Beatles Memorabilia Reference Guide
K L
M N
O P
<----- Position Reference Guide
All images and text
Copyright © 2000 2012 BeatleBay and may not be reproduced or reprinted in any
manner
K
The Beatles Kaboodle Kit was
manufactured and sold in the USA by Standard Plastic Products (SPP) in 1964.
SPP also manufactured pencil cases, wallets
and 3 ring binders. 8 different colors are known: red, light blue, dark
blue, yellow, hot pink, peach, lavender, and beige. Considered to fall
under the lunchbox category today by many collectors however it was not sold as
a lunchbox originally - it's a Kaboodle Kit!! This item
was not issued with any kind of a thermos. The Kaboodle Kit is considered
a "must have" for all Beatles memorabilia collectors! Shown
below are all 8 known colors!
Kelsboro Ceramic Heads were
mfg by the Kelsboro Co in the UK in 1964. Originals are painted and glazed
and marked Kelsboro on the back.
Keychains, see Jewelry
Items.
Apple Keychain
mfg in the UK
in 1968.
L
Beatles Lamp mfg in the USA in
1964. There were 2 styles: one with feet and another meant to hang on the
wall. 2 different pictures were used on the front - these pictures are
just cardboard promo cards available at the time glued onto the lampshades.
In the UK a nice lampshade was mfg with the Beatles pictures made right into the
paper. This lamp was available separately or on a nice black ceramic base
with a gold guitar emblem on the front.
Beatle Lamps were also made in Sweden in
several different styles. Very rare. Shown is the original
advertising flyer for the lamps.
Beatles Licorice Records were mfg in
England and sold in the USA and Canada in 1964. Five different designs are
known and were sold from an orange cardboard store display box.
Li-Lo. see Airbed.
Beatles Line Drawings from 1964 in the
original manila envelope. Each measures 12"x12" and is printed on heavy
posterboard.
Beatles Irish Linen mfg in Ireland in
1964. The same company made a tablecloth also.
Beatles Lipstick container mfg by KIGU in the UK in early 1964.
Beatles compact also shown mfg by the same company. Lipstick is marked
KIGU on the bottom while the compact is usually not marked. This set is sometimes
found in a rare custom made box which has formed pockets for each item.
The set is quite valuable as there have only been a couple of these ever
found!!!
A Beatles Litterbag for your car was mfg
in the USA by AirFlite. Made of thick vinyl, this strange item came in
either white or red. See also these AirFlite items: Record Carrying Cases,
Lunchboxes and Overnight
Cases.
A smoked glass Beatles Loot Tray mfg in
the USA.
Beatles Lunchboxes came in many sizes and
styles in the sixties.
A blue metal Beatles Lunchbox mfg by Alladin
Industries in 1965. Item included a matching thermos with blue plastic cap
and top. Commands a premium when found in mint condition. Click
here for a view of The Yellow Submarine lunchbox.
Beatles Lunchboxes mfg by
Air Flite USA in 1964. These vinyl carrying cases never came with a thermos and
might not have been originally sold as lunchboxes, but today they are considered
lunchboxes by most all collectors. Black is the hardest color to locate.
The last one pictured with the larger picture of The Beatles is the rarest. See Carrying Cases for more Air Flite products.
Pictured first are Original
Hand Written Lyrics to
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band; the First Draft done in Paul
McCartney's hand, circa 1967. Next, the Hand Written Lyrics to
Hey Jude done
in Paul's hand in 1968. This is a Studio Rewrite version of the song.
Also shown are a few other original lyrics including John's first draft of
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away, the studio rewrite of Nowhere Man, and the
studio rewrite of Yesterday!
Hand Written Lyrics are the Ultimate Beatles Memorabilia Item,
Bar None!!! We wish we could show you more pictures of this type of
collectible, but because of their rarity, photos of these do not turn up in
public places very often. To own a First Draft or a Studio Rewrite of an
original 1960s Beatles Song would be the ultimate achievement of any Beatles
Collector!!! A First Draft would be Number One on the desirability list as
The Beatles would use anything to write on when the first inspiration for a new
song came to them; sometimes they wrote on the backs of envelopes, phone
books, even match book covers!!! Whatever was available at the moment is what
was used. First Drafts are extremely rare to find and this type of
collectible would be on par as one finding an original Beethoven manuscript!!!
