Ringo Starr Auctioning Off Copy No. 0000001 Of Beatles’ White Album

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Are you a Beatles fan with somewhere between $40,000 to $60,000 to spend on yourself this holiday season? You are! What a coincidence, because Beatles drummer Ringo Starr has a record he’d like to sell you. Julien’s Auctions has a listing for copy “No. 0000001” of the classic 1968 double LP. As the auction house clarifies, that doesn’t mean the vinyl discs inside are the absolute first pressings of the album. But it does indicate that this was definitely the first sleeve printed, making it the first completed package of the White Album to be produced. “Both discs were pressed from the very first Masters as indicated by the -1 matrix numbers on all four sides,” reads the listing. “The records are contained in their original black inner sleeves and feature ‘Factory Sample Not For Sale’ labels on the whole apple side of disc 1 and on the cut apple side of disc 2. All labels feature the ‘Sold in UK.’ text but omit the ‘An EMI Recording’ text found on later editions. Together with the four original UK portrait photos and UK lyric poster, both in mint condition.” Nos. 0000001 through 0000004 were given out to the four members of the band, and it had long been believed that this copy had ended up in the hands of John Lennon. But Julien’s says that it was Starr who scored this coveted piece of music history, and that the drummer has kept it sealed up in a vault for more than 25 years. The price estimate of $40,000 to $60,000 is based in part on the $30,000 sale price for copy No. 0000005 in 2008. As The Guardian notes, the White Album is just one of dozens of items Starr has put up for auction to benefit his charitable Lotus Foundation. If the White Album’s presumed price tag is too high for you, perhaps you could bid on Ringo’s suit from the film A Hard Day’s Night. That’s only expected to go for around $20,000.

1. by Chris Morran
2. via Consumerist

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