Beatles' autographs triple estimate and sell for £3,400 at Harborough auction

A set of autographs by The Beatles have tripled their estimate and sold for £3,400.

Gildings auction house in Market Harborough gave the lot an estimate of £600 to £900 ahead of the event on Tuesday (April 4) – the 60th anniversary week of the Fab Four’s first Leicester show at De Montfort Hall.

The autographs were collected by a Market Harborough driver – also the police constable’s driver - who took The Beatles to their hotel following a gig. The autographs were written on the only paper he had – a police charge sheet for motoring offences. They sold for £3,400.

Gildings director Will Gilding said: “We were thrilled to achieve this fantastic result for this very special set of Beatles autographs.

“Our vendor, who was in the room to see them go under the hammer, was elated to see the fierce bidding from the UK and America, which proved that Beatlemania is still going strong for collectors 60 years on.”

Two more sets of Beatles’ autographs also exceeded expectations on the day. Signatures on an publicity photograph and obtained at one of the De Montfort Hall gigs in 1963 or 1964 fetched £1,400 against an estimate of £300 - £500.

The final collection of autographs was given to the seller around 1964 by her then-boyfriend, a Royal Engineer who went to school with some of the band members. It sold for £1,600 after being estimated at £1,000 - £1,500.

Will added: “It was wonderful to see all three sets of autographs perform so well on the day, although it was the collection with arguably the most evocative back story that really captured the imagination of bidders.

“The results across the auction show that now is a great time to sell autographs and music memorabilia in general. The sale also included a programme and ticket stub from The Beatles’ October 1964 De Montfort Hall gig which sold for £210, and a collection of Rolling Stones items including a 1965 De Montfort Hall ticket stub which fetched £220.”

Anyone interested in selling memorabilia can visit gildings.co.uk or call 01858 410 414 for more information.