A RECORD sleeve on which an air hostess collected the autographs of all four Beatles is up for auction.

Auctioneers estimate the EP cover should raise £400-£500 when it goes under the hammer on Saturday.

The auction comes a month ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ first performances in Bournemouth.

Claire Chalkley of Ringwood Auctions said the estimated price reflected the fact that the auction house could not guarantee the authenticity of the signatures.

But it had received the sleeve from the family of the original owner.

“It came from an air hostess who met them. She said they were travelling on her flight and she had it with her,” she said.

The sleeve is to the four-song EP titled The Beatles Hits, released in 1963. The record brought together three of the Fab Four’s hit singles up to that point – From Me To You, Please Please Me and Love Me Do – along with Thank You Girl, which had been the B-side of From Me To You. The sleeve up for auction at Ringwood no longer contains the original record.

Claire said it was the first time the auction house had seen a collection of Beatles autographs.

“It’s the first time we’ve seen any of them here, let alone all four together,” she added.

The record sleeve will be available for viewing on Friday, July 19, 10am-7pm, and before the auction which takes place on Saturday at 10am.

The Beatles played two shows a night for six nights at the Gaumont in Bournemouth – now the Odeon cinema – in August 1963.

That November, they were at the Winter Gardens, where American TV crews filmed the wild reaction of the crowds.

In the 14 months from August 1963 to October 1964, the Beatles played more shows at the Gaumont than at any other concert venue in the UK outside London.