The Beatles, Ed Sullivan, and Brian Epstein- Signatures from their Historic First American Appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, February 9, 1964. A 12" x 10" inside cover of a foldover photo album containing an 8" x 10" early glossy of the Fab Four. It was signed by the Beatles at inarguably the most important single performance of their careers. All the signatures are in black ink and three bear personal sentiments to [almost certainly] Fred Kaps, a fellow performer on the show: "To Fred best wishes and see you on another tour! George Harrison", "All the best, Fred - keep smiling and touring! Paul McCartney", "lots of luggage Fred from John Lennon", and "Best Wishes Ringo Starr". If only just the Beatles had signed this on that magical night, it would be one of only a few such items that exist. The addition of the signature of the host of this legendary Sunday night variety show, "Hi Fred Ed Sullivan", makes it completely unique- the only known item signed as such. Their manager was with them that night and he also signed it: "Cheers Fred Brian Epstein". The desirability of an already unique item has now zoomed into the stratosphere. This is a set of signatures that transcends autograph collecting and even Beatle collecting. This is absolutely a piece of Pop Culture History.

We haven't even mentioned that, at a later date, the road manager and press officer also signed this same photo album: "See you in England Fred Neil Aspinall" and "Derek Taylor -You were the most welcome member at any press conference or auditorium". The Beatles made history, pure and simple. The other signatories on this piece are the ones that were right there at their sides as it occurred, helping to make it happen. Without a doubt, the most important piece of Beatle memorabilia ever to be offered.

This was their first live appearance in America and 73 million Americans tuned in to hear the young lads from Liverpool with the long hair. (Note: the population in the United States was approximately 190 million in 1964.) Your cataloguer is old enough to remember it well. America was glued to their TV sets as we heard the solemn-faced Ed Sullivan mention that the Beatles had received a congratulatory telegram from Elvis and the Colonel. In his introduction, he said: "Now yesterday and today our theater's been jammed with newspapermen and hundreds of photographers from all over the nation, and these veterans agreed with me that the city never has the excitement stirred by these youngsters from Liverpool, who call themselves The Beatles. Now tonight, you're going to twice be entertained by them. Right now, and again in the second half of our show. Ladies and gentlemen, the Beatles. Let's bring them on." The girls in the audience started screaming the second he finished. The cameras then focused on the Beatles as McCartney counted-in to an energetic performance of "All My Loving." That song was followed by Paul crooning a ballad from The Music Man titled "Til There Was You". (That probably won a lot of the young girls' moms over.) They closed out this historic first American performance with the infectious "yeah yeah yeahs" of their hit "She Loves You." Every time they sang "wooo" or shook their heads, the screams got even louder. They ended their first set with formal bows. About thirty minutes later, Ed Sullivan announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen, once again..." This time John, Paul, George, and Ringo performed both sides of their mega-hit Capitol single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "I Saw Her Standing There." They then put down their instruments and walked over to shake hands with Sullivan. Performance over. History made. Payback complete for the "colonies" split from England nearly 200 years before. America was once again "owned" by the British. And this was just round one of the invasion; the Beatles opened the door for numerous British acts to make it in America.

Of course, some act had the unenviable task to follow the Beatles' first American performance. That distinction fell to Fred Kaps, a world-class European magician who specialized in close-up sleight of hand tricks. We feel that this signed photo album folder was likely inscribed to him that historic night. In Kaps' long career in Europe, his and the Beatles' paths could have easily crossed at variety venues or television shows. The inscriptions would seem to indicate that they were familiar with this person named Fred as one who also toured. As an aside, there was another act on that night's show- five members of the Broadway cast of Oliver! appeared and performed two songs from the hit musical. The actor who played the part of the Artful Dodger was a young British actor and singer named Davy Jones. Of course, he would soon make millions of girls scream for him as a member of the Monkees. He later said of that night: "I watched the Beatles from the side of the stage, I saw the girls going crazy, and I said to myself, this is it, I want a piece of that."

Heritage is proud to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Beatles in America by offering this amazing piece. We feel that the bidding will be fierce. We know that many many Beatle fans will want to call this their own. Don't let this opportunity pass you by; you may never have another chance to own such a unique item as this.

This lot will include original signed letters from two of the most respected experts in the field of Beatles autographs and memorabilia: Frank Caiazzo and Perry Cox. The full texts of their enthusiastic endorsements of this lot are available on our website. We will mention just a couple of their comments. "It should be noted that the fact The Beatles signed this item on this historical date makes this arguably one of the most significant signed Beatles items in existence. The inclusion of Ed Sullivan's signature puts this item in a league by itself, because it is the only known such set to surface to date from this historical event." (Frank Caiazzo, 2011). "I'd say that certainly makes this singular item one of the most important and historic autographed items in existence. Not only is it a fantastic Beatles signed item marking what is their most important event, it is also important historically as that night is often documented as 'very significant' in changing our culture forever and aided greatly in helping our nation heal from the tragic events of late November 1963." [Perry Cox, 2013].