HAVE THESE NOVELTY BEATLES BOOKS LOST THEIR NOVELTY APPEAL?

The “novelty” of getting a Novelty Beatles book title that is not commonplace still provides a great thrill to me as a Beatles book collector. A special category of those uncommon titles are Beatles novelty books. I have provided a couple of examples below of books from the ’60s where these books not only were poking fun at the Beatles phenomenon, but the authors may have missed out on some important details. Little did they know at the time that the books they were writing for a chuckle or a laugh, or perhaps to CAPITALIZE on the group’s incredible popularity, that the novelty books intent has boomeranged and changed over time as the perceptions of the band evolved through the ensuing years.

Novelty Books

Courses on the Beatles are now taught on the collegiate level, and I am willing to wager that most of the novelty books had the intention of solely poking fun at this long-haired group from Liverpool that was uplifting the younger generation to the forefront and front page of the culture. Little did the older generation realize what the lasting power of that group would be and the influence they would have on a worldwide basis!

Here are a few examples of Beatles novelty books.

BEATLE MANIA HITS THE BIG WIGS by STAN FINE. Published in 1964 by Gem Publishing Co.

FRONT COVER

Novelty Beatles Book - Beatlemania Hits The Big Wigs — Novelty Beatles Books – Beatlemania Hits The Big Wigs

The back cover-how many of you Baby Boomers remember the names of the celebrities portrayed in the Beatles wigs?

This book was a collection of satirical photographs from 1964 of many prominent public figures making comments about their appearance adorned in Beatles wigs and poking fun at the Beatle phenomenon. The photos contained within the book could double as postcards as a place to affix a stamp was also provided on the individual backside of the photos.. Here a few sample pages:

BIT BY LOVE AND THE BEETLE BUG

Published in 1964 and authored by Diane David and Julie Ann Lyman

Printed by Ravenswood Guardian Press

Perhaps the spelling of the group name was changed to avoid legal issues, but this book had a similar premise though the people portrayed in the photographs were not celebrities unlike the first title.

Stan Fine had a similar set of postcards under a different title that he devised for another presentation of prominent world leaders at the time presented in Beatles wigs

For me these books are important to have because it serves as evidence, that at the beginning the group was possibly not being taken seriously by the older generation or that they were simply being seen as a fad or a novelty. The unfolding events of musical history certainly proved that opinion to be misguided and faulty!

If you have any Beatles novelty books in your collection, would love to hear their titles and the premise that the book takes in it’s presentation. I also have a selfish reason for asking. If it is a book that I am not aware of, I may want to add it to my want list!