Beatle Memorabilia

As far as rock and roll collectibles go, Beatles memorabilia is the crème de la crème in a decade notable for top rock artists. Early Beatles items came from their Hamburg and Cavern days, while Beatlemania wigs, boots and perishables like Beatles soap were not always licensed. The album covers of their masterpiece records, from the infamous baby butcher photograph limited to early U.S. Yesterday and Today records to wax and cardboard figures used for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band are extremely desirable. Someone somewhere wants almost anything The Beatles touched.

Contents 1 Recent Auction Prices For Beatles Memorabilia 2 Beatles Conventions 3 Online Stores 4 Official Beatles Websites 5 Books on Collecting Beatles Memorabilia

Recent Auction Prices For Beatles Memorabilia

• Did you know that handwritten lyrics to While My Guitar Gently Weeps by George Harrison sold for $300,000 and the gavel came down on Paul McCartney’s Maxwell's Silver Hammer's lyrics at $192,000?

• A Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album signed by all four Beatles went for $27,500.

• John Lennon’s illustration in a school book of The Walrus and the Carpenter by Lewis Carrol sold for $247,800 while a drawing he made of a bird when he was one year old was purchased for over $30,000.

• Even The Beatles’ Stockholm hotel registration form during a Scandinavian tour reached $19,600.

A famous story involves John’s and Paul’s guitars from when they first met. Paul taught John a few chords which impressed John enough to let Paul join his Quarry Men band. These two musical instruments, important relics in the history of rock and roll, were sold at auction. Paul’s Rex acoustic guitar went for $649,000 while John’s Gallotone Champion sold for $305,800 several years earlier.

Beatles Conventions

Beatles conventions are held throughout the world where associates of the band appear. Everyone from May Pang, John Lennon’s old girlfriend, to Abbey Road Studios engineers tell interesting anecdotes about The Beatles and in many cases sign books they have written. The focus of these conventions is often on buying and selling Beatles memorabilia.

Online Stores

It is easy to find online stores that deal in Beatles memorabilia, but you have to make sure the autographs and signed items, clothes and guitars are authentic. Even The Beatles in their early days used to sign each other’s autographs.

• Perry Cox’s Beatles List - Cox wrote a book about Beatles memorabilia.

• Sooz’s Beatles Collectors Pages - A link to a Beatles collectors discussion group is also here.

• Stanley Panenka’s Ultimate Beatles Collection - His records are for sale.

Official Beatles Websites

The official Beatles site sells dazzling, new Beatles products, while the websites of the individual band members offer wonderful items too.

• The Beatles
• John Lennon
• Paul McCartney
• George Harrison
• Ringo Starr

Books on Collecting Beatles Memorabilia

Amazingly, books are even available about how to run businesses that sell Beatles memorabilia. A few books on purchasing Beatles collectibles are:

• The Beatles Memorabilia Price Guide by Jeff Augsburger, Marty Eck and Rick Rann

• The Official Price Guide to The Beatles Records and Memorabilia by Perry Cox

• The Beatles: A Collector's Guide to Beatles Memorabilia by Courtney McWilliams

• The Beatles: A Reference & Value Guide by Barbara Crawford, Michael Stern and Hollis Lamon