News last week that Battersea Power Station in London was up for sale prompted me to think of other iconic buildings that have been associated with great moments in Rock and Roll History. Battersea Power Station is significant to most people around the world for having been featured on the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1977 LP “Animals”, not forgetting an appearance in the 1965 Beatles film “Help!”.
There are so many exciting auctions coming up this season, including the Collection Of Elizabeth Taylor at Christie’s on 13-16 December and Profiles In History’s ‘Icons Of Hollywood” auction on 15-17 December featuring a breathtaking array of important and iconic pieces of Film Memorabilia, such as a pair of Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers from the “The Wizard Of Oz”; Marilyn Monroe’s beautiful wedding ring from her marriage to Joe DiMaggio; Bela Lugosi’s cape from Dracula (which has come direct from the Lugosi family); and a DeLorean time machine car from “Back To The Future III”. As if that wasn’t enough, Profiles In History will also host Part II of the Debbie Reynolds Collection auction on 3 December, which includes more incredible Marilyn Monroe costumes, including the green leotard from “Bus Stop” and Christie’s have an amazing John Lennon placard from the Montreal Bed-In in their Rock Memorabilia auction on 15 November. But those pieces are the stuff of dreams and not quite within reach of most of us so I decided to compile a shopping list from this season’s offerings with a price limit of £20,000 per item. Not as easy as you might think! 5) Please Please Me LP signed by the Beatles, Cameo auctions, UK, 8 November, estimate £3,000-5,000. Cameo are a small auction house in the UK that hold regular auctions of Film and Music memorabilia. Although most of the music sales consist of small value records, there are usually a couple of gems hidden in the sale catalogue. Beatles signed LPs are getting harder and harder to find and this is a nice copy of Please Please Me with relatively clean signatures on the reverse. 4) A U.S. cinema poster for “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” signed for Richard Burton by Elizabeth Taylor “To Richard — the hottest cat on any roof! Happy Birthday - …5/18/85”, included in the Collection Of Elizabeth Taylor at Christie’s, estimate $2,000-3,000. Brilliant! 3) Hand-written letter from James Dean to then girlfriend Barbara Glenn, 1954, estimate £5,000-6,000, with unpublished snapshots of the couple on the beach. Wonderfully early letters written by James Dean during his time in Philadelphia whilst appearing in a theatrical production of The Immoralist. It seems Dean was deeply unimpressed with the play of which he writes “Probably a monster success; but to me it’s still a piece of shit…”. James Dean letters so rarely appear on the market and there are three of these letters to Barbara Glenn in the Christie’s sale of Film Memorabilia on 23 November. 2) A set of 15 Bag One lithographs by John Lennon, 1970, in original white vinyl portfolio, Rock and Pop Memorabilia auction, Christie’s, estimate £15,000-20,000. Created by Lennon as a wedding gift for Yoko Ono, these erotic lithographs caused quite a stir when they were first exhibited in London and were confiscated by Scotland Yard. It is pretty rare to find a complete set with original portfolio and, according to Christie’s specialists, this set is mint condition, having been put away in 1970 and pretty much forgotten about. 1) The Burton wedding bands, two diamond wedding bands given to Elizabeth Taylor upon her marriages to Richard Burton in 1964 and 1975, estimate $6,000-8,000. I could put money on these rings exceeding their pre-sale estimate in the Christie’s auction of the Elizabeth Taylor Collection but it’s nice to think I could buy these at this estimate. Wonderfully poignant considering the history of the Burton-Taylor relationship and beautiful rings too.
Sotheby’s are selling John Lennon’s original hand-written lyrics for “A Day In The Life” in New York on 18 June, 2010. It looks like they are being included in a Books and Manuscripts auction and the estimate is $500,000-700,000. I would expect them to make within that estimate and no more, “A Day In The Life” is a great song, typical Lennon, but nowhere near as iconic as “Give Peace A Chance”, the lyrics sold at Christie’s in 2008 for $834,000.
However, the sale of these lyrics is a perfect illustration of what a great investment Memorabilia can be. These lyrics originally sold at auction in 1992 as part of the Mal Evans collection for $66,000 so if they make $700,000, that works out at a return of 14% over 18 years. Not bad!
UPDATE The lyrics for “A Day In The Life” made a record-breaking price of $1.2 Million at Sotheby’s in June. An incredible price which yet again underlines the strength of the market, great news.
Beatles Memorabilia
I recently discovered a rare signed Beatles programme in mint condition. The programme was for the 1963 Beatles and Roy Orbison Tour and was additionally signed by Roy Orbison . The owner obtained the signatures himself backstage at Sheffield City Hall on 25 May, 1963, he worked for the booking agent Wilson Peck and sold the programmes before many of the big concerts at the time. The programme had been kept in mint condition, with exceptionally clear signatures.
The programme has been sold to a private U.S. collector but we are always looking to buy similar pieces. If you would like a valuation of your memorabilia, please feel free to e-mail me.
