UK White Album Signed by all Beatles, Value?

UK White Album, mint condition, signed by all four Beatles, don't know all the particulars: stereo, mono, with or without pictures and posters, Did UK have serial #.

Looked at popsike, even the best of all worlds without signatures, maybe $1000-2000. How much are the signatures worth? Where does one get them authenticated in UK?

Thank you.

 

A fortune - whoever wants it most at the time, I'd say... this is almost worthy of a Christie's handling it... if so, Christies or the like would have references on authenticators.

Do you HAVE this??

Jeff

 

Does anyone know the likelihood of getting all four Beatles to autograph an album? It can't be high. In fact, it might be so low as to cause one to suspect a fake.

 

If you look on popsike for other items autrographed by all four Beatles they did go for over $1000.00

 

Could be a forgery would need a certificate of authenticity. I would imagine that The Beatles probably autographed a number of albums each time there was a new release to go to friends, record company executives etc

 

I saw an unsigned but very low numbered White Album go for a few thousand on Ebay last year. I can't remember the final figure. It was something like number 0000021 and was reportedly given to Harrison's Chaffeur by Harrison or somthing to that effect. Given that, a fully signed copy must be worth big bucks. If it is real, the Christies suggestion is a good one in my opinion.

 

SUPPOSEDLY,Elton John has one.....

 

The Beatles signed almost no albums 'personally' after about '64. Though perhaps their staff did.

Perry Cox occasionally sells some early copies signed by all four. He recently had a Parlophone 45 of "She Loves You" signed by all four for sale that went for about 7 grand.

Never heard of a While Album signed by all four, so you'd have to scrutinize one very carefully, and have evidence of it's signing.

 

There was a George Harrison interview with Q magazine once (late eighties) and when asked for an autograph George proceeded to do all 4 Beatles as he had learnt to do in the sixties

 

Whos that guy..Frank Caiazzo I think that is a well respected Beatles autograph expert. He seems to be the most well know authenticator when it comes to Beatles autographs.

 

Ken Mansfield in his book, "The Beatles The Bible And Bodega Bay" shows a picture of his copy of Revolver that's signed by all four.

 

THIS ARTICLE, from today's USA Today, appears timely to your question; cites a sale of REVOLVER signed by all 4 fabs that went for $14K+, but is now tied up in authenticity-related litigation . . . also points out that very few were signed by all 4, primarily because fans didn't carry them around that often. (and as posters have noted, Beatles more or less quit signing much of anything after '64).

(see article with art here: http://www.usatoday.com/money/compa...e-rock-memorabilia_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip)


Memorabilia rocks entepreneur's bottom line

By David Lieberman, USA TODAY
George Harrison called his 1970 solo album All Things Must Pass. But that doesn't appear to be true for autographs and other collectibles from The Beatles and other rock music legends.
Last week, Christie's in London attracted the second-highest price yet for a piece of pop memorabilia — and nearly four times more than expected — when it auctioned the drumhead featured on the cover of The Beatles' 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, for 541,250 British pounds, or $1.1 million.

That trailed the 600,000 pounds, now equal to $1.2 million, paid in 2005 for John Lennon's handwritten lyrics to All You Need Is Love.

It's just the latest of many signs that rock music artifacts have become the fastest-growing major segment of the memorabilia business.

"Last year was our biggest year by far, and this year we're up another 20%" in revenue, says American Royal Arts CEO Jerry Gladstone, an entrepreneur in collectibles who shifted the focus of his 21-year-old firm a few years ago from animated-movie cells to pop. "People can't afford gas and this and that, and we are up 20%."

Gotta Have It Collectibles also is upbeat about the online auction it will hold in early August.

Its pop prizes include Lennon's talisman necklace, which he wore in the nude photo with Yoko Ono on their 1968 Two Virgins album. It could go for as much as $500,000.

A jumpsuit called the Peacock that Elvis Presley wore in concert could go for $300,000, a record price for an Elvis collectible.

Nostalgia's in the air this summer as concert venues rock to vintage performers including Journey, The Eagles, The Police, Donna Summer, Elvis Costello, Steve Miller Band, Rush, Kansas, Peter Frampton, George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Bon Jovi and Tom Petty. It should get another boost next year with the 40th anniversary of Woodstock.

One reason is that lots of Baby Boomers can afford to indulge themselves. Many are in the prime of their careers, or no longer have to shoulder college tuition bills now that their kids have grown.

Many people also feel more certain that rock 'n' roll really is here to stay, making collectibles potentially savvy investments.

In Europe, "They could care less about American sports (memorabilia)," says Gotta Have It CEO Pete Siegel. "But with rock 'n' roll, they're huge buyers. Plus, the dollar is weak, so they're able to buy at a big discount in the States."

But there's a sour note in the business as sellers bicker over techniques to assure buyers that they're getting authentic signatures — not clever forgeries.

