Signed Beatles album cover auctioned

12/26/2006 8:37 PM, AP


An album cover signed by all four Beatles as a gift for George Harrison's sister has sold at auction for more than $115,000.

The sale, to an unidentified buyer, was believed to set a record price for a signed Beatles album purchased at a public sale, said Mark Zakarin, president of the online auction company ItsOnlyRockNRoll.com. The exact price, with the buyer's commission, was $115,228.82.

Bidding began at $25,000. The copy of "Meet The Beatles," the band's first U.S. release on Capitol Records, was put up for sale by Harrison's sister, Louise. The sale was held Friday.

Harrison wrote above his signature: "To Lou with love from `Brother'!!" John Lennon's inscription read, "To Lou many love from John Lennon X." Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr expressed similar feelings when all four signed the album cover while aboard a train to Washington for a 1964 concert.