Ringo’s jacket from ‘Help!’ tops rock memorabilia auction

www.washingtonpost.com
Ringo’s jacket from ‘Help!’ tops rock memorabilia auction
By Associated Press 
July 9 2015

BOSTON — The dapper double-breasted jacket that Ringo Starr wore in the 1965 Beatles movie “Help!” is going on the auction block.

Boston-based RR Auctions says online bidding for the black woolen jacket featured in the Beatles’ second film will run July 16 through July 23.

The jacket is among nearly 500 items for sale in a “Marvels of Modern Music” auction. Also going up for auction are a 1971 letter that Doors frontman Jim Morrison wrote from Paris to a couple in Beverly Hills, California, and a 1980 custom-designed Hamer electric guitar used by Johnny Ramone.

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Ringo Starr during the filming of "Help!" in 1965.
David Magnus/REX Shutterstock






www.rrauction.com
Marvels of Modern Music
RR AUCTION

Spotlighting some of the most influential acts of the 20th century, our upcoming music auction shines with an array of underground legends and chart-topping icons. From Jimi Hendrix and the Fab Four, to jazz prodigies and Elvis Presley, each and every one of these cutting edge artists have helped revolutionize the various strains of modern-day rock ‘n’ roll. 

Taking center stage is the expansive Chris Lamy collection and its peerless archive of punk rock history. In addition to names like Black Flag, The Clash, and the notorious punk act GG Allin and the Jabbers, a band for which Lamy has played guitar since 1980, this compendium contains what is assuredly one of the most inclusive ensembles of Ramones ephemera to hit the auction block. Containing Johnny Ramone’s custom-designed, stage and video–used 1980 Hamer guitar, a plethora of signed vinyl, a stage-used Ramones concert set-list, and vivid, never-before-displayed posters, there is no shortage of colorful and uncommon pieces from these punk rock pioneers. 

Other crowd-pleasing items include a tailor-made suit jacket worn by Ringo Starr during a pivotal scene in the 1965 film Help!, a rare and gorgeous 1969 Richard Avedon signed photograph of Janis Joplin, and a soulful 1967 signed picture of Hendrix performing on his first Swedish tour. Another highlight is an excessively rare Jim Morrison letter written to close friends from Paris, less than two months before his untimely death. We will also have a special Grateful Dead section in honor of the band's 50th Anniversary, including signed material and original artwork.

Our Music sale is July 16 to July 23



#7038 - Ringo Starr’s HELP Screen-worn Jacket
Minimum Bid: $2,500 

  

Ringo’s stylish suit jacket from Help!
Description  
Ringo Starr’s screen-worn jacket from the 1965 film Help! The predominantly black wool double-breasted suit jacket bears soft gray vertical line patterns, a keystone layout of six black buttons, and four more on the end of each cuff. A D.A. Millings & Sons label sewn inside the inner right pocket, “Ringo,” and a costume notation in an unknown hand on the upper lining of the right sleeve reads, “Ringo No. 1.” In fine condition. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks and a letter of provenance from the original recipient, reading, in part: “Since the late 1950’s I have been a friend of the Starkey–Graves family. Ringo or Ritchie as he was known to us and his girlfriend was one of a group of friends socializing together…During the sixties while visiting Ringo’s parents Elsie and Harry I was given a suit which I was informed had been worn by Ringo in the film Help.” Also accompanied by an unsigned glossy 7.25 x 9.5 photo Ringo wearing the jacket in the film, and a pair of screenshots of Starr from the film. 



This dapper suit jacket is clearly visible during a pivotal sequence in Help! in which Ringo frets over a ring secretly entrusted to him by Ahme, a mysterious high priestess. Once confronted and told of the danger the sacrificial ring carries, Ringo desperately tries to remove it, but is unable. Only with the help of his fellow Beatles and the beautiful Ahme does Ringo find the means and courage to unfasten the accursed red jewel. Making a brief yet seminal appearance in the Fab Four’s second film, this immaculately kempt and tailored suit jacket is a modish and highly desirable piece of rock–cinema history.