Gladstone took it to court last year. A customer agreed in 2006 to pay his Boca Raton, Fla.-based firm $14,900 for a copy of The Beatles' Revolver album that an expert in forensic document analysis who works with Gladstone certified as having been signed by Lennon, Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

Before the deal was complete, though, the customer asked an auction house to examine a scan of the album. It forwarded the scan to Frank Caiazzo, whose firm, The Beatles Autographs, sells and authenticates Fab Four signatures.

His verdict: The autographs were forgeries. The customer canceled the order, and Gladstone sued Caiazzo in a Florida Circuit Court for unfair trade practices and slander.

"I said to myself, either I'm going to get out of The Beatles business, or I'm going to have to go after this guy," Gladstone says. "If I don't protect my integrity, what do I have? Nothing."

He also says that there's a conflict when someone both sells and authenticates autographs.

Not true, says Caiazzo. He authenticates for competitors and auction houses, including Christie's. He says they call on him because he specializes in four signatures, while forensics experts often deal with lots of stars in entertainment, sports and politics.

What's more, he says, "Signed album covers are the rarest of the rare." Fans typically "had autograph books, napkins, scraps of paper and programs. They rarely had an album on hand to sign."

Siegel, for his part, says, "I've known Frank for a long time, and I trust his ability very much."

The court case has been delayed by a dispute over whether it belongs in Florida or New Jersey.

Meanwhile, Gladstone says he tries to ensure his collectibles are authentic by scoring them directly from stars and others close to them.

He says that he has deals with the estates of Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, and in April he cut one with Jefferson Airplane's Marty Balin. Now, he says, he's working on agreements with Tom Petty and Billy Joel.

Gladstone's customers, 70% of whom are men, consistently buy Beatles autographs. He says that his copy of Sgt. Pepper's signed by all four of The Beatles on the front — which collectors prefer — is worth $25,000. His latest catalog also is chock-full of albums autographed on the front by the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and Jim Morrison.

But Siegel expects as much as $75,000 for his copy of Please Please Me — The Beatles' first album, released in the U.K. in 1963 — and signed by the Fab Four and their manager, Brian Epstein.

Is there any market for memorabilia from female stars, such as Joni Mitchell, who's also a painter?

"Joni Mitchell's great, but she gives her paintings away," Gladstone says. "She won't sell out."

 

Yes. That was one he kept from his mega private record collection sale some years ago.

 

Obviously the signatures would create the value of the item, but it would also matter if it's a first pressing and what the sequential number is that is stamped on it.

I would guess that a real one (one that has been authenticated by a reputible source (i.e. Perry Cox)), would be worth $10,000 to $20,000. But that's a guess and would depend on condition, legibility of signatures etc.

On a related note, Perry Cox sold the 0000001 White Album on ebay a while back (no signatures). It fetched around $25,000.

 

Wonder what that's worth now ...

 

I think albums with all 4 authenticated sigs can go for almost 6 figures. The ones owned by Harrison's sister went for a lot of money (owing partly to the provenance).

Wasn't that the US #0000001? IIRC it was from the collection of the music exec who got that copy. Maybe I'm wrong but I can't see the UK #1 coming up for sale.

 

Wow, lots of great info, definitely gets intricate.

 

On the subject of the autographs signed by others. When Tony Bramwell was
at Beatlefest last He signed my copy of his book. He then signed the opposite
blank page with The Beatles autographs. John and Paul look real close and Ringo and George not real close. I guess I now know which ones he did in the 60s'.

 

Great article on rarity of Beatle autographs:

http://www.beatlesautographs.com/Background_Info.htm

 

There are 3 copies of 00000001.
One from each of the Capitol Records factories.

*0000001 is the one pressed by the L.A. factory
A0000001, is the one pressed by the Jacksonville, IL factory
No0000001 was pressed in Scanton, PA.

I had a chance to purchase No0000001 for $10,000 back in 1995 from Chris Fonville - who used to deal in Beatles Collectibles. He had puchased it from a former Queens Litho employee back at the 2nd or 3rd New York Beatlefest in the mid '70s. This guy came in with proofs, unused slicks (many Butcher slicks), original sealed Capitol lps, and all kinds of stuff.
Chris told me that he had originally paid $250.00 for that White Album.

 

I've seen 1--it's owned by a former Music Industry Executive that I met (I can't remember the guy's name at the moment) who quit the business and opened a food place in Gardenerville, Nevada about 15 years ago.

I can only assume it was genuine.

He had told me he had it personally autographed when he was affiliated with EMI at one point. He had it framed behind the counter on the wall. I suggested he might want to have it insured.

Never seen one since...

 

Here's a signed Pepper that sold for $80K:

http://www.fab4collectibles.com/AA080.htm

 

I would believe 98% of such instances to be fakes
(a White Album signed by all four? Please!)