Beatles autographs and guitar string sell for £7k

6 days ago

Susie RackWest Midlands

Elizabeth Salt saw The Beatles more than once as a teen

Richard Winterton Auctioneers A woman in a red jumper with red painted nails holds up a notebook with Beatles signatures in it. She has white blonde hair and is wearing blue rimmed glasses. She is sitting on a sofa with a grey throw on it, with cream lined wallpaper behind her. — Elizabeth Salt saw The Beatles more than once as a teen

A book containing all four Beatles' autographs and George Harrison's broken guitar string has made £7,000 at auction, more than twice the expected price.

Elizabeth Salt, 79, from Lichfield, also got the fab four's signatures on her arm as a teen, but her dad forced her to wash them off.

Her collection, which was also signed by the Rolling Stones, Cliff Richard and Adam Faith, went under the hammer at Richard Winterton Auctioneers' Lichfield site on Tuesday.

The auctioneers said Salt was "delighted with the result", which had been one of its best for Beatles autographs.

Salt was 16 when she watched The Beatles perform at the Savoy Ballroom in Southsea on 7 April 1963.

Harrison broke a string and, sat near the stage, she managed to snatch it up.

Afterwards, among fans that "piled in" to a dressing room, she requested the four sign her left arm, which they did.

"I was still at school and wanted to show all my friends the next day, but when I got home my dad said, 'you'll get blood poisoning', and made me wash it straight off," she said.

"I was heartbroken."

The fan had been sat near the stage and managed to grab George Harrison's broken guitar string

Richard Winterton Auctioneers An aged notebook showing pictures of the Beatles, a broken guitar string attached with tape, and signatures of all four members of the band. — The fan had been sat near the stage and managed to grab George Harrison's broken guitar string

The superfan met the group on other occasions, collecting a second Harrison signature and one more each from Starr and McCartney.

Her sale, which had been expected to fetch between £3,000-£4,000, attracted bids from across the world and ended up going to an online bidder in the UK, the auctioneer said.

Valuer Rob French added it had been "one of our best results for Beatles autographs".

"This fascinating book was a fabulous record of Elizabeth's experience of one of British history's most exciting periods for pop culture," he added.

"Elizabeth was in the room to witness the thrill of a live auction first-hand and it was wonderful to watch her reactions as the bids just kept on coming."

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