The Beatles Punch-Out Portraits
Whitman Publishing Company produced a book of pre-cut posters and images so that lucky fans could remove the paper-doll-style pieces and assemble them. The book was available in a 25.5 cm x 35.5 cm format and included photos, backing sheets, and figures to hang up.
The cover was blue and featured four instruments with photos of the band members inside, along with various details: “stand-out frames on portraits, miniature bandstand of The Beatles, Beatle mobile to hang up.”
The paintings, created by Nicholas Volpe and produced by Capitol Records, were also available as 36.5 x 46 cm prints. Each painting (in color with a black background) featured a smaller, full-length image of the band member in the lower right corner.
The set of four—sold for $1.98 per set—was sealed with a thin promotional card from Capitol Records placed under the wrapper, which read: “ALL FOUR BEATLES PORTRAITS RINGO PAUL JOHN GEORGE IDEAL FOR FRAMING OR PIN-UP.”
The Beatles posed for Nicholas Volpe in 1964 in New York at the Waldorf Astoria and then in Las Vegas after their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Volpe stated that the portraits he took of the Fab Four were the best he had ever taken. The display boxes contained 100 images, while retailers could purchase them in sets of 25. It was also possible to obtain a portrait by purchasing Ice-O-Derm (a medicated skin cleanser) from Colfax Avenue in Clifton, New Jersey: “Life Like Color Portrait Canvas Print” was the advertising slogan used to attract customers, who could receive one of the portraits by requesting it via mail.
Frito Lay potato chips (P.O. Box 2277, Dallas, Texas) entered the scene in 1964 with an advertisement offering portraits of the Beatles: “Collect all four!” The advertisement was printed on a folded piece of paper measuring 15 cm x 7.5 cm and stapled to the potato chip bags. Each package included a 20 cm x 25.5 cm photo. A group photo of the band measuring 50.5 cm x 40.5 cm was available by mail for $1 (postage included!).