Beatles Autographs
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SI9. An Autograph Set Obtained During “Magical Mystery Tour” Filming, Signed On The Day The “I Am The Walrus” Video Was Shot.
(Scroll down to view all available images for this item!)

Here is a screen shot of the brothers (in matching shorts and sweaters)
in the Tug-of-War scene, at 13:04 in the movie. Their mother obtained
The Beatles autographs on pages found within her shopping pad.

SI9.  An Autograph Set Obtained During “Magical Mystery Tour” Filming, Signed On The Day The “I Am The Walrus” Video Was Shot.

On Monday, September 11, 1967, two weeks of filming commenced on The Beatles' new self-conceived movie project, "Magical Mystery Tour". Boarding a Bedford VAL Panorama coach bus in central London, The Beatles and a motley crew of passengers (which consisted of their friends and office staff, a camera crew and a handful of actors and actresses of various shapes and sizes, including a “Rubber Man”) headed west, cruising the British countryside through Hampshire, Devon, Cornwall and Somerset counties. Along the way, the coach passed through such villages and towns as Widecombe-in-the-Moor (Dartmoor), Bodmin, Newquay, Watergate Bay, Porth and Taunton, stopping at many of these locales.

The final week of primary filming (September 19-24) was done at the West Malling RAF Air Station near Maidstone, Kent. Here, most of the interior sequences were filmed (including "Aunt Jessie's Dream" and the climactic "Your Mother Should Know" staircase scene), along with exterior shoots for the "I Am The Walrus", Marathon Race and Tug-of-War sequences.

This two-week period provided scores of fans along the route with access to the group - the most anyone had seen since the waning days of 1963, just prior to their worldwide fame. Even more incredible was the improvisational nature of much of the script, which resulted in some of these fans being utilized as impromptu extras in selected sequences.

Because of The Beatles' approachability, many of the scant few authentic autograph sets from that amazing year 1967 – a year that found The Beatles at the height of their creative powers - were signed during the filming of "Magical Mystery Tour". Offered here is one such set, signed at the West Malling Air Station on three pieces of paper. All four Beatles have signed on small spiral notepad paper in vibrant blue ballpoint pen. One page has been signed jointly by Paul McCartney and George Harrison. Another has been signed by John Lennon and a third has been signed by Ringo Starr. All three pieces measure 3-1/2" x 2-1/4" (9 x 5.75 cm).

These signatures were obtained by a service wife who was living in West Malling at the time, autographed on pages taken from her shopping pad. On the reverse side of the John Lennon signed page, writing in her hand notes things she must remember to pick up. This set is accompanied by a color snapshot of her two sons with Paul McCartney at the time of the signing. John Lennon was also standing close by when the shot was taken, as you can see his right arm, recognizable due to the distinctive brown pinstripe suit he wore for several scenes in the movie. The boys were used as extras in the film and can be seen in the Marathon Race and Tug-of-War segments, which were shot on Saturday, September 23, 1967. It is on this same day that The Beatles filmed what many consider to be the apex of the “Magical Mystery Tour” film, their music video for John’s masterpiece “I Am The Walrus”. This autograph set was signed within very close proximity to the actual space where this amazing video was shot, on the very same day!

Autograph sets from this late in The Beatles’ career are quite desirable because they had all but stopped signing for fans after their breakthrough in America three and a half years earlier. In recent years, Beatles autograph sets from the year 1967 have literally dried up and seldom appear anywhere for sale. While this set has been autographed on three separate sheets, they were obtained at the same time, using the same pen, on the same lined notepaper. The set could appropriately be framed with either of 2 photos contained within the “Magical Mystery Tour” LP booklet (included with this set). The larger of the two images (12” x 24”) features The Beatles in full stride during the “I Am The Walrus” shoot.

If you are a fan of “I Am The Walrus”, the “Magical Mystery Tour” film, or if the spectacular and colorful 1967 is your favorite ‘Beatle year’ - then this is the set for you…..$12,500


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