Studio Rewrites are examples of Hand Written Lyrics that a Beatle would do once
he had nearly completed a song; he would write out the complete lyrics as
clearly as possible so that the other members of the Beatles would be able to
follow along in the studio. Again, these are extremely rare but not as
desirable as a First Draft Beatle Song!!! It is quite likely that the
First Drafts of many Beatle songs simply do not survive!!! As a song was
nearing completion, it would be transposed into a Studio Rewrite then the First
Draft was then discarded, as none of The Beatles put any value on these
'original manuscripts' during the 1960's time period. Additionally, most
of the Studio Rewrites were tossed out into the trash at the end of a recording
session at Abbey Road Studios in London once the group was finished with a song.
Hunter Davies' 1968 publication The Beatles An Authorized Biography is a
great source of information on Hand Written Lyrics. There are several
stories told of how these were trashed at the end of recording sessions plus
examples of The Beatles themselves actually trying to complete songs and lyrics
in the studio!!
A Studio Rewrite of Nowhere Man done in John's
hand from 1965 sold for approximately $455,000.00 US Dollars in the summer of
2004!!! This particular Rewrite was saved from extinction by one of the
Studio Engineer's at the time. Wow, no one could imagine that a piece of
paper would be worth a half million dollars some forty years later!!!!
Please see our Autograph section
for many great examples of autographed items from the band in the 1960s.
M
M is for Mastro
Industries, click here to skip directly
to that section.
Many different Beatles Magazines were mfg
in the 1960's. Here is a sampling of what you could have bought at your local
grocery or five and dime store back then.
Magazine Promotional Posters.
Several Magazine companies issued promotional store displays for their
merchandise. There were 2 promo posters issued by POST Magazine for their
August 8-15th 1964 issue. The smaller one is printed on thin cardboard and
measures 10" x 13.5"; the larger POST magazine promo poster measures in at 22" x
28" and is in full color. Last pictured is a rare UK promotional poster
issued for Liverpool Echo Magazine issued in February 1964; this promo store
display measures 16" x 22"; also shown is the original Liverpool Echo
magazine this rare promo poster was advertising. See also
Bookstore Promos for several store
promo posters for various 1960's Beatles books.
A small pop-up cardboard magazine display
was inserted into Fab magazine in the UK in 1964.
The Magic Slate manufactured in the UK in
1964 by Merit. This same company also made the Magnetic Hair Game toy.
Magic Trick, a card game with
several different cards, a cardboard TV and instructions. Made in the UK
in the early 1960's.
The Magnetic Hair Game Toy mfg in the UK
by Merit which also made the Magic Slate Toy shown prior. This item is easily located
when compared to the Magic Slate Toy; still a highly desirable piece of
originally licensed memorabilia.
Mascot Dolls, see Dolls.
M is for Mastro Industries which made
some of the most desirable Beatles memorabilia in the 1960's.
Collectors love these items!!! Shown is an assortment of toy instruments. Click here
for more detailed information on Mastro Industries and the items they made.
Click here to read an article in Vintage Guitar
Magazine about the creator of Mastro Industries, Mario
Maccaferri; it is very interesting reading and it also addresses the
licensing agreement he received to exclusively produce Beatles toy instruments
back in 1964 for the USA. By
mid summer 1964, Mastro had reportedly shipped 500,000 toy instruments out to
consumers and they were projecting 2,000,000 by years end!!! Wow, where did they
all go?; especially the Beatles promo models where as few as half a dozen
exist for some models. As a matter of fact, there has not yet been
even one documented case of a promotional Beatle-ist Guitar!!! They
certainly were made as they have appeared in vintage photographs. As of
this writing in early 2004, these are the estimated numbers of Beatles
Promotional Guitars by model type: Junior Guitar = 3, Four Pop
Guitar = 2, Yeah Yeah Guitar = 5, Beatle-ist Guitar = zero! If you find
one out there, please contact us and send us photographs for our Reference
Library. We can also almost guarantee we can sell that Promo guitar on
consignment for you for at least $10,000 US Dollars!
