STRATFORD, Ont. — If you happened to be an elementary school student at Stratford Northwestern in 2006-07, you might want to look through your closet for that yearbook you tucked away somewhere.
The yearbook from that year, entitled Huskie Pups, was bid up to $1,700 on eBay as of Wednesday afternoon.
The reason? The yearbook not only has several photos of megastar Justin Bieber, who was in Grade 7 at the time, but it also has a personal autograph to the yearbook’s original owner.
Bieber’s class photo is in the book along with team photos from ping-pong, basketball, chess and soccer. There’s also an individual student photo and a candid photo taken in the school yard.
The item description says, “Yearbook with Justin Bieber signature before famous!!”
If the $1,700 figure is not stunning enough, consider that the deadline for bidding is still a week away.
The yearbook is just one of more than 16,000 Bieber-related items for sale on the online auction site.
Deb McNair, principal at Northwestern, was only somewhat surprised that the Huskies yearbook was an eBay item. Justin’s alma mater has become somewhat of a tourist destination.
“Justin played a concert in London a couple of weeks ago and the next day there was a steady stream of young women coming through the school,” said McNair. “They were from all over Canada and wanted to walk the halls, see his homeroom and get their picture taken in front of his locker.”
McNair said someone at the school remembered where Justin’s locker had been and that he had actually autographed it as a student. Much to her chagrin, one of the janitors had taken cleaner to it and erased the signature, greatly diminishing the value of the locker door.
And there are no extra copies of the yearbook around either.
“Nope, we don’t have any extra copies,” joked McNair. “I wish we did. We wouldn’t have to fundraise or sell oranges or chocolates.”
TORONTO SUN