Not currently on display at the V&A

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. Richard Starkey, or Ringo Starr (b.1940), was a highly respected drummer on the Liverpool beat music scene when he joined The Beatles in 1962. The drummer for Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, he first played with The Beatles when they were in Hamburg. The other Beatles encouraged their manager Brian Epstein to replace Pete Best with Ringo, and his slightly off-beat drumming following the singer's lead became a key element in The Beatles' sound. Ringo discovered a talent for acting whilst in The Beatles' films A Hard Day's Night and Help!, and went on to make films with Peter Sellers, Mae West and David Essex. He became well known as the most popular voice for the televised cartoon Thomas the Tank Engine, and continues touring with his All Starr Band.

The earliest examples of Beatles' merchandising were produced in the United States, after 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

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Glazed earthenware
Brief description
Glazed earthenware tile decorated by Dorincourt Potters with an image of The Beatles' Ringo Starr (b.1940), English, ca.1964
Physical description
Rectangular earthenware tile, glazed recto and printed with an under-glaze transfer print of Ringo Starr, originally from a painting. With Ringo Starr'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 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. Richard Starkey, or Ringo Starr (b.1940), was a highly respected drummer on the Liverpool beat music scene when he joined The Beatles in 1962. The drummer for Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, he first played with The Beatles when they were in Hamburg. The other Beatles encouraged their manager Brian Epstein to replace Pete Best with Ringo, and his slightly off-beat drumming following the singer's lead became a key element in The Beatles' sound. Ringo discovered a talent for acting whilst in The Beatles' films A Hard Day's Night and Help!, and went on to make films with Peter Sellers, Mae West and David Essex. He became well known as the most popular voice for the televised cartoon Thomas the Tank Engine, and continues touring with his All Starr Band.

The earliest examples of Beatles' merchandising were produced in the United States, after 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.52-2005

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Record createdApril 14, 2005
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