A compilation of ghost stories owned by a young Paul McCartney could make up to £700 at auction.
The book is signed by the Beatle aged about 18 who wrote his address in pinkish-purple ballpoint ‘Paul McCartney. 20 Forthlin Rd. L’pool 18. GAR 6922.’
The McCartney family home is considered “the birthplace of the Beatles” because it was where the band composed and rehearsed their earliest songs.
By the time Paul McCartney left the house in 1964, he had risen from an unknown Liverpool teen to one of the most recognisable and influential pop stars on the planet.
GAR 6922 refers to the house telephone number. A phoneline, a rarity in working-class areas in the 1950s, was installed because Paul’s mum Mary was a midwife.
The book, Ghost Stories, selected by John Hampden, was given to the current owner’s Liverpool-born mother who was a fan of the band and frequent visitor to the Cavern.
It has an estimate of £500-£700 at Hansons Auctioneers two-day sale at its Derby saleroom starting on December 11.
Several stories in the well-thumbed paperback are ticked on the contents page, including The Signalman by Charles Dickens.
Charles Hanson said: “When anything connected to the Fab Four appears for sale, it is always a hit and this book dates from a hugely significant period in McCartney’s life.
“At the time it was published in 1960 Paul would have been 18. He had just left the Liverpool Institute and was on the brink of fame.”
The McCartney family moved from Speke to 20 Forthlin Road, a post-war terraced council house, in 1955 when Paul was 13.
It was about a mile away from John Lennon’s childhood home at 251 Menlove Avenue.
The pair soon became inseparable music makers, writing and rehearsing at both homes.
But within a year of moving in Mary McCartney had died from breast cancer, leaving husband Jim to raise 14-year-old Paul and 12-year-old Mike alone.
In 1964 the family left Forthlin Road to avoid attention. With hits such as Please Please Me and She Loves You sparking early Beatlemania, fans had already started to deluge the family home.
Charles continued: “Paul was able to buy his dad a new property in Heswall in the more upmarket Wirral. Forthlin Road’s transformation from working-class home to rock-history shrine reflects just how rapid and dramatic The Beatles’ rise was.”
Today the house is a National Trust property, preserved to look much as it did when McCartney lived there.
Auction Details
Auction: The Derbyshire Two-Day Christmas Fine Jewels & Decorative Arts and Antiques Auction
Auction date: 11th-12th December 2025 | 9:30am
Location: Hansons’ Derbyshire Saleroom
Auction contact: [email protected]
Catalogue/bidding: www.hansonslive.co.uk | www.the-saleroom.com