Matchboxes, mfg in Holland
in 1964. One of each Beatle was made plus a group box.
Medal, see
Silver Coin, UK, 1965-66 and 1966-67.
German Medallion mfg in 1966.
It was originally issued with either a long matching chain or in an original
nicely decorated Beatles cardboard box.
Plastic Beatle Megaphones
were sold at many concerts in the USA in 1964. These were mfg by
Yell-a-phone. Manufactured in 3 colors, yellow, orange and white each with a
metal ring mouthpiece and a long chain to hang around your neck. They are
sometimes found with the metal chain inside a small paper envelope taped to the
inside of the megaphone; the envelope is marked Yell-a-phone. A
small quantity of original megaphones were found a few years ago, all unused
with the metal chains still unopened in the small white envelopes.
A Beatles Large Mirror was
issued by Capitol Records in 1974 for the Beatles 10th Anniversary on Capitol
Records. Features a silhouette of the Rubber Soul album cover.
Plastic Model Kits were mfg
in the UK and USA in 1964 by Revell. These kits are most desirable when
complete and unbuilt. One of each Beatle. There were 2
promotional posters and at least 1 flyer made to promote these kits; one
flyer pictures Paul McCartney on one side and Ringo Starr on the other side.
One banner-style promotional poster states "Build The Beatles" and shows John and
George (photograph courtesy of Rory Williams) while the second banner poster
shows Paul and Ringo; both banner posters are quite hard to find.
Beatles Monthly Magazines were
mfg by the Official Beatles Fan Club in the UK. Each month a new booklet
was issued. Number 1 is hardest to find. Issues 1 - 77 plus a couple
of Christmas Specials in 1965 and 1966 were made. These have been
reproduced so you'll need to have an original one handy when examining the
repros as they were done extremely well. A grey cloth binder
was mfg in the UK to hold your Beatles Monthlies - this item has not been
reproduced nor have the Christmas Extras.
8mm Movie reel still sealed
in it's original packaging. USA 1964.
Another type of Beatles
Movie
was issued in 1964 via mail order. Many different titles were available.
Movie Items
and Posters were mfg by
United Artists for A Hard Days Night, HELP!, Yellow Submarine and Let it Be
motion pictures. Original United Artists movie posters
came in a variety of sizes from Window Cards, Insert Posters, half-sheet, 1
sheet, 3 sheet, 6 sheet and 24 sheet. The 1 sheet poster has been widely
reproduced. Also produced were 40"x60" oversized 1 sheet posters on poster
board - these versions are highly sought. Many other items were produced for the Beatles' movies such as
tickets, giveaways and movie programs. See other sections for additional
information. See the UK Yellow Submarine
Movie Premiere Ticket or Yellow
Submarine Movie Posters or Press Books for additional movie items.
Also shown below are the original UK A Hard Day's Night, HELP!
and The Yellow Submarine 1 sheet posters. Each of these 3 UK posters have
been heavily counterfeited. Here's how to tell the originals:
the original UK AHDN posters are easy to detect as they have pink highlights in
the printing and around the photographs of the Beatles - fakes do not have this
pink highlighting; poster measures approximately 26.5" x 39.5"; see the 3
pictures below for details.
Original HELP! UK 1
Sheet Posters are easy to detect as they have pink highlights in the printing of
the words "COLOUR" and "SEVEN NEW SONGS" - fakes do not have this hot pink
highlighting. Poster measures approximately 27" x 39"; see the 3 pictures
below for details.
Original Yellow Submarine UK 1 Sheet Posters measure 30" x 40"
exactly, are very sharp and clear with very bright colors! The
detail and fine print shown below is either missing or not sharp on counterfeit
copies.
Original UK 1 Sheet A Hard Day's Night :
Original UK 1 Sheet HELP! :
Original UK 1 Sheet Yellow Submarine :
Other various US and UK movie posters...
