PARIS, France (Reuters) — One of the largest Beatles collections in France, including rare vinyl records, dolls and photographs, went on auction in Paris on Saturday (March 18) at the L’Hotel Drouot auction house.
Among the 332 lots which were up for auction was the disc “Tony Sheridan and the Beatles 7: My Bonnie”, signed by Paul McCartney and George Harrison, with a 6,000 to 10,000 euros ($6,450 to $10,740) price tag. A lot of 11 alternate cover photos for the Grammy-winning Sergeant Pepper Lonely Hearts Club album was pegged at 10,000 to 15,000 euros ($10,740 – $16,100).
Beatles aficionado Jacques Volcouve began his collection in 1967 with the album “A Hard Day’s Night”, and decades later, it has grown to include nearly 15,000 records. After spending his life nurturing his love for the Beatles, the 60-year-old decided to auction off his collection to fund his retirement.
According to the auction house, between 20 to 25 percent of the collection was not sold and the most expensive item, an Abbey Road photograph, fetched 13,000 euros ($13,970).