For one man a worn-looking suitcase turned out be much more thanhe bargained for.
Fraser Claughton was vacationing in Australia and was shoppingat a flea market when he noticed a suitcase for sale.
“It was like finding the end of the rainbow in Australia,”Claughton told The Times newspaper of London. “I spotted one tattyold suitcase, which frankly I wouldn’t have given house room, butwhen I picked it up there was something in it.”
Claughton found what is believed to be the legendary “Mal Evansarchive” of Beatles memorabilia.
According to CNN, Evans was a roadie and friend of the Beatles.He was killed in a shoot-out with police in 1976 after hebrandished a fake gun. The suitcase was lost during the policeinvestigation.
The suitcase contains photographs, concert programs andunreleased recordings of John Lennon and Paul McCartney onalternative versions of “We Can Work It Out” and “Cry Baby Cry” andother previously unreleased recordings.
According to The Times, Claughton only paid $36 forsuitcase.
But many other collectors might pay more for their Beatlesmemorabilia.
Gary Zimet, curator of the Web site momentsintime.com currentlyis selling the last two items John Lennon is believed to havesigned.
Zimet is asking $75,000 for the autograph given to the soundengineer who was working with him in the studio immediately beforehis death in 1980.
Zimet has been selling memorabilia for the last 20 years. He hassold everything from Civil War memorabilia to signed NormanRockwell posters.
“I sold a six page letter from John Lennon to Paul McCartneyabout the break up of the band for $92,0000 at least eight or nineyears ago,” Zimet said.
Zimet said most people are not interested in all musicmemorabilia. The Beatles’ icon status makes their memorabilia moreof a find.
Zimet places many of the items he sells on eBay to direct peopleto his site.
“eBay has done more for publicity purposes than anything else,”Zimet said. “Expensive material doesn’t really sell on eBay. eBayis for bottom feeders.”
Those hunting for music memorabilia in Baton Rouge might have amore difficult time than those in other areas.
Marsha Rish, owner of the Honeymoon Bungalow on GovernmentStreet said the store offers a good selection of records but has ahard time obtaining music memorabilia.
“That stuff is really hard to find down South,” Rish said. “Topartists performed in much bigger cities on the West Coast and theEast Coast so a lot of the memorabilia that would have beenpurchased or gotten through concerts is not found here.”
Rish said the Bungalow has had a difficult time findingmerchandise that was in the price range and of the quality thestore tries to keep.
Rish said people love the Beatles because of their impact onpopular culture.
“They impacted the entire world and people instinctively want togobble that up,” Rish said. “If we can’t be there right besidethem, we want to purchase something that relates to them.”