The lowest-numbered sleeve from the Beatles' White Album will star in Heritage Auctions' August 10 Entertainment and Music Memorabilia Signature Auction in Dallas.
 The sleeve was never issued with a record inside, but this example will be sold with two EX7-graded records |
The sleeve is numbered A0000001 and is one of around two dozen such-numbered copies given out as early promotional items to the Beatles themselves and top Capitol Records executives. It is expected to sell for more than $20,000.
The lot follows Heritage's December 2012 sale of the White Album A0000023 for $13,750.
The sleeve has been graded MT10, making it the finest possible. Included is the original poster and four individual photographs, along with a set of two EX7-graded records, which are not original to the album.
Also included in the sale is a letter of authenticity from Clifford J Yamaski of Let It Be Record in San Francisco, which states:
"I purchased said copy from one of the above executives in the early 1970's. Said executive was head of the classical division at Capitol Records. The 'White Album' number A0000001 was shown at a Beatles Convention one time only. 'White Album' copies with this number A0000001 were never sealed with records or sold to the public."
 The sleeve was voted the most valuable and rarest in the world in Record Collector magazine |
Also starring is an ultra-rare sleeve from the Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, in which the faces of 40 Capitol Record executives are featured.
Produced for a record company party, there were only ever 40-50 of these ever made, earning it the title of the world's most valuable record cover in the December 2011 issue of Record Collector magazine. It has been given an estimate of $15,000+ by Heritage.
Paul Fraser Collectibles has an exceedingly rare signed copy of the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night for sale, of which just 8-10 autographed examples are known to exist.
