A 1961 Cavern Club membership card signed 21 times by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Pete Best, more than a year before Ringo Starr joined the band, has surfaced after six decades and is now on sale for £24,950.
The tiny booklet, measuring just 10cm by 6cm, offers a glimpse into the early days of the Fab Four, when they were still performing in Liverpool's Mathew Street cellar and were yet to find worldwide fame. Signed more than a year before Ringo Starr joined the group, the card features repeated autographs from the original Beatles line-up, including an extraordinary 16 signatures from drummer Pete Best.
Fan's treasured booklet
The booklet belonged to Liverpool teenager and Beatles fan Patricia Patterson, whose favourite member of the group was Pete Best. Its pages, marked "Official Use Only", which were originally intended for notes from Cavern Club management, instead became a place for the young fan to collect autographs from the band over and over again.
John Lennon signed his name twice, playfully adding "again" above his second signature, while Paul McCartney also signed twice, writing "once again" beneath his name. George Harrison also added his signature, while Pete Best signed the booklet an incredible 16 times, with one inscription marking "the final time".
Journey from Liverpool to New York
The booklet was sent by a Liverpool pen pal in 1961 or early 1962 to a teenage girl living in Endwell, New York, and has been treasured by her family ever since. It has now been uncovered by Surrey-based rock and pop memorabilia specialists Fab Four Memorabilia, which describes it as a "one-of-a-kind opportunity" for collectors.
Founder of Fab Four Memorabilia, Alfie Evans, said: "Early sixties Beatles autographs do turn up, usually in autograph books, and signatures from the later years are genuinely scarce. But something signed before they became the Beatles we all know and love, before Ringo had even joined, is something else entirely. It isn't just rare, it's one of a kind: a once-in-a-collecting-lifetime opportunity."
Historic references and legacy
The booklet also contains handwritten references to two significant moments in the Beatles' early Liverpool career. One page features the words "AUG 5th All Night", referring to the famous all-night session held at the Cavern Club on August 5, 1961. It also includes a printed reference to the Riverboat Shuffle on Friday, August 25, 1961 - the night the Beatles made their debut aboard the Royal Iris.
The band made their Cavern Club debut on February 9, 1961, going on to play the venue 105 times that year alone, performing both lunchtime and evening sets. By August 1963, they had made 292 appearances at the club, with their final performance taking place just a month after recording She Loves You. The original Cavern Club closed in 1973 and was subsequently filled in, before a replica venue opened on the same Mathew Street site in 1984.
The discovery comes as Liverpool's Beatles heritage once again finds itself in the spotlight, with the Cavern Club recently changing hands for the first time in 35 years. The historic membership booklet is being offered for sale for £24,950. Despite its age, the condition is described as "ok", with pages being "loose and some wear to the front and back covers".
