Sir Peter Blake's original artwork for the insert from the Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album has sold for £55,250 ($87,725).
 Blake's Sgt Pepper collage insert made £55,250 |
Blake produced the work for the 1967 album in addition to his more famous front cover.
The collage, which had arrived at Sotheby's Modern & Post-War British Art auction in London with an estimate of £50,000-80,000, came from the collection of British Library architect Colin St John "Sandy" Wilson, whose wife received it from Blake in the 1960s.
James Rawlin, Sotheby's senior specialist on modern British paintings, commented: "Sir Peter Blake's collage is a tangible slice of rock history.
"Sgt Pepper had a huge impact on the cultural landscape. It was the first concept album, when music, story, image and studio expertise all came together.
"In this work we witness the creation of the eponymous Sgt Pepper himself, with his familiar accoutrements of moustache and sergeant's stripes, originally intended for fans to cut out and keep."
Items associated with the band's much loved album cover have also historically performed well at auction.
The Beatles' waxwork heads used on the cover sold for £70,000 ($113,465) in 2005, while the drumskin realised £541,250 ($1.1m) in 2008.
View our range of Beatles memorabilia here, including this highly unusual item.
 18 years later, Blake’s collage was finally ready |
The auction also featured Blake's Roxy Roxy collage, which sold for £163,250 ($258,725). Also from the collection of Sandy Wilson, he originally bought the work for £300 in 1965, although Blake only finally delivered the piece in 1983, following 18 years of revisions.
