Beatles ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Collage Sells for $87K at Auction
It's not just the Beatles' albums that can be incredibly valuable, but also some of the artwork associated with them. The original collage that was reproduced and included in copies of their 1967 classic 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' record has sold for $87,720 on Tuesday (Nov. 13).
The piece, which was designed by Peter Blake, was sold to an unnamed bidder as part of an auction of modern British art at Sotheby's in London. It had previously belonged to noted British architect Colin St. John Wilson, whose widow, Mary Jane Long, received it from Blake in 1968 as a gift.
Blake's collage, with its cutout badges and mustache, is almost as much a part of the iconography of 'Sgt. Pepper' as Blake's famous cover of the band's costumes. It helped sell the album's concept by giving a face to the fictional character of Sgt. Pepper.
The selling price of £55,250 ($87,720), while still considerable, is on the low side of the equation. When listed last month, the collage was expected to fetch between £50,000 (approximately $80,000) and £80,000 ($130,000).