The front page of a newspaper signed by John Lennon who forged the other three Beatles' autographs has gone under the hammer for £2,000 – but there's a Northwich connection at the heart of the unusual lot.
The black and white photo plastered over the cover of the 1963 edition of trade paper Alkali News shows the Fab Four crowning the town's very own Carnival Queen that summer at Northwich Memorial Hall.
It was taken by the late photographer Les Goode, who sent it off to be signed by the iconic rock band.
But Lennon, who earned a reputation as the foursome's joker, signed his own name and faked the others' after writing 'All the best from the Beatles'.
The lot was sold at Adam Partridge Auctioneers and Valuers in Liverpool on Thursday (January 5).
Despite the forgery – or perhaps because of it – the auction house believes it is worth about the same price as if the other signatures were genuine.
A spokesman said: "Les Goode was a photographer from the mid-Cheshire area and and the lot was consigned by his widow.
"They both assumed the autographs were genuine but they have been verified as being carried out by the same hand – that of John Lennon.
"He was a bit of a joker of the band so this could have been him just messing about.
"But something like this is quite a rare thing to come across so the value isn't too far off what a set of four Beatles' signatures would be worth anyway.
"The photograph was taken in July 1963. This was early on in the career of the band which is evidenced by the fact they were the VIPs at the crowning ceremony for the Northwich Carnival Queen.
"It wasn't that long afterwards that John, Paul, George and Ringo became music royalty."
