Beatles 'forgery' under the hammer in Liverpool

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Beatles 'forgery' under the hammer in Liverpool
ITV REPORT  
5 January 2017


Late photographer Les Goode had sent a copy of Alkali News to the Beatles in the hope all would sign it. Credit: Adam Partridge Auctioneers

An old trade newspaper picture which John Lennon signed and forged the autographs of the other Beatles has fetched £2,000 at auction in Liverpool.

The photo showed the Fab Four at the crowning of the 15 year old Carnival Queen for Northwich in Cheshire in 1963.

Auctioneers say because they were faked by Lennon, known as joker in the band, the item is worth about the same as if all four Beatles had signed the image themselves.


The photographer Les Goode had always thought all the signatures were all genuine. But when his widow had the newspaper valued it was realised only Lennon's autograph was genuine. Credit: Adam Partridge Auctioneers

Last updated Thu 5 Jan 2017






www.dailymail.co.uk
Newspaper that 'joker' John Lennon used to forge the autographs of the rest of the Beatles for a fan in 1963 is tipped to sell for £1,500
° Trade newspaper was believed to have been autographed by the Beatles
° But after examination it was revealed 'joker' John Lennon copied the signatures
° It remains a valuable piece of Beatles memorabilia and could sell for £1,500 
° Lennon's attempt at McCartney's autograph poor but praised for other efforts
By Joseph Curtis For Mailonline
PUBLISHED: 4 January 201

An old newspaper that John Lennon used to forge the autographs of the rest of the Beatles is now tipped to sell for £1,500.
The singer/songwriter, who was known as the joker of the band, faked the signatures of Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr on a photograph of the fledgling group.
The image showed the young Fab Four crowning the 15-year-old Carnival Queen for the town of Northwich, Cheshire, in 1963.

It appeared on the front page of Alkali News - an in-house magazine for chemical giant ICI and the teenager in the photo was the daughter of an ICI employee.


An old newspaper, pictured, 'signed' by the Beatles was revealed to have been a forgery by John Lennon, but is still expected to sell for around £1,500 at auction


Lennon, pictured in 1977 three years before his death, wrote 'All the best from the Beatles' on the paper before copying his bandmates' signatures

The snap was taken by the late photographer Les Goode who later sent a copy of Alkali News to the Beatles in the hope they would sign it.
It was returned with the message 'All the best from the Beatles,' followed by the apparent autographs of the 'Fab Four' all in the same blue pen.
It is thought Mr Goode believed the signatures were all genuine. 
But when his widow recently took the newspaper to an auctioneers to sell it was realised they were indeed forgeries.

The signature for McCartney resembles nothing like his autograph but Lennon's attempt to copy the impressions of Harrison and Starr were described as 'rather good'.
But because they were faked by Lennon they are still worth about the same as if all four had signed them.
The document is now being sold by Adam Partridge Auctioneers of Liverpool.
A spokesman for the auction house said: 'Les Goode was a photographer from the mid-Cheshire area and the carnival took place in the Northwich Memorial Hall and the lot was consigned by his widow.



The paper, right, was an in-house publication for chemical giant ICI and featured a picture of the 'Fab Four', left, crowning the 15-year-old Carnival Queen for the town of Northwich, Cheshire, in 1963, who was the daughter of an ICI employee


The picture was taken during the early days of the Beatles, pictured, before they became 'music royalty'

'They both assumed the autographs were genuine but they have been verified as being carried out by the same hand - that of John Lennon.
'He was a bit of a joker of the band so this could have been him just messing about.
'But something like this is quite a rare thing to come across so the value isn't too far off what a set of four Beatles' signatures would be worth anyway.
'The photograph was taken in July 1963. This was early on in the career of the band which is evidenced by the fact they were the VIPs at the crowning ceremony for the Northwich Carnival Queen.
'It wasn't that long afterwards that John, Paul, George and Ringo became music royalty.'
The sale takes place tomorrow.