Beatles Memorabilia Reference Guide

F    G    H    I    J     <----- Position Reference Guide

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Original Beatles Fan Club items mfg and issued in the 1960's.  Many different items were made including magazines, flyers, Christmas Records, posters, etc.

Film,  see Movie.  

The Beatles bicycle Flag set made in the USA in 1964.  Plastic flags of each Beatle with a group flag.

Various Colored German Flags mfg in the 1960's.

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A board Game by Milton Bradley USA was made in 1964; The Beatles Flip Your Wig Game.  A popular piece of original memorabilia.

Officially licensed Beatle Glasses came in many sizes and shapes and were mfg in many countries such as the USA, the UK, Holland and Canada.  See also Cups, Mugs and Tumblers.  The 3rd picture are closeups of the Beatles images on the 2nd photo which is the Canadian Dairy Queen glass.

Goebels,  see Yellow Submarine Goebels.

Gold Record Awards manufactured by the RIAA(Recording Industry Association of America) and Presented To The Beatles are extremely rare items to find as these were originally made for The Beatles themselves!  Additional RIAA gold record awards were made and engraved to other notable persons' involved in the making of the recording however these awards are much less desirable than ones that were presented, and engraved,  to the artists themselves.  Original 1960's issues up until 1975 have off-white cloth mattes with brown wooden frames with gold trim.  The gold records were inset into the cut mattes.  The metal plates were engraved individually for each award.  After 1975, the RIAA changed their record awards to what is now called a 'floater' award because the gold record is raised above the matting. Beginning in 1976,  RIAA floater awards came in a gold colored wooden frame with black trim and dark matting;    All 1960's and 1970's awards were mfg by The New York Frame and Picture Co. and were affixed by a sticker on the back as such.  Check out The Beatles first gold record award ceremony where they were presented with their first two American RIAA gold records for the single I Want To Hold Your Hand and the album Meet The Beatles,  both on Capitol Records.  The President of Capitol Records,  Alan Livingston,   is pictured to the right.  How very proud they appeared that day in February 1964 !!!  

    We must point out that today's marketplace is filled with various gold record awards but the only offical gold record awards presented to The Beatles in the USA were manufactured by the RIAA.  There have been numerous attempts at counterfeiting the RIAA awards but with careful examination the fakes are quite easily detected especially when comparing the award in question to a known original. The counterfeiting problem got so bad that the RIAA in 1985 began issuing their awards with a holographic image which could not be duplicated.

Grow Your Own Beatle Hair.  A mail order toy mfg in the USA in 1964.  Simply wet the ends of each Beatles' stick and they grow green hair!

Mastro Guitars..  These made-to-play plastic guitars were mfg in the USA in 1964 by Mastro Industries under an exclusive license from NEMS Enterprises Ltd.

 Mastro Guitars..  These made-to-play plastic guitars were mfg in the USA in 1964 by Mastro Industries.  Fully licensed by NEMS Enterprises Ltd, these 4 to 6 stringed guitars originally came on a cardboard backing card with instruction booklet. All are hard to find items.  All the Mastro guitars and toy instruments are in very high demand by Beatles collectors.  Mastro made several sizes and styles of guitars ranging from 14" up to 31" long. These include the 14 3/4" Mastro Jr. Guitar, the 21" Mastro 4 Pop Guitar,  the 23" Mastro Yeah Yeah Guitar and the 31" Mastro Beatle-ist Guitar.   Also shown is the Mastro 4" long pink guitar brooch; this item used rubber bands as strings and was made to be used as a jewelry type brooch. 

Mastro manufactured several versions of each guitar, with minor variations being font variations while major differences were promotional examples that featured the Beatles faces on the body of the guitar on white backgrounds; these promotional versions are extremely rare and command prices up to 10 times their regular production run counterparts.  Here is a list of the known major variations of each guitar:

Mastro Jr. Guitar
The 14 ¾" Jr. Guitar was produced in 4 versions :

   Version 1          Version 2                Version 2           Version 3              Version 4
                                                                                    (Promo model)      (Promo model)

   
(1 and 2) Normal version.  Pink and Red plastic body with black faces on the body and top. This version is the regular production version and the one normally bought and sold.  The only difference between the two guitars are the sizes of the Beatles heads on the body.
(3) Promotional version with white faces over black print on the body and top.  Has a maroon colored top and back.  Has a red plastic front.  This is the rarest version with only 2 known to exist.
(4) Promotional version with white faces over black print on the body only.  Top has black print.  This guitar is an all red colored plastic with no maroon parts. There are only 4 known to exist.

