It would be worth a tidy sum, according to Helen Hall who has just set up a pop memorabilia consultancy in the city.

"The Beatles played seven times in Sheffield and I have seen flyers for some of the shows but never a concert poster for any of the gigs," she says. "Perhaps someone has one tucked away somewhere. I would love it if they did, not just because it would make money but it is part of Sheffield's music heritage."

Before moving to Sheffield a few weeks ago, Helen Hall was head of popular culture at Christie's auction house for whom she worked in London and New York, drawn originally by an interest in antiques.

"I come from Jersey and had a Saturday job working for a furniture antiques firm and that was my first interest," she explains. "I did a post-graduate course and got a temporary job at Christie's which happened to be in their entertainment memorabilia department.

"I spent my first week watching James Bond films for research and thought this is kind of interesting so I became a specialist in that area. I worked in London for six years and then went to New York to head up their office over there. A lot of buyers are in the States and there are some important collections. I was working on the Marlon Brando estate for a couple of years, digging around in the bunker in his garden."

Eventually she returned to London but after the birth of a daughter Ruby a year ago she and husband Ben decided they had had enough of life in the capital. Ben's home city of Sheffield was a logical place to move to.

"I was toying with the idea of setting up my own company and Sheffield was a good place to do that," she says.

"Rock memorabilia is my personal interest and it is flourishing. Over the past six to eight years it has gone from strength to strength while the film market has peaked."

The reason for this, she suggests, is that it was the stars of the 1930s and 40s who attracted the prime group of collectors in their 30s and 40s. The generation that has succeeded them aren't familiar with the great days of cinema and have grown up on rock and roll.

The kind of memorabilia which is most saleable are autographed photos and albums, clothing worn on stage, or someone's instrument. Kirk Cubain's guitar went for £100,000.

Anything to do with Nirvana has become pretty hot, apparently, joining the predictable leaders in the market – the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, specifically the Brian Jones era, The Doors and Bob Dylan.

The Beatles remain No 1 and last July the drum from the Sgt Pepper album passed through Hall's hands at Christie's and fetched £520,000.

Now she has launched her own company which on the one hand will help people who want to buy rock memorabilia and advise others who have an item to sell with guidance on valuation and the best route to find a buyer.

"People buy things off eBay and don't do the research.

Many are coming back to traditional auction houses because they realise anyone can put things on eBay that may not be what they say they are," says Hall.

"But generally people are afraid of big auction houses and I can help them get the best deal and sometimes find them a private buyer. And I will be offering free valuations and appraisals for insurance purposes for those who want to hold on to what they have got.

"Rock memorabilia is where my interest lies and something I am passionate about," she says while admitting it is a predominantly male market with 90% of buyers men. She did once start collecting psychedelic handbills from San Francisco but they got stolen, so that was the end of that.

Collecting is a boy thing, then, and she gets satisfaction from another aspect. "I love doing the research – and there is a lot of detective work involved in what I do.

"Just occasionally someone will come through with an artefact relating to something no-one knew had happened. That's one of the most exciting aspects, thinking about Sheffield, helping to document the city's musical heritage, even if it's something like a signature on a restaurant menu."

Details of how to contact Helen Hall can be found on www.helen-hall.com

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