After their February 1964 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Beatles were superstars and it didn't take long at all for companies to start capitalizing on their success. In fact, that same year, stores were already selling Beatles guitars including The Beatles Jr Guitar by Mastro which was basically just a toy (pictured below). It measured only about 15" in length and had just four strings, so it was definitely made with kids in mind. However, it was an officially licensed product featuring the image and signature of John, Paul, George and Ringo right on the front and their faces again on the head stock. The Beatles name also appears on the guitar in two different places.
A similar looking, 30" guitar called the Beatle-ist was also released the same year by Mastro. The Beatle-ist was still a toy, but closer to a real guitar because it was closer to full size and included the correct six strings rather than the four strings on the Jr. The Beatle-ist also included an instruction book. Although I'm not sure of the retail price of The Beatles Mastro Jr Guitar, I have seen advertisements for the Beatle-ist priced at $6.66!
Products like these generated a lot of money because fans in the 1960s just couldn't get enough of The Fab Four!
(The Beatles Mastro Jr Guitar)
No comments:
Post a Comment