SI38. A Set Of Beatles Autographs Obtained During the Filming Of “Magical Mystery Tour”

Description

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 Marathon and Tug-Of-War scenes and also what is perhaps the apex of the entire movie – the “I Am The Walrus” music video!

This two-week period provided dozens 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’ presence among the public while they were making the film, 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 RAF Air Station on a blue colored autograph album page. All four have autographed beautifully in pencil, with Paul McCartney inscribing “To Ingrid, love” before signing. The page measures 4 1/2″ x 4″ and is in excellent overall condition.

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.

The set could appropriately be framed with one of the West Malling photos contained within the “Magical Mystery Tour” LP booklet. The larger of these images (12” x 24”) features The Beatles in full stride during the amazing “I Am The Walrus” video shoot.

If you are a fan of the “Magical Mystery Tour” film, and in particular the two music videos (“I Am The Walrus” and “Your Mother Should Know”) shot at West Malling RAF Air Station, or the if the spectacular and colorful 1967 is your favorite ‘Beatle year’ and you want to have an ultra-rare 1967 autograph set – then this would be the perfect addition to your collection……$SOLD