A Cheshire auction house is to sell a collection of previously unseen Beatles photographs from the set of A Hard Day's Night.
The photographs show the band on the set of their first film, a mockumentary which achieved critical acclaim and resulted in their third studio album of the same name. The complete set contains 20 black and white snaps of the group at the Scala Theatre in London.
 Paul Fraser Collectibles' signed Beatles album cover |
The photographs have never been seen before, largely due to their consignor not realising their worth.
Peter Allchorne, who worked at Pinewood Studios, took the photos apparently oblivious to the band's rise to super-stardom.
"He was not particularly star-struck, they were just four lads in a band, it didn't really hit him," Mr Allchorne's daughter, Jacqueline Griffin commented. "He's never held any value on them because he was not into the Beatles; he was just working on the films."
Taking photographs was strictly prohibited by the group's record company, in order to prevent any material from being leaked. However, as props manager, Mr Allchorne was left to his own devices.
While most of the photos show the band with their equipment, a few of the shots capture the group off-guard. One image of Ringo Starr shows him standing on bricks, which were used to make him taller for the cameras.
Also in the auction is a menu card from a flight the Beatles took with Mr Allchorne to the Bahamas, for the filming of Help!. This item, signed by each of the members of the band with the misspelling "Beattles" is expected to draw strong interest from fans.
The entire collection will be sold on May 19, 2012 with an estimate of £10,000 ($16,081). Paul Fraser Collectibles expects the photographs to exceed expectations, with their loyal fans still as devoted to the band as they were in the 1960s. 46 unpublished photos of the Beatles' first visit to the US in 1964 achieved $362,000 against a $100,000 estimate at Christie's in July 2011, including one snap which sold for $68,500.
Paul Fraser Collectibles has an excellent range of Beatles memorabilia in stock, each with great provenance. This signed A Hard Day's Night album cover is one of only 8-10 known to exist.
