Mint Condition factory-sealed Beatles ‘Butcher Cover’ mono LP could bring record price at Heritage Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Holly artifacts highlight Feb. 18-19 Music & Entertainment event at Heritage Auctions in Beverly Hills
News-Antique.com - Jan 31,2011 - BEVERLY HILLS, CA – A factory-sealed First State copy of The Beatles’ famously banned “Butcher Cover” mono LP , Yesterday and Today, without a doubt the Holy Grail of vinyl, is expected to bring $30,000+ when it comes up as part of Heritage Auctions Feb. 18-19 Signature® Music & Entertainment Auction.
“There are likely less than 25 sealed copies of this record in existence,” said Garry Shrum, Consignment Director for Music & Entertainment Auctions at Heritage, “and that’s probably a generous estimate. More than that, we’ve never seen a copy in such great condition, and we sold a ‘Livingston Copy’ of the ‘Butcher Cover’ in 2006 for more than $38,000. That price is, to date, the highest amount ever realized for a piece of wide release, non-autographed vinyl. This may well exceed that.”
Many serious collectors of Fab Four memorabilia have diligently searched for even a tattered copy of this rarity, which was pulled from record store shelves in the US almost immediately after its release in 1966, ordered to be destroyed and replaced by the more subdued "Trunk Cover" version. Millions bought the second version, but few managed a copy of the infamous original, let alone one that remained sealed.
“This ‘Butcher Cover’ is rare enough in and of itself in good condition,” said Shrum, “but to have it sealed is mind-boggling. Who has ever bought a Beatles record and not opened it?”
The Entertainment section of the auction features the red-and-white striped thermal underwear worn by Marilyn Monroe, most likely in between takes on set while filming 1956’s Bus Stop in Idaho (estimate: $5,000+), which appear alongside Don Murray's screen-worn costume coat from Bus Stop (estimate: $3,000+). The thermals and the coat were both selected by wardrobe master Ed Wynigear (Viva Zapata!, Les Miserables, King of the Khyber Rifles), from whose estate these, along with many other pieces in the auction, originate.
A Black Star Sapphire ring once owned and worn by Elvis Presley will offer a glittering enticement to an advanced rock music collector as it becomes the latest piece of the King’s jewelry to come up for auction. The 14k gold ring was worn by Elvis in the 1970s and later given as a gift to his tour promoter, Tom Hulett, and is expected to bring $15,000+. Rock and Roll royalty is further represented by a very rare Buddy Holly-signed Royal Theatre Contract from 1957 for a weeklong series of performances at the Royal Theatre in Baltimore. It carries a pre-auction estimate of $15,000+.
An intriguing and rare single-owner set of Beatles autographs from Aug. 23, 1964, obtained by an Air France employee when the band arrived in Los Angeles from London for their Aug. 23 concert at the Hollywood Bowl is expected to bring $10,000+ when it comes on the block. Autographs by the entire band, on a single sheet, are highly sought-after as the band, by 1964, was not signing many autographs at all, and had stopped signing autographs altogether by 1969.
