A rare collection of photographs dating from the Beatles' 1964 US tour are to auction in Stockport, UK, on March 22 - exactly 50 years after the release of the band's very first album, Please Please Me. The previously unpublished colour images carry a £10,000-15,000 ($16,048-24,072) presale estimate, testament to the group's enduring popularity and collectibility. 

A rare colour portrait of John Lennon, taken during an early tour of the USA

The 65 colour slides are particularly unusual as they were taken during the early stages of the band's career, during a period in which colour film was much more expensive than black and white - an expense often thought unworthy of Liverpool's Fab Four at their outset.

Taken by Bob Beck, an esteemed inventor and research physicist who passed away in 2002, the images are offered from Beck's expansive collection, which until recently was housed in his home in the Hollywood hills. 

The collection includes images of the band both on and off stage, featuring group shots and portraits as well as snaps taken at a mansion party hosted by Alan Livingstone, then president of Capitol Records.

An early group shot of the be-suited band offers fans a glimpse of a relaxed, unposed moment

Items relating to the Beatles often put in strong performances at auction. The world's most valuable signed Beatles album brought $115,000 in 2006, while a leather jacket previously owned by George Harrison made $178,000 at Bonhams in December last year. A rare, reversed photograph of John, Paul, George and Ringo's iconic Abbey Road crossing sold with a 77% increase on its £9,000 ($14,449) top estimate for £16,000 ($25,157) in May 2012.

Here at Paul Fraser Collectibles we also have a wide range of museum grade Beatles memorabilia in stock, including this unique set of Beatles bed linen which was slept in by the band during the period in which Bob Beck's photographs were taken.  

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