Beatles Archive

New York Red · January 8, 2019

So today was a day that I won't forget in a very long time, if ever.

I was randomly contacted by a friend about a private Beatles archive and whether I knew someone who would want to buy it and kept together in perpetuity. He wanted to know if I knew someone who could take care of it, value it, and get it to people who would keep it together. I have a friend who can do just that, but between the two of us we knew people who would have a huge interest in doing the right thing for the collection.

It is the private collection of the sister of Stuart Sutcliffe; the fifth Beatle. Pauline Sutcliffe, an absolutely lovely and charming elderly woman. The collection, to be honest, was astonishing. It was Sutcliffe's archive from school, to Art Institute, to early Beatles, to Hamburg, to his relationship with "Astrid", and his personal correspondence with his family and John Lennon in particular. There were photographs, note books, exercise books, sketches, and MASSES of awesome art work. You'd want this art in any museum or gallery.

The private letters between him and Lennon were amazing, but I'd promised Pauline to not divulge the content presently. But the things that really stunned me out of the blue was the fact that Sutcliffe was the brainchild behind the Beatles. After a while, his correspondence referred to himself as being their manager as well as being a bandmate. But there were also sketches and descriptions of the outfits that he thought they should craft and wear (like the collarless tunics), winkle pickers etc, as well as sketches of the hairstyles that they should wear as inspired by Astrid (Klaus Voorman's girlfriend who became Stu's girlfriend).

auline was absolutely

I can honestly say that today was one I'll never forget. I've never been around true, groundbreaking history like this. My friend estimated that the whole archive and art collection could be worth millions and I can totally see it. The art alone was breathtaking. The one piece was signed "Stuart" with two question marks under it put there by Lennon. The incredible stuff just went on and on. We could have been there for weeks and not have gotten though it all.

Ed the Wool · January 8, 2019

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