FAB – The Beatles Semaphore Poster – 16 Magazine

Fold-out poster published as a centerfold by the American magazine 16 Magazine in 1965 and conceived in two parts, distributed across two consecutive issues of the magazine (Vol. 6 No. 12 / Vol. 7 No. 13).

When placed side by side, the two halves form a single panoramic composition featuring full-length images of George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon against a yellow background. The four Beatles’ arm positions are presented as the beginning of a message in semaphore alphabet, while the large red letters incorporated into the composition spell out “FAB”, a reference both to the Fab Four and to the promotional language of 16 Magazine.

The second part explicitly invites readers to join it to the previous month’s centerfold: “Paste us alongside last month's centerfold – and get The Beatles' description of 16 Mag!” The first part, meanwhile, announces: “This is the beginning of a semaphore message telling you what we think of Super-16 Mag”, turning the poster into an interactive feature intended to be completed by the magazine’s readers.