Beatles artwork up for auction

Jun 18 2007 by Paula Owens, Liverpool Daily Post

AFTER lying forgotten in its artist’s attic for 42 years, original artwork used by the Beatles on their 1965 Rubber Soul album is expected to fetch around £10,000 at auction this week.

The Beatles’ photo-grapher, Bob Freeman, approached little-known London art director Charles Front and asked him to create artwork for a new sleeve.

Front designed the album’s iconic bubble-shaped lettering, heralding a style that became a staple of poster art.

The lettering will be auctioned on Wednesday at Bonhams in London with a guide price of £10,000.

Mr Front, now retired, said: “To me it was just another piece I’d done and I had put it all away and forgotten about it.

“When I took it down to Bonhams, I went on the underground with it in a carrier bag. When I came back after discovering its value I was absolutely clutching it in a case.”

He denied that the typography was, as claimed by many, induced by psychedelic drugs.

He said: “Whether the Beatles were into LSD or not I don’t know, but I certainly wasn’t.”

FORMER Beatle Sir Paul McCartney is no longer 64 – he turns 65 today.