SI20. A Signed “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” Inner Sleeve

Over the past 44 years, The Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" has been written about and commented on perhaps more than any album in pop music history. There’s little more to be said about the revered, groundbreaking 1967 LP. It sits supremely atop the hierarchy of virtually every generation of recorded music in the 20th century, lauded as one of the most important recordings ever made. Its stature has long been recognized by Beatles fans and collectors — and collectibles related to “Sgt. Pepper” are among the most sought-after in the hobby.

This stunning signed original LP inner sleeve to the landmark release has been signed and inscribed in black felt tip pen in its year of release by all four members of The Beatles. The background of this piece is not known, however. In the early days of Beatles auctions (1980s and 1990s), there were many beautiful, authentic Beatles signature sets that had little or no background history. They were sold for what they were. Today, many auction houses work tirelessly to secure a history behind each piece they sell. While it’s true that every signed piece has a story to tell, the fact remains that many of these stories are lost to time.

The signatures on this “Pepper” inner sleeve date to 1967. The vast majority of autographs from that year were signed during the filming of the “Magical Mystery Tour” television special as the bus toured the English countryside and stopped in the towns along the route. It’s quite possible that this was signed then - the signatures match up precisely with this time frame - but there is unfortunately no way to verify that they were from this 2 week period in September. Suffice to say that full Beatles signature sets from 1967 are becoming increasingly scarcer and harder to find as fewer and fewer are coming into light. There has only been roughly a handful in the past couple of years.

The set presented here is a beauty, with each of the four signatures a textbook example. You just can’t get better than this for the quality and completeness of the signatures, which are fairly large as well, with John’s measuring 4 inches in length. Three of the four Beatles have autographed with inscriptions: “love from Paul McCartney”, “Love Ringo Starr” (followed by three X’s/kisses) and “To Dottie Wood love John Lennon” (followed by a single “X”/kiss). George Harrison has simply signed his name. Signing with kisses was commonplace in 1962-63 when the group had friendships and close interaction with their fans. After 1964, this practice all but disappeared, making the appearance of “kisses” from Ringo and John in 1967 an uncommon sight. The inner sleeve design created by The Fool in the psychedelic style so prevalent in the “Summer of Love” provides the perfect background for this set, capturing the essence of that mind-expanding period when music, fashion and ideas were at their most expressive.

Vintage, fully-signed “Sgt. Pepper” LP covers can command in excess of six figures. This fully-signed inner sleeve, the ONLY one which has surfaced to date, is a top-notch investment piece and could very well be the closest most collectors will ever get to owning a signed “Sgt. Pepper”. Here is a chance to own a piece of pop music history — at a far more affordable price than a signed cover.....$60,000

^ Return To Top ^