  
This Beatle Mug was mfg in
the USA, not Canada, by the US Ceramic Company in Pennsylvania. Several
different shapes are known and was available in either white or pastel blue
color. Also found without a handle and called a pencil cup. The same company made a Desk Set and several
jewelry items with
the exact same colored drawings of The Beatles.
A Beatles ceramic drinking Cup or Mug mfg
by Washington Pottery UK 1964. Some are stamped England on the
bottom. Several minor variations of this item were made such as a straight
or flared top and handle variations. See also tumblers and glasses.
N
An early piece of original Beatles memorabilia: Beatles Napkins
were mfg in the UK in 1963 by The Rolex Paper Company in London England.
50 paper napkins having repeating patterns of Beatles with autographs contained
in a poly-bag which was printed with nice graphics.
Beatles Necktie mfg in the UK in 1964
came in several colors.
Nodder Dolls, see Dolls.
Beatle Notebooks came in many styles and
were mfg in the USA and UK.
Nylon Stockings by Ballito mfg in the UK. There were 3 variations of
these made. Usually sold still-sealed in the original packaging. A
nice cardboard display box was also made to hold several packages of stockings.
 
Nylon Store Display mfg in
the UK by Ballito and containing an advertisement for the UA motion picture The
Beatles A Hard Days Night! Very cool!
O
Overnight Cases mfg in the USA by AirFlite.
This is also called a hat box. Has thick vinyl covered cardboard with a
zippered top that goes nearly completely around. Thick vinyl strap handle
on top. Found in either red or black. Also check out these other
AirFlite items: Record Carrying Cases, Litterbag,
and Lunchboxes.
P
Paint by Number Kits mfg in the USA in
1964 by Artistic Creations (actually a Pat Boone cash-in on the Beatles).
Large box contained a completed paper portrait, a paint by number portrait,
paint brush, paints and thinner. A very large box with nice
graphics. One of each Beatle was made. These originally came sealed
in shrink wrap.
Beatle Ink Pens were mfg by several vendors
in 1964. All four Beatles heads in cast metal are mounted on the front
clip (see close-up photograph for detail). The plastic barrel of the pen
has The Beatles logo in a drum head along with facsimile signatures of each
Beatle. The front plastic barrel is known to exist in the following
colors: white, green, blue, red and black
Pencil Case mfg in the USA by Standard
Plastic Products, DAME and in Canada. Very hard to find in the original packaging. Heavy
vinyl with zipper on top. Issued in Beige, yellow, pink, red and blue.
The second picture has a black Dame issued pencil case in addition to the rare
pink vinyl SPP case. SPP was one prominent company that produced other
nice Beatles items such as Kaboodle Kits, wallets
and 3 ring binders. Not all colors used
by SPP have been verified for each of their products. For instance a
peach, purple or light blue colored Pencil Case mfg by SPP has never been
documented!
 
Pencil Case mfg in the USA by DAME.
Cloth backed grainy vinyl with zipper on top. Came in a variety of
colors. Originals did not have any dates nor mention of NEMS Enterprises
Ltd on them. Fakes have smooth vinyl surfaces.
Pencil Case mfg in Germany approx 1966. Pictures
the Beatles on both sides..
1964 Beatles
Pen Holder mfg by the US Ceramic Company in
1964. This rare NEMS Enterprises Ltd fully licensed ceramic desk set pen
holder was made by the same company that made many Beatles jewelry
items such as bracelets and necklaces plus Beatles ceramic mugs.
All use the exact same graphic images. Has a blue felt bottom and
brass pen holder with a black plastic pen with brass trim. There are 2
variations found of this pen holder: one has the Beatles signatures in
black print while the other one has their autographs in gold print; both
styles are shown below. The only other
original licensed 1960's licensed penholder made was the Yellow Submarine
manufactured by A&M Leatherlines.
Beatle Pennants came in a wide variety of
styles and sizes. Some pennants have been counterfeited so beware of
fakes. Pennant photographs courtesy of Jeff Augsburger.
 
 
Beatles Perfume bottle mfg in Liverpool
England in late 1963. Made by the Olive Adair Company of Liverpool England.
Bottom of bottle is marked
France in raised lettering mfg into the glass. It is believed that Olive
Adair also manufactured packets of bubble bath.
