Unseen John Lennon images revealed at The Beatles Story Published duration 26 October 2017

image copyright The Beatles Story image caption The negatives date from around the time Lennon released his third single, Instant Karma

A set of unseen images of John Lennon, which were in a "junk drawer" for over 30 years because they were thought to have no value, have been unveiled.

The 26 negatives, dating from 1970, were brought to a valuation day at Liverpool's The Beatles Story museum.

Their owner said his late father may have come by them while studying art in the 1970s.

The "intimate portraits" were "a rare find" and could be worth £10,000, auctioneer Darren Julien said.

He added that it was "not often when you find images of John Lennon that have never before been seen by the public".

The museum's marketing manager Diane Glover said their owner, who wanted to remain anonymous, had found them among his late father's possessions.

He told museum staff they had been put in the drawer for at least 34 years, because they were thought to have no value.

image copyright The Beatles Story image caption The negatives capture Lennon in a number of poses

image caption They resemble those taken at the BBC in February 1970, when Lennon was on Top of the Pops

The negatives, which date from February 1970, capture Lennon at a pivotal point in his career - The Beatles were breaking up and he had recently released his third single, Instant Karma.

It became the first solo single by a member of the iconic rock band to sell more than a million copies in America.

Ms Glover said the negatives and images taken from them would be on display at the attraction from November, before being auctioned in 2018.

She added that the valuation day had also uncovered a signed Beatles Christmas Show programme from a concert in Bradford in 1963, which was valued at £8,000, and a signed John Lennon postcard, which was estimated to be worth £5,000.

image copyright The Beatles Story image caption A signed postcard from john Lennon was also discovered at the valuation day