Unseen Beatles Photos From 1964 Sell for $358,000 at Auction
A cache of unseen Beatles photos documenting the Fab Four’s earliest U.S. concerts in 1964 sold at an England auction Saturday for over $358,000.
The lot of 413 negatives – 350 of which had never been seen – and their copyrights were from the collection of photographer Mike Mitchell, who as an 18-year-old took photos of the Beatles‘ February 11, 1964 concert in Washington, D.C. (their first U.S. concert) and Baltimore on September 13th. The photographs captured the band both onstage and taking part in pre-show press conferences, the BBC reported.
Mitchell previously sold a lot of nearly 50 silver gelatin prints from the Washington, D.C. concert at a Christie’s auction in 2011; that auction yielded $362,000, far exceeding pre-auction estimates.
“This is an incredible archive. The unique combination of perspective and light sets them apart from any other Beatles photographs of that period,” Omega auctioneer Paul Fairweather said of the lot in a statement. “This was reflected in prices achieved for a small selection of prints in 2011, so for the entire archive to be sold with copyright, this is a unique opportunity for collectors and investors alike.”
Other Beatles-related items at Omega Auctions‘ Saturday event included a black Mercedes 500 SEL AMG that George Harrison owned for 16 years (sold at auction for $61,000), a reel containing an unreleased Harrison song titled “Hello Miss Mary Bee” ($24,000) and a hotel registry signed by all four Beatles and manager Brian Epstein ($14,000).