Mastro Four Pop Guitar
The 21" Four Pop Guitar was produced in 3 versions :

Version 1                   Version 2                   Version 2             Version 3
                                 (Promo model)          (Promo model)

(1) Normal version.  Pink and red plastic with black faces on the body and top.  This version is the regular production version and the one normally bought and sold.
(2) Promotional version with white faces over black print on the body and top.  Has a maroon colored bridge and back. Very rare.
(3) Promotional version with a maroon colored bridge with the rest of the guitar in red plastic. No pink plastic parts.  Has black faces on the body but has white faces over black print at the top.

Mastro Yeah Yeah Guitar
The 23" Yeah Yeah Guitar was produced in 3 versions :

     Version 1                              Version 2                                    Version 3 (front and back)
                                               (Promo model)                                          (Promo model)

(1) Normal version.  Red and maroon colored plastic body with black faces on the body and top.   This version is the regular production version and the one normally bought and sold.  Please note however that only 2 of this Normal Version type have ever surfaced.  This guitar in any variation is very rare.
(2) Promotional version with white faces over black print on the body and top.  Has a maroon colored bridge and maroon colored back.
(3) Promotional version with white faces over black print on the body and top.  Has a maroon colored bridge and a red colored back.

Mastro Beatle-ist Guitar
The 31" Beatle-ist Guitar was produced in 2 versions :

        Version 1                Version 1 on it's            Version 2
                                         original backing      (Promo Model) 

(1) Normal version.  Red and maroon colored plastic body with black faces on the body and top.   This version is the regular production version and the one normally bought and sold.
(2) Promotional version with white faces over black print on the body and top.  The guitar has pink body and top with a maroon colored bridge and back.   The promotional variation of The Beatle-ist Guitar has not yet been verified to exist in any collectors hands to date but they were in fact manufactured as there are photographs of the promotional version.   Very rare.

Mastro Industries additionally manufactured toy bongo drums, a snare drum and a 4 string banjo; each of these are highly desirable.  The rarest of all the instruments made by either Mastro Industries or Selcol UK is the 6 string Yeah Yeah guitar as only a handful of these are known to exist;  We are not sure why this toy guitar is so hard to find;  production runs must have been limited.  Another reason might be that the original price was $1.00 more than the Four Pop guitar which was the exact same size albeit it was more like a true guitar having 6 strings vs. 4.  An original ad featuring all the Mastro instruments is shown;  this was the centerfold spread from the 1966 Mastro toy instrument catalog - interesting that even in 1966 these toys were still available to the public.

Selcol Guitars.  These made-to-play plastic guitars were mfg in the UK in 1964 by Selcol.  Fully licensed by NEMS Enterprises Ltd, these 4 to 6 stringed guitars originally came on a cardboard backing cards or cardboard boxes with instruction booklets. All are hard to find items.  There were several different guitars made: the 14" Jnr Guitar, the 23" Big Beat Guitar, the 23" New Sound Guitar, the 29:" Cutaway Guitar, the 32" New Beat Guitar, the 32" Big 6 Guitar,  and the Red Jet Electric Guitar which was a true plug-in electric plastic toy instrument 33" long with a separate amplifier that was available at the time.  Selcol and Mastro were the only 2 companies that manufactured licensed Beatles toy instruments in the 1960's.  All of these items are highly sought after by collectors.  Selcol also made Record Racks for 45's and LP's.

Guitar Strings mfg in the UK by Hofner.  Six different strings were available in the same green colored packaging.

Gum Machine display card and charms mfg in the USA in 1964.

H

Beatles Hair Bows were a popular item with the girls.  Mfg by Burlington and most desirable by collectors when found still sealed on the original display card.  2 different patterns and several colored cloth bow ties were available.  Each has a metal clip on the back which is prone to rusting.

Beatles Hair Brush in the original package with cardboard header card.  Has been reproduced with a different header card and the repro plastic brush does not have embossed printing on it.  Originals were made in either red, white or blue plastic.  Also shown is a promotional flyer advertising the hair brushes!

Beatles Hair Spray can mfg in the USA by Bronson.  Several different pastel colored labels were made including tan and pink as shown below.  Bronson also made Beatles Shampoo bottles.  Original cans have a SDA number stamped onto the gold colored bottom of the can(see photo below).  Label has been reproduced and is sometimes glued back onto a new can but is easily detected as the pictures of the Beatles are not real clear as they are on the originals plus the original label has 2 small die cuts on the top and bottom on the front of the label.  Look at the close-up below and you'll see the top die cut which is located at the top between the 'h' and 'e' in the word 'the'. The original label has a gloss finish.  There also exists another label variation for the Beatles Hairspray Can which is shown here in the last picture also mfg by Bronson USA 1964.  Additionally, Bronson also made Beatles Shampoo, click here to view that item.  Lastly, please see consumable products for other items that were most likely tossed out after being used up - this factor greatly contributes to the rarity of these pieces.

