A 1963 letter from Beatle George Harrison to friend and photographer Astrid Kirchherr realised £18,750 ($24,299) at Bonhams London yesterday.
Kirchherr met the band during their residency in Hamburg (1960-1962).
George Harrison stayed in touch with Astrid Kirchherr
She and the band’s original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe fell in love and were engaged in November 1960.
Sadly Sutcliffe died suddenly of a brain haemorrhage in April 1962, at the age of 22.
The Beatles remained in touch with Kirchherr as their career began to take off.
She was particularly close with Harrison, who in this letter writes to request some photographs that she took in Hamburg.
It dates to August 1963, soon after the release of Please Please Me.
While the band was already doing very well, Harrison clearly has no idea what is about to hit him.
It reads (in part): “Could you look through your photographs and find some - or all of the photos that have The Beatles either all together or separately…
“and then if you felt in a HAPPY ASTRID MOOD, do you think you could either give or lend them to me...
“You know that Paul and John are going to be very rich soon, when they collect the money they have made by writing all those songs, and I don't think that you would like to see me poor and hungry, so I have decided to make a book.
“…I hope to sell it to all the nice people and then I can buy food with the money...Can't I?”
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