A rare autograph book containing the signatures of all four Beatles—accompanied by a unique piece of rock history—has sold for £7,000 at a recent Richard Winterton Auctioneers event. Beyond the sought-after autographs of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, the lot included a broken guitar string belonging to George Harrison.

The collection was originally amassed by Elizabeth Salt (then Liz McBrierty) during the band’s performance at the Savoy Ballroom in Southsea back in April 1963. Now 79 and residing in Lichfield, the dedicated fan recalled the encounter vividly, noting that the Fab Four even signed her arm at the time—a gesture of teenage rebellion that reportedly didn’t sit well with her father once she returned home.

“We were sat around the stage when George Harrison broke his guitar string and I picked it up “Afterwards they went into a room and we all just piled in. That’s when I got their autographs on my left arm – I just held it out asking them to sign and 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. I was heartbroken.”

Luckily, the devoted fan managed to preserve both the signatures in her scrapbook and George’s broken string over the decades. The collection serves as a literal “who’s who” of the 1960s music scene, featuring a star-studded lineup that includes The Rolling Stones, Cliff Richard, and Adam Faith. The book also captured signatures from icons like Del Shannon, Dion, and Billy Fury, along with Shane Fenton—the artist who would later achieve fame under the persona Alvin Stardust.

After a period of spirited bidding, the historic lot was eventually secured by a UK-based collector participating online. Reflecting on the significance of the sale, Rob French, the specialist valuer at Richard Winterton Auctioneers, remarked:

“This fascinating book was a fabulous record of Elizabeth’s experience of one of British history’s most exciting periods for pop culture. We were delighted with the result for this remarkable lady and thank her for sharing her story with us. 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. She was delighted with the result, as are we all.

Buoyed by Elizabeth’s personal story and excellent provenance, the auction attracted a huge amount of interest culminating in an exciting sale and well-deserved hammer price, which is one of our best results for Beatles autographs.”