Rehearsals and recording sessions for the 'Let It Be' album had initially taken place in January, 1969 at Twickenham Film Studios. Ethan Russell, a photographer whom the Beatles knew, was invited to the sessions to take photos. His photographs ended up on the cover and gatefold of the LP. He was also invited to Tittenhurst Park, home of John and Yoko at the time, to take pictures of the band there. It would end up being their final photo shoot as a group.

After the sessions, Apple Corps told Ethan that they would retain ownership of the photos. This was unusual because photographers typically keep ownership rights and lease them to the appropriate parties. Apparently, after much negotiation (and probably a big fat check), Ethan caved and surrendered the rights to Apple Corps who, in turn, never let most of the photos see the light of day.

One such photo is of the Beatles in the studio at Twickenham. It is somewhat unique because it shows John and Paul smiling at each other during a time that the members were not getting along well. Although Apple never formally released it, Ethan had a single copy printed and framed as a gift for a close friend. He also signed it for him. That photo can be seen at the bottom of the article in the link below and is referenced as a "never-before-seen photo."

http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2012/06/16/ethan-russells-an-american-story-rolling-stones-beatles-jim-morrison-photos.html

The signed photo Ethan gave to his friend now resides on the wall of my music room. To be clear, it ended up there by accident. I purchased it from a third party knowing nothing of its rarity. After doing some post-purchase research, I noticed it was very difficult to find any reference to it. So I contacted Ethan's office in NYC and he responded himself (apparently he is alive and well). He confirmed that it was the only existing signed copy but could not provide me with a certificate of authenticity because it was never authorized to be sold in the first place. It's not worth a lot of money necessarily but I prize it dearly because of the back story.

I will be traveling to NYC in either February or March. If he will agree to it, I would like to meet Ethan Russell and ask if he would agree to a photograph with me, him and the photo (I would ship it there just for that reason). That would be a great memento and essentially provide me with something better than a certificate of authenticity.

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