The Beatles' first ever recording contract, signed in Hamburg in 1961, has sold for $93,750 at Heritage Auctions.
The lot led an entertainment and music memorabilia auction in New York on September 20.
 The Beatles recorded a track titled My Bonnie with Tony Sheridan in Hamburg |
It was drawn up for the release of My Bonnie, a record the band made with rocker Tony Sheridan under the moniker "Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers".
The auction house explained in the run-up to the sale: "This extraordinary contract is one of the most important Beatles documents ever to be offered at auction - and perhaps the most historically important Beatles document in existence.
"Here is the very first recording contract signed by the group in June 1961, for the session which produced the 'My Bonnie' single release.
"That recording would lead the still-struggling Beatles to Brian Epstein, through whose management they would achieve unprecedented worldwide success."
The original contract the band signed with Brian Epstein in 1962 is to auction at Sotheby's in November.
Other highlights of the sale included a sign from John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Bed-In for Peace, which sold for $75,000.
It reads "MURRAY THE K COMES ON MONDAY", a reference to radio DJ Murray "The K" Kaufmann. The line appears in Lennon's song Get it Together.
Click here to check out our range of Beatles memorabilia for sale.
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