NEMS-licensed calendars came in surprising variety — from a 10”x12” Louis F. Dow “salesman sample” with blank space for advertisers to print their own business info, to an 11¼”x19¾” glossy 1964 edition starting in March with band bios and “How To Write The Beatles” notes. A redesigned 1966 version rearranged the lineup and added musical-note graphics, while Dow’s promotional kits offered vendors six sizes to choose from.

This 11” cardboard tube let fans “hum along” to their favorite tunes through a colored flared mouthpiece (red, the rarest of four colors). Manufactured by Louis F. Dow under an NEMS license, the idea actually came from Merrimaker Corp., which traded away broad U.S. rights in exchange for exclusive resale privileges — a deal that later spun off a “Beatles Paper Hat” promo for a Chicago soft-drink bottler.