0021 Stuart & Astrid

Today’s first bag contains a very interesting work package with a letter from Stuart Sutcliffe’s sister Pauline. In 1980’s she sold some of his archive to Liverpool Museum so perhaps the originals were part of the package.

Much has since been claimed and counter claimed about the lives of all the Beatles and Stuarts role as 5th member. Here he is for a formal portrait or perhaps the drawing room at home in Hamburg who knows. George and John are in the other image with Stuart who is certainly the more glamorous.

These negatives seem to be copies of prints that Yoshi photographed for her whilst visiting that she sent to him! The original photographs were almost certainly shot by Astrid Kirchherr who was Stuarts fiance’ at the time of his death age 21 in 1962. Her camerawork captured the most famous images of the band at this time.