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 Color Photos were issued in
shrink wrap with a cardboard header. Six 8"x10" color photographs on still
cardboard.
This promotional color photo was mfg in
Australia by MOBIL. See Posters section for another
Australian MOBIL item.
Beatles Picture Frame for your Car! An
interesting item from 1970 with licensing by Chrysler Corp! A small
picture frame on it's original blister pak with a B/W photograph of The Beatles
inside. Dated 1970.
Beatle Pillows were mfg in the USA by
Nordic House. There were 4 different variations manufactured by Nordic House:
1. Head and shoulders picture, 2. Head and shoulders picture with carrying
strap, 3. Half bodies with guitars, 4. Full bodies with guitars. They were originally issued with 2 cloth tags, one of which states "The Official
Beatles Pillow by Nordic House". Also pictured is a red
and blue pillow mfg in the UK in the 1960's, manufacturer is not known, very rare.
Pin Up Screamers in the original
packaging. A quantity find of these was recently made. Also shown is
the original Promotional in-store display poster!
A canvas portrait sold as a placemat in
the USA in 1964. This item is not known to have been originally sold in
any type of packaging.
Wall Plate by Ross of Mayfair, UK,
1964. A hard to find item.
Playing Cards came in only these 3
different types in either single deck(orange or blue cards) or double deck boxes(which
contained one of each color deck) in
the USA in 1964. These were made in the USA in 1964 by The Arrco Playing
Card Company from Chicago Illinois, USA. The Ace of Spades is marked with the
manufacturers name. The single blue deck is the hardest to find of the 3
different decks. Sometimes you can find the orange deck with a blue box
and the blue deck with the red box; those are the hardest combinations to find.
The orange deck in the red box is the easiest to locate. The double deck
boxes came in either green or black cardboard. The backside of these boxes
are stamped in gold, The Beatles.
 
Apple Records also issued a set of
Playing
Cards in 1968.
Beatle Playtapes were
available in the 1960's by Playtape Inc. These short-lived, 2 track tape
cartridges featured 2-4 songs on each small tape. You needed a proprietary
tape machine to play these tapes which is shown below. Especially
desirable are Beatle Playtapes found sealed on the original backing cards.
Many other artists were manufactured too. The first issues of Beatles
Playtapes had no photographs on the labels.
An original Beatles Pomade
store display box held 50 packs of hair pomade. This item was reproduced
in the 1970's and 1990's so beware of these plentiful reproductions.
Original boxes had 10 cents printed in a circle on the front while the reprints
did not. Even the hair pomade packs have been reproduced - originals were
marked H.H. Cosmetics, Philippines.
Beatle Pom-Poms were made in
the 1960s but the marketing campaign fell way short and these were not widely
available. However, these store displays were made and never used.
The Pom Pom itself was a black furry little ball with eyes - it had no Beatle
markings on it. To date we've only seen 1 actual Pom Pom itself.
Pop Up Display, A
small cardboard display item which was included as an insert in Fabulous
Magazine in the UK in 1964.
Pop-Stik, see
Stickers.
Portraits came in a variety
of sizes and types in 1964.
 
There were several types of original Beatles
Postcards mfg in the 1960's. Most were
standard size however the most desirable are the jumbo-size postcards like the
brown background one shown.
Original large 1964 London
Palladium Poster. This poster has been heavily bootlegged over the years with the bootleg featuring
the wording "The Beatles" in red print
- the original poster has the wording "The Beatles" in black
print. The bootleg poster is also a
different size than the original; original posters measure exactly 20.5"
wide x 28.5" high. The fine print along the bottom of the original poster
says in black print "ORIGINAL MADE IN GREAT
BRITAIN", "Litho by Louis F. Dow Co., U.S.A."
and "© 1964 NEMS ENTERPRISES LTD."
This poster was printed in the USA during 1964-1965.
This rare Ringo for President Poster was mfg
in late 1964 in the USA. This company also made a rarer
Ringo for Santa Claus poster in late 1964 with Ringo dressed in a red Santa
hat and coat.
Black Light Posters mfg in 1967 in the USA.
