Fifty silver gelatin prints from The Beatles’ first ever concert in the US have been sold at auction in New York for more than $360,000 US. The unseen photos were sold individually and estimated to fetch a total of only $100,000.
The photos were taken at their Washington Coliseum show on February 11, 1964 and from another Beatles’ concert by photographer Mike Mitchell when he was just 18 years old.
One of the more expensive photos to be sold, of the band back lit and taken directly behind, went for over $68,000 where it had been estimated to sell for just $2,000 – $3,000.
It’s not the most expensive Beatles’ memorabilia ever sold. In 1985 John Lennon’s modified Rolls-Royce Phantom V was sold for $2.23 million. The hand-painted psychedelic Rolls-Royce was given custom modifications including a seat that converts to a double bed, a television and an interior-exterior sound system. Canadian businessman Jim Pattison purchased the car in 1985 and donated it to the Royal BC Museum where it is on display.
