The key to Paul McCartney's childhood has sold for £6,100 at an auction, much more than its original estimate.
The key was to the house at 20 Forthlin Road in Liverpool, where McCartney homed his skills on the trumpet, piano and guitar prior to his fame with the Beatles. He also spent a lot of his time in that house writing and developing music with John Lennon. They also made early home recordings with the Fab Four there.
McCartney lived in the house with his family from 1955 until 1963 prior to his rise to fame. It was built in 1949 and owned by the local authority, before the McCartney family moved into the property in 1955. He was in secondary school at the time.
At the time, Paul McCartney lived with his parents, Mary and Jim McCartney and his younger brother Mike. But sadly, Mary passed away a year after the family moved in. After the singer moved to London in 1963, his father moved out of the property a year later.
The house was then owned by Ashley and Shelia Jones, and were regularly visited from Beatles fans over the years.
The key came into the possession of Kathleen Salt, then a 13 year old Beatles fan, having written a letter addressed to the occupant.
In the end, the key was sold at UK auctioneers to a private collector, for £6,100, more than two or three times its pre sale estimate.
Accompanied with the key is a three page letter from the then occupant along with a period photograph of the house.
Kathleen Salt, whose maiden name was Duffy, received a three page handwritten reply from Ashley Jones, which explains that he had given two original keys to the property and believed the key was sending Kathy could have been Paul's.
Four Beatles autographs, which were each inscribed to 'Kathy' also went up for sale, as well as as a number of photographs and newsletter showing the frenzied Beatlemania and press coverage. These signatures were obtained by Kathleen's father, Frank Duffy, who had worked for the Beatles' security team during their first US tour in 1964.
One photograph shows the Beatles boarding the National Airlines aircraft, with Mr Duffy spotted behind John Lennon, while another shows late Beatles members, Lennon and George Harrison with Mr Duffy and DJ Murray, the K at the terminal prior to departure.
Overall, they sold for £5,124 to a private collector in the UK, having been estimated to sell for £3,000 and £5,000.
Speaking about this, the director at Dominic Winter Auctioneers, Chris Albury said: "The level of competition we saw today demonstrates that the Beatles’ popularity remains as strong as ever.
"What makes these particular pieces so extraordinary is the deeply personal links to the band and to the people and places that formed part of their story.
"The 20 Forthlin Road key is an example", he continued: "It has a remarkable provenance stretching back to 1965 and provides a tangible connection to Paul McCartney’s family home and to one of the most important addresses in Beatles history.
"To see it sell for £6,100, for three times its low estimate after such strong bidding was a fantastic result". (All quotes according to RTÉ).
