A recently uncovered collection of rare and intimate images of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones has been made available to purchase via eBay.
The photographs were taken by Bob Bonis, who served as US tour manager for both bands from 1964 to 1966. Included in the archive are shots from a never-before-seen Rolling Stones recording session at Chess Records Studio in Chicago, plus what are said to be the only close up photos of The Beatles taken during their 1965 stadium performance in Minnesota.
The photographs will be made available to purchase over the next two years in limited edition prints beginning at $175 (£116). Once an edition sells out, it will never be reprinted.
“eBay connects shoppers to the things they love, and The Beatles and The Rolling Stones are unequivocally two of the most revered rock bands of all time,” said Gene Cook, General Manager of Emerging Verticals for eBay Marketplaces. “Bringing the Bob Bonis Archives to eBay makes this incredible inventory available to our global community of 155 million buyers. These images offer a remarkable backstage pass to truly amazing, very human moments.”
Just last November, unused photos from The Beatles’ Abbey Road photo shoot were sold for £180,000 at Bloomsbury Auctions in London. The shots were taken on August 8, 1969 by photographer Iain Macmillan, who had only 10 minutes to complete the entire shoot. Six photos were taken in all, including the photo that eventually made the final cut, as well as a scenery shot of the Abbey Road sign.