“The sale coincided with quite a lot of financial announcements about the stock market and I think this had a considerable effect on buyers’ confidence,” he said. “We had a large number of bread-and butter entries and properties that would normally sell.” Film-related material was one of the hardest hit areas. As a result, the sale was only 49 per cent sold by lot and totalled £63,435.
Demand was more constant for rock and roll memorabilia from such classic artists as The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix. The biggest money was reserved for a Jimi Hendrix Experience poster for Zurich’s Hallenstadion stadium in Switzerland, May 30 and 31, 1968 – two years before the death of this inspired guitarist.
Also billed on this rare silkscreened poster that had been taped to the private vendor’s wall were Eric Burdon and The Animals, the Traffic [sic], Steve Windwood, The Move and the Cream [sic].
In good condition, it was pursued by collectors to £3600. As ever, The Beatles memorabilia elicited some of the most solid bidding and 70 per cent of the 83 entries sold. “[Beatles material] has always been the main foundation on which to base a rock and roll sale. It will bring in the buyers to the sale,” said Toby Wilson.
A misspelt credit on a demonstration single, Love Me Do/
P.S. I Love You, Parlophone 1962, reading Lennon – McCartney helped
curry interest in this early Beatles lot, which fetched £1600, while
autographs of all four musicians signed on two separate pieces of paper brought £2200 from a collector.
Hendrix still top of the pops
Unfortunate timing, rather than the quality of entries or the state of the collectors’ market, was to blame for patchy interest and selective bidding in Bonham’s (17.5/10% buyer’s premium) 582-lot Entertainment sale on July 24, according to specialist Toby Wilson.
