www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk

Auctions: Beatles memorabilia

Gloucestershire Echo

Friday, January 27, 2012

MONEY can't buy you love, insisted John Lennon, but bidders at a Cotswold auction proved last week that money can buy you Beatles collectables.

A large collection of Beatles ephemera made over £7,000 when it was sold by auctioneers Moore Allen & Innocent in Cirencester on Friday, January 20.

The collection, which included books, posters, china plates, drinks mats, guitars, pin badges, fridge magnets and even a gift box of men's socks and a telephone that sang Yeah, Yeah, Yeah at an incoming call, was amassed by a single collector over a half century.

Battling at out for first place in the chart of top sellers were a child's copy of a Rickenbacker guitar after the original used by John Lennon; and Mr Wonderful by Fleetwood Mac, Deep Purple by Deep Purple, Volume IV by Black Sabbath and a host of other vinyl records by bands from the 1960s and 70s combined in a single lot, both of which made £540.

A new entry at number two were two boxes of 1960s albums including records by Led Zeppelin, The Faces and The Beatles' old rivals the Rolling Stones, making £500.

The Beatles were in again at number three with a collection of 35 LPs, covering most of the band's back catalogue, as well as some live recordings and compilations, which made £370.

A limited edition of Ringo Starr's Postcards from the Boys, featuring an album of facsimile postcards sent by John, Paul and George to Ringo, and presented in a case designed as a red postal box made £320.

And a box of Beatles singles and Eps, including imports for the French, Japanese and Russian markets, made £180, while a box of various Beatles related die-cast toys including taxis, Magical Mystery Tour buses, an AEC four wheel flat bed lorry with billboards and a psychedelic Mini made £120.

Predictably, the auction attracted interest from around the world, and saw determined bidding within the saleroom.

Outside of the Beatles section, the top price of the day was achieved by a George III oak cased long case clock inscribed Tho. Travis Thorne, which made £680.

And a pair of World War Two binoculars made the second highest lot price of the day, at £600. The glasses had once been owned by the commander of a U-Boat. It is not known whether his submarine was yellow.

The next auction at Moore Allen & Innocent is the sporting sale on Friday, February 3. For an auction catalogue, log on to www.mooreallen.co.uk