Lot 40: Beatles signed 'Fan photo' dating from June, 1964

Signed by the 'Fab 4' on their Australian tour

15x10.5cms

Memorabilia

Music, The Beatles

577

Collectibles

The original owner of this signed fan photograph was a waiter at the Lennon's Hotel, Brisbane where the Beatles stayed during the Queensland part of their Australian Tour. Over the period of their stay he approached each Beatle separately and providing three different coloured pens he was able to secure all four signatures. This adds to the authenticity of this signed 'fan photo' as it is now acknowledged that while the more ‘innocent’ Ringo and George signed their autographs quite readily, behind the scenes it was the tour manager Neil Aspinall who quite often stepped in to sign photos on behalf of John and Paul who were otherwise occupied 'meeting' their eager fans. Besides John and Paul's signatures being signed in different coloured pens which would rule out Aspinall's hand, Paul's signature has the lean of a left-hander (Aspinall was right-handed) and the 'o' in John's running signature forms the centre-point of a 'w' which is a known characteristic of his genuine signature. Few pop phenomena survive the test of time, but the Beatles seem assured of their place in history. In 2013 a signed copy of their seminal ‘Sergeant Peppers’ Album sold in the United States for almost $300,000. This iconic photo represents a simpler time in history when pop culture changed the world and ‘the Beatles’ were the centre of the rock n’ roll universe.