspondence from family members.

This letter is from George’s mum Louise Harrison to a fan, on behalf of George. She would often write to fans who wrote to George in the 60s.

263844_10150252544819658_640049657_7015631_6233478_n

This item carries an estimate of £100-£130.

Next is a short typed note from Maureen Starkey (Mrs Ringo Starr at the time) thanking a fan for a gift sent to their second child, Jason.

279657_10150252544714658_640049657_7015629_2913133_o

This estimate on this item is £250-£300

 

 

The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, where lots are still being taken in up until June. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.



Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

The shirt off Paul’s back!

…well a piece of it anyway!

This small piece of material is from a shirt that belonged to Paul McCartney. It was given to an assistant who helped out at the fan club in the 60s, and comes with a note from fan club secretary, Freda Kelly.

271937_10150252545374658_640049657_7015639_86964_o

This unusual and rather interesting item has an estimate of £250-£300. Surely a must for any Paul fan.

 

The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, where lots are still being taken in up until June. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.



Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

Paul on Your Wall

This life size black and white poster of Paul McCartney was made by Fan Fotos in the early 60s. There was one for each Beatle.

269093_10150256880849658_640049657_7048610_7366587_n

The estimate on this rare poster is £60-£80

The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, where lots are still being taken in up until June. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.



Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

Sending Postcards to the Boys.

Like everyone else, when on holiday Ringo would send out postcards to his friends. (And as his book Postcards from the Boys testifies, he’d get lots back too.)

Here is a list in Ringo’s handwriting of addresses for holiday postcards from the late 60s.

258017_10150219820994658_640049657_6855301_8175863_o

It is being offered for sale in our Auction next month with an estimate of £250-£300

 

The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, where lots are still being taken in up until June. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.



Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

Monday 18 July 2011

Autograph Book

This autograph book comes from someone who was an assistant at the Beatles Fan Club.

It contains, amongst others, signatures from Louise and Harold Harrison, Maureen Starkey and Freda Kelly. There’s also a full of Beatles Autographs written by Neil Aspinall – not the Beatles.

270377_10150252545654658_640049657_7015645_7201722_n

263465_10150252545729658_640049657_7015646_4968860_n

269121_10150252545589658_640049657_7015643_5752086_n

Estimate - £250-£300

 

The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, where lots are still being taken in up until June. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.



Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

Concert Tickets from 1963

These three concert ticket stubsfrom 1963 are all for Beatles concerts at the Liverpool Empire. They are being entered as separate lots in the auction.

265276_10150253437884658_640049657_7025113_5554986_o

They carry an estimate of £80-£100 each.

 

The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, where lots are still being taken in up until June. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.



Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

Cavern Programme 1966

On 27th February 1966 the Cavern Club closed. Bailiffs went it with the help of a police presence and the 100 or so teenagers who had built impromptu barricades left peacefully. Despite a public campaign to raise money to reopen the club it was sold on 18th April by the court receiver as part of Ray McFall's bankruptcy proceedings. It was bought by a gentleman named Joe Davy who revamped and reopened the famous club.


The club reopened officially on 23rd July 1966. The opening ceremony took place at noon and there was a power failure during it! Harold Wilson officially reopened the club and the ceremony was attended by, among several others, Bessie Braddock MP, Ken Dodd, Billy J Kramer, The Fourmost, Georgie Fame, Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick and Tich, Jimmy Savile and Simon Dee.

This is a programme for the reopening event.

284571_10150256880979658_640049657_7048611_6014094_n

The programme has some damage and carries an estimate of £80-£100

 

 

The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, where lots are still being taken in up until June. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.



Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

Another Brick from the Wall…

In the early 1980s the site of the original Cavern Club in Mathew Street was excavated ready for a new building to be erected on the site. Several bricks from the original club were saved and sold to raise money for a local charity. This is one of those bricks complete with its plaque explaining it's history.

270734_10150250222364658_640049657_6993234_23485_n

Estimate- £200-£250.

 

The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, where lots are still being taken in up until June. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.



Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.

Ain’t Been Round Since Don’t Know When

Christmas flexi discs are always popular item in our Auction.

The following three are all being sold as separate lots.

281379_10150256879939658_640049657_7048600_5539201_n1965

281626_10150256880179658_640049657_7048603_6435545_n1966

269723_10150256880354658_640049657_7048604_670665_n 1967

 

The have an estimate of £50-£60 each.

The auction takes place on August 27th 2011 at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA. It is organised by The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, where lots are still being taken in up until June. Contact details are listed on the right of this page, and potential vendors and buyers should read the FAQs and the relevant buyers/sellers notes.



Press enquiries should be made through the same contact link. Better images of items can be made available to the press upon request.