Beatles Parlophone Poster, ca. 1962
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GUEST:
I got the poster actually dog and cat sitting for a lady. She had 20 cats and ten dogs.
APPRAISER:
Wow.
GUEST:
And she asked me if she could pay me in some Beatles memorabilia, because she knew I liked the Beatles. And she said she had no one in her family who was interested in them and that I would appreciate them. And so she went up in the attic and she pulled out a big box. It had some magazines, some records. And then she pulled out this poster which she said her dad got in England, she thought, in 1963, before they even came to America. And he just saw it in a window at a record store, and asked if he could buy it.
APPRAISER:
It's actually a point of purchase poster. So they would put it, like you said, in the window of a store to try to sell the Beatles albums. I think it's probably 1962.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Could be '63, but my guess is '62 on this. And it's not a concert poster.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
So, you know, concert posters obviously, on today's market, are extraordinarily valuable.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
This is more an advertising poster. It's got a wonderful image of the Beatles on it. When you look at these posters, you have to be very careful, because there's an enormous number of reproductions on posters like this out there. I looked very carefully at this one. I'm convinced that this is authentic. It does have some condition issues, which if you look down here, you can see a little bit of damage all around the edges.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
It can be easily restored.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
It's not a major thing for a good paper restorer. If you put a few hundred dollars into it, it may increase it twice as much as you're investing in the restoration.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So that's... you know, that's your decision to make. I personally like things left in the original condition. It's a great piece, and to any Beatles fan... I mean, I have to be very honest with you. I couldn't find another auction record on this particular poster.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
So I think it's quite scarce. I'm going to give you an auction estimate based on point of purchase, not a concert poster, condition value. And at auction I wouldn't hesitate to estimate this between $3,000 and $5,000.
GUEST:
Oh, wow.
APPRAISER:
Yeah. Excellent. I think that probably makes you the highest paid cat and dog sitter, probably, in America.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
It was a great payment. It's a wonderful piece, and I appreciate your bringing it down for the Roadshow.
GUEST:
Well, thank you very much.
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