A cache of unseen Beatles photos documenting the Fab Four’s earliest U.S. concerts in 1964 sold at an England auction Saturday for over $358,000.

The lot of 413 negatives – 350 of which had never been seen – and their copyrights were from the collection of photographer Mike Mitchell, who as an 18-year-old took photos of the Beatles’ February 11, 1964 concert in Washington, D.C. (their first U.S. concert) and Baltimore on September 13th. The photographs captured the band both onstage and taking part in pre-show press conferences. Mitchell previously sold a lot of nearly 50 silver gelatin prints from the Washington, D.C. concert at a Christie’s auction in 2011; that auction yielded $362,000, far exceeding pre-auction estimates.

Other Beatles-related items at Omega Auctions’ Saturday event included a black Mercedes 500 SEL AMG that George Harrison owned for 16 years (sold at auction for $61,000), a reel containing an unreleased Harrison song titled “Hello Miss Mary Bee” ($24,000) and a hotel registry signed by all four Beatles and manager Brian Epstein ($14,000).

The negatives with copyright were sold at Omega Auctions on Saturday in northwestern England. Apart from 46 images that were sold in 2011, the remainder has never been seen.

A 1984 black Mercedes once owned by George Harrison also sold for $61,047 at the same auction.

source:reviewjournal