Rare piece of Beatles history sells for triple the estimate

A brass Yale door key linked to Paul McCartney’s childhood home sold for triple its estimate at a UK auction, reaching £6,100. The key belonged to 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton, Liverpool, where the McCartney family lived from 1955 to 1963 and where Paul McCartney and John Lennon spent time writing and developing songs. The key’s trail began after Kathleen “Kathy” Salt, a 13-year-old Beatles fan in New York, wrote to the occupant at the address. Months later, Ashley T. Jones—who had moved into the house—sent her one of the two original keys, believed to be McCartney’s, with supporting letters and a photograph of the property. The same sale also included four Beatles autographs inscribed to “Kathy,” fetching £5,124 against an estimate of £3,000–£5,000.