Not on display

Tile

ca.1964 (made), ca.1964 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This tile was one of hundreds of products produced in the early 1960s illustrated with images of the Liverpool group The Beatles. The rhythm guitarist John Lennon (1940-1980) is widely regarded as the founder of the group which began in 1960, and with Paul McCartney was one of the group's two song-writers. Despite his passion for peace, spirituality and love, he was tragically shot dead at the age of forty by the psychopath Mark Chapman, who felt it his duty to kill him.

The earliest examples of Beatles' merchandising were produced in the United States, after the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein sold a company called Seltaeb the rights to license it. After a flood of successful Beatles items from stockings to talcum powder, Epstein realised the lucrative potential of the market and kept firm control of all future licensing. This tile is one of a set of five produced in England, one representing each individual band member and one showing the group.

Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Glazed earthenware
Brief description
Glazed earthenware tile decorated by Dorincourt Potters with an image of The Beatles' John Lennon (1940-1980), English, ca.1964
Physical description
Rectangular earthenware tile, glazed recto and printed with an under-glaze transfer print of John Lennon, originally from a painting. With John Lennon's autograph below the image, lower left hand corner, and the artist's monogram 'IW' bottom right.
Dimensions
  • Height: 15.2cm
  • Width: 15.2cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • These tiles are produced by kind permission of "The Beatles" Dorincourt Potters, Oaklawn Rd., Leatherhead Sheltered Industry (In black lettering, verso)
  • CARTER TILES MADE IN ENGLAND (In relief letters, verso.)
  • Monogram, possibly IW (Recto, bottom right)
Object history
Historical significance: These tiles would have been issued circa 1964, at the height of the craze for The Beatles.
Production
The tiles were made by Carter Tiles and decorated and printed by Dorincourt Potters. Dorincourt Industries was a charity working with disabled people and had a range of services, much of it with a graphic arts association. In about 1999 a new company was formed, Dorincourt Lion Litho, with 15% of all future profits going to the Queen Elizabeth Foundation for the disabled.
Subject depicted
Association
Summary
This tile was one of hundreds of products produced in the early 1960s illustrated with images of the Liverpool group The Beatles. The rhythm guitarist John Lennon (1940-1980) is widely regarded as the founder of the group which began in 1960, and with Paul McCartney was one of the group's two song-writers. Despite his passion for peace, spirituality and love, he was tragically shot dead at the age of forty by the psychopath Mark Chapman, who felt it his duty to kill him.

The earliest examples of Beatles' merchandising were produced in the United States, after the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein sold a company called Seltaeb the rights to license it. After a flood of successful Beatles items from stockings to talcum powder, Epstein realised the lucrative potential of the market and kept firm control of all future licensing. This tile is one of a set of five produced in England, one representing each individual band member and one showing the group.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
S.49-2005

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Record createdApril 14, 2005
Record URL
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