CONCERT PROGRAMS
Beatles Autographs

    Signed concert programs for live performances by The Beatles were often sold at the venues. They contained photographs and a bio page of the group along with other acts who were also on the bill. They sometimes also included advertising by local merchants. Before the band's popularity rose to dizzying heights, The Beatles would actually stay behind after a show and sign for fans, who were mostly female. Without question, female fans were the major purchasers for concert memorabilia. It made perfect sense that the majority of the items being signed were the show programs (or programmes, the proper British spelling). Many of these programs unsigned are worth quite a bit of money to collectors, particularly those for 3, 2 or even 1 performance in a given city. For example, on March 8, 1963, The Beatles played at The Royal Hall in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England. For this one day only show, a program was printed which is worth approximately $1000. in mint condition unsigned. About 10 of these have turned up which have been fully signed by all of The Beatles. As with the majority of signed material, most programs were signed by The Beatles in 1963, their most fertile signing year because they were far more publicly accessible throughout the first three quarters of the year. The generic American programs for their U.S. tours were printed by Raydell Publishing in New York City and were available at shows across North America. Although more common unsigned than most other programs from around the world, they are among the scarcest to find signed. In fact. very few autographed examples of these have turned up at all because they simply did not sign that many US tour programs due to extremely heightened security. Signed tour programs are quite special as they represent an historic collectible from a specific and in most cases very direct encounter with The Beatles. Indeed, the magic of a live performance by the world's greatest band combined with the intimate experience of acquiring their autographs was the ultimate Fab Four dream.

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CP2.   A “Beatles (USA) Ltd” 1964 U.S. Tour Program Signed By The Beatles

Seven months after their first historic visit to America, The Beatles made a return visit in September of 1964 and embarked upon their first full-fledged tour of the United States.  They played 32 shows in 24 cities between August 19 and September 20. Among these was the fabled show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.  Here is a program from that first North American tour which has been signed beautifully by The Beatles on the first right-hand inside page.  Each member has signed in dark blue ballpoint pen directly above his respective image. The signatures were originally obtained by Mr. Raymond Lussa, the owner of the New York based company Souvenir Publishing, which published Beatles promotional materials and fan magazines, as well as this program.  Lussa had The Beatles sign this program for him. He then gave it to a 10- year-old girl named Vicky, the daughter of his next-door neighbor. It was signed while The Beatles were in New York to play two consecutive days at The Forest Hills Tennis Stadium

(August 28th and 29^th).  The program, which measures 12” x 12”, is in very good condition overall, with some minor scuffing and wear to the front and back cover.  The signed page is flawless and all signatures are bold, complete and excellent examples from their all-important breakthrough year of 1964.  Very few of these Beatles (USA) Ltd. 1964 programs were signed by The Beatles because it was virtually impossible for fans to get to them either before or after a performance once they arrived in America.  This was quite a turnaround from just a year earlier, when they were still fairly accessible while touring in Great Britain.  Signed as beautifully as it is, this is without a doubt one of the nicest autographed Beatles 1964 tour programs in existence…..$25,000

CP1.   A 1966 American Tour Program Signed By The Beatles Just Prior To Their Final Concert

This is an incredibly rare Beatles signed item - a 1966 'Beatles (U.S.A.) Ltd.' tour program autographed on the front cover by all four members of the band. The cover photo depicts The Beatles in a colorful standing pose taken by noted Beatles photographer Robert Whitaker during a photo shoot in London earlier that same year. What makes this program particularly historic is that it was signed on August 29, 1966 on a flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco on the very day they performed their Candlestick Park show - their last ever concert appearance ! All four have signed beautifully in blue ballpoint pen, each inscribing with love "To Marna", the stewardess who attended to them in First Class during the flight. She knew beforehand that she would be flying with The Beatles and brought her camera and was able to take photos of John, Paul and Ringo. Reprints of these pictures are included with the program. Beatles signatures from 1966 - especially those obtained in the U.S. - are extremely scarce, almost non-existent. That year, the band was virtually inaccessible to autograph seekers - even more so than in the previous two years, which saw the number of items signed by The Beatles drop dramatically as they reached the pinnacle of worldwide fame. Signed American concert programs from any year are exceedingly rare, making this program, signed within hours of the end of touring for the most famous band in history, truly a one-of-a-kind piece ..... $32,000

SOLD

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