Beatles Hair Spray mfg in the UK.  Difficult to find item.

Beatles Halloween Costumes were made in the USA in 1964 by Ben Cooper.  Highly sought after if complete in the original box.  One of each Beatle was made.

Beatles handbags mfg by Dame USA. Several colors and handle variations are known.  Made in both thick vinyl and cloth material.  The black/white vinyl repeating pattern handbag is the rarest.  The 3rd picture is a handbag made of cloth material, the same material used in the Beatles sneakers.  The 5th picture shown is a vinyl handbag mfg by AirFlite.

Beatles Handkerchiefs were made in white silk in the UK in 1964.  Measures 11" square.  This item has been heavily reproduced on normal cloth.  Originals have near-photographic quality images of each Beatles head.  Beware of ones that The Beatles faces look more like drawings than photographs.  Last picture is of German handkerchiefs. 

Beatles clothing Hangers came in several sizes and styles.  Made of thick cardboard.  A set of 4 was mfg in the UK by Saunders; this set featured the Beatles as they appeared in 1965-66.  In the USA in 1967 another set was made with updated pictures from 1967.  These items measure over 16" tall.  See Yellow Submarine Clothing Hangers for another set made in the 1960's.

Beatles Harmonicas were mfg in the USA by Hohner.  These were originally issued on a blister pack sealed on a nice fold-open display card. Inside the card are several songs one could learn to play on this instrument.  A rare store countertop display is also known for this item which was made to hold twelve harmonicas on the card.  The harmonica itself was just a plain Hohner with no Beatle markings.  There are 2 box variations, one with Paul and George's names reversed - no value difference for either style.  Also pictured is part of the promotional kit mfg for the harmonica.

Hat,  see Beach Hats.

Beatles headband mfg by Burlington USA still sealed in it's original packaging. Several colors are known.

Betterwear in the USA also produced Beatle Headbands in a nice plastic wrapper which featured photos of each Beatle on the back.  These come in many colors.  A large find of these was made in the 1980's and these are quite plentiful.

Headbands were also mfg in Australia in 1964.  Two variations, each sealed on a 10" x 4" display card were available.  Several colors of each variation were made.

Beatle Headphones (Beatlephones) were licensed by NEMS Enterprises Ltd., and manufactured by Koss Electronics in 1966 in the USA.  These blue plastic headphones came in a nice display box with instruction sheet and warranty card.  The earpieces have problems staying on as they were held on by a strip of thin blue vinyl. A sticker on each earpiece depicted 2 Beatles.  These stickers were made of thin metal and a small quantity of these stickers was found a few years back.  A hard to find item complete with the original box and inserts.

A large cardboard in store Promotional Display mfg by Heinz in 1965.  Coupons were available on the display which you could mail away to get a 'life-size' poster of each Beatle.

A HELP! movie promotional Swim Ring was mfg for the movie in 1965.  A 21" inflatable vinyl ring.  quite rare.

Beatles Hummers were an interesting item mfg in 1964.  Much like a kazoo.  In addition, a promotional poster and store display box exist.

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Beatle Ice Cream Bars were made in America by several companies, one being Hood Inc. of Massachusetts, USA.  Boxes of 4 or 6 were available at your local grocer.  The paper labels were found in mass quantities years ago and are quite easy to find today.  Foil labels however are quite hard to find as are the store boxes.  Paper store display posters are also known to exist.  A mail in offer was printed on the back panel of many of the ice cream bar labels to get the 1964 Beatles brass commemorative coin - this coin is also easy to find today.  Also shown is a rare Ice Cream Bar banner style in-store poster.

Ink Pen, see Pen.

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A Beatles Jacket was mfg in 1966 using the 1966 Beatles clothing label but the lining of the jacket had a repeating pattern of cartoon Beatles and Beatles names.  Known to exist to several outer cloth designs and patterns.  The inner pattern however is the same on all jackets.

Jackets, Tour  No original Beatles Tour Jackets were manufactured.  Any jackets that purport to be authentic Beatles Tour Jackets are not authentic.

Jewelry.  A wide variety of jewelry-type items were licensed and produced by several manufacturers in the early 1960's.  Companies such as Randall, Press-Initial and Dame.  Some of the original jewelry items and original display cards have been counterfeited so examine the real items closely and you'll become knowledgeable in this area.  We feel many of the original jewelry items are still available at bargain prices.

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