See Yellow Submarine Posters for additional examples of Black Light posters mfg
in the 1960's.
Posters by Richard Avedon circa 1967 and
mfg by LOOK Magazine in the USA. This poster was also manufactured in both
England and France with the foreign versions being smaller than the USA
versions. The French Set was produced by Stern Magazine and the 4 Beatle
posters measure exactly 19" x 27" and the French Banner poster measures 14" x
40"(see photo below). A French display bin is also pictured below in
black/white. A set of four 22.5" x 31" USA posters were made,
one of each Beatle. Also a wide banner poster was included in the
set. Beware of counterfeits as they are not the same size as the
originals. The USA version of the Beatle Banner poster measures 16" x 42"
wide; again this poster has been heavily counterfeited. See photos below of USA
originals. A nice cardboard store display box was also made to hold these posters
(note that the original USA version sizes are stated directly on the store
display backing)..
Poster. Dated 1969, this poster is fairly hard to locate. Renaissance Minstrels is
the title of this neat item.
Poster, Mobile Oil Company
in Australia issued these give away 12" x 16" Beatle posters in 1964-5.
Poster, an early 60's nice
poster mfg in the UK. Manufacturer unknown at present.
Posters, other miscellaneous Posters
from the 1960's. The first poster shown in this grouping was
available through mail order in 1964-66 and was billed as a "Life Size Poster of
The Beatles" even though it's only approx 5' high. It has their printed
autographs on the bottom right corner and says PRINTED IN ENGLAND on the very
bottom right corner border. The 3rd poster is 1 of 2 different DELL
posters that were sold for 29 cents and are quite wide, nearly 5 feet wide.
the next two are in store promotional posters for Hardcover books issued in
1968.
Posters, Life-Size, see
Heinz Store Display.
Magazine Promo Posters, see Magazines.
Beatles Pottery
was made by
a few manufacturers in the 1960's. The majority of items made were done in
the UK by The Washington Pottery Company and in the USA by The US
Ceramic Company. In the UK, they originally made a plate, a
biscuit plate, a cereal bowl, a set of 4 small candy dishes, and a handled
mug. Only the 4 candy dishes had a gold leaf edging. Many of these
items were marked either England or Washington Pottery however some originals
were not marked. Beware of reproductions and other items that were made in
the 1980's such as teapots, plates with gold leaf edging. Only the above
stated items were made in the 1960's. See also US Ceramic Company and
Plate by Ross for other examples of original pottery-type pieces.
This zippered Pouch was mfg
in the USA by Select-o-Pak. This large vinyl pouch only contained a removable
insert paper with The Beatles pictured on it, that was placed inside a clear
vinyl outer slip on the pouch. Many colors were made and this is not that
hard an item to locate. Also several vinyl textures were made.
Beatles Press
Books mfg in the USA by United Artists. One was made for
each of their full-length motion pictures. See Movie Items for additional
information on their movies.
Beatles Punch Out Portrait
Book mfg in the USA by Whitman.
Beatle hand Puppet was mfg
in the USA by World Confectionary Candies. One of these puppets was
available in the store display box that held the small candy cigarette
boxes. See under Candy Cigarette Box for pictures
of those items.
Purses and Handbags came in
many sizes and styles. Some were used as pencil cases also. Beware
of any that state 1964 on the item itself as these are fakes. Originals
were made of heavy material. The small figural purses shown on the
far right were not officially licensed items but many collectors like them
because they are vintage 1964 items made in Hong Kong.
The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics Puzzle
in a Puzzle was mfg in a very large colorful box in the UK in 1970. A
fully licensed item! Puzzle
contained 800 pieces and included an instruction sheet sealed inside an
envelope plus a full color large poster. Produced
in conjunction with Alan Aldridge's two great books, The Beatles Illustrated
Lyrics.
Beatles 340 piece Jigsaw Puzzles
were only made in the UK in 1964. Four different boxes were made and each
was sealed with a piece of cello-tape. The only official piece of original
memorabilia that featured the Cavern Club was one of these puzzles. In
1968, Jaymar of the USA made Yellow Submarine puzzles; see that section
for photographs of those puzzles.
back to top
| 
