Rare Beatles photographs pulled from sale at 11th hour

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk
Rare Beatles photographs pulled from sale at 11th hour
By Chris Cheesman   
Wednesday, 7 August 2013

 Rare photos of The Beatles, including precious images discovered on a film found inside a camera belonging to the band’s official photographer after he died, have been pulled from sale.
Auctioneers were poised to sell a collection of more than 40 Beatles images at Cuttlestones in Wolverhampton on 16 August.
The upcoming sale had attracted global media coverage in recent days.
However, a spokesperson for the auction house today told Amateur Photographer that the images have been ‘temporarily withdrawn' at the request of the vendor who wanted to remain anonymous.
The ‘significant' archive includes 34 shots that had remained undiscovered in Derek Cooper's camera until 10 years after the photographer's death in 1983.
It was to have been the first time that prints of the negatives were offered for sale on the open market.
It is not known whether the auction will be rescheduled.
‘They [the vendor] wanted to delay it,' said the auction spokesperson, adding that the items were removed from sale earlier this week.
‘It's not unheard of for people to have a change of heart.'
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Star featured in the pictures, which ranged from informal backstage shots, to formal portraits and photos taken on Beatles tours.
The films had been found in cameras bequeathed by Cooper to a childhood friend in Liverpool.
On its website auctioneers state: ‘This represents the opportunity to procure a significant, largely unpublished collection, the majority of which have, as yet, only been available for public viewing while on exhibition.'
Auctioneers said they expected the sale to attract ‘huge international interest'.

 
Cuttlestones’ Tom Waldron with some of the prints of
The Beatles that are set to sell in Wolverhampton on
Friday, 16th August 2013