Wallpaper - sold, but not made, in the U.S.A. | Beatles memorabilia
Amid the worldwide phenomenon known as Beatlemania, Beatles wallpaper reached the U.S. and Canada through Wall Paper Manufacturers Ltd. of Manchester (under their 'Crown’ brand, one of their premier, highly trusted commercial and retail wallpaper brands).
They produced the rolls and shipped them across the Atlantic to awaiting bare-walled fans with adhesive glue in hand! The wallpaper was not manufactured in either North American country at first but was distributed throughout the states and provinces through paint, department, and other stores.
On February 21, 1964, just two days before the Beatles made a third appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show (pre-taped), 24,000 rolls of Beatles wallpaper landed at North American airports and headed for waiting retail shelves.
These wallpaper rolls from England were labeled 'Beat770' and had a 'sizing strip' attached. You would remove this strip - about 1"- 2" wide, with perforated color bars and writing - when installing. The wallpaper pattern was four-color photos with surrounding facsimile signatures that repeated every 21".
Later, some rolls were manufactured in Canada. These were 20½" (52.07cm) wide and labeled 'Made in Canada 33300' with no sizing strip.
Early sales trended towards the wallpaper quickly becoming a must-have item for teenage girls across the country, who would plaster their walls with images of their favorite bands.
Beatles wallpaper had a modest store run but fell short of expected sales goals. Retailers soon realized that buying fans would purchase one roll, cut it into strips, and share it with friends as wall hangings or decorations for their record players and other items. The market for buying enough to decorate an entire room was less lucrative than they thought.
Because of this, articles appeared in newspapers as early as April 1964, announcing that, in their opinion, the Beatles' popularity was 'slipping' because shops had to reduce the wallpaper price to move inventory, since it wasn't "going as well as expected."
Wallpaper Manufacturers Ltd.
The NEMS agreement was with Wallpaper Manufacturers Ltd., Kings House, King Street West, Manchester 3. The first agreement for the manufacturing license was dated November 19, 1963, with an initial term of 12 months from 1st Dec 1963. Option to renew.’ The initial license was for ‘wallpaper,' and the territory listed for distribution was ‘U.K. N.I. Channel Islands. Isle of Man.'
“By May 6, 1965, 100,000 rolls already sold in the UK. 24,000 flown to Montreal and 4000 shipped to New York.” – The Queen newspaper. May 8, 1964. Pg 56-57.
The NEMS agreement was with Wallpaper Manufacturers Ltd., Kings House, King Street West, Manchester 3. The manufacturing license agreement was dated January 16, 1964, with a term of '12 months. Option to renew’ and the territory listed for distribution was ‘World excluding U.K. N.I. Channel Islands. Isle of Man.' So, with this second agreement, they could go worldwide.
You might also like: Beatles Socks Beatles Binders
#faBgear #nemsmemorabilia #MarkItfaB @NEMSmemorabilia #ItsafaBfaBfaBfaBworld #BeatlesMemorabilia www.fabgear.company 🔷 Beatles 🔷 NEMS
Comments