B46098 – The Beatles Paul McCartney 1965 Autographed Cigarette Packet (UK)

An Embassy cigarette packet autographed by Paul McCartney in blue ballpoint pen.

The signature was obtained at the Antrobus Hotel, Amesbury, England on 3rd May 1965. The Beatles were staying at the hotel as they were filming scenes for their forthcoming feature film ‘HELP!’ on the nearby Salisbury Plain.

Provenance: accompanied by a letter from the original recipient which reads:

‘The Beatles arrived late on the evening of Sunday 2nd May 1965 to check in to the Antrobus Hotel in Amesbury, a group of us waited for a glimpse but were disappointed when the limo with blacked out windows drove straight into the underground carpark of the hotel. We climbed over the hotel wall and caught a glimpse of them in the dining room before we were chased away by security.

The next day filming of scenes for the film Help! had begun on Salisbury Plain near Stonehenge, this was a huge event for a small town, the police cordoned off the roads nearby the Hotel with screaming fans everywhere. I was lucky enough to get into the Hotel reception area that evening as a friend was working in the kitchen section, and let us in through a back door entrance.

We hung around for ages by the staircase to the bedrooms as the 4 Beatles were with their entourage in one of the reception rooms downstairs.

Eventually John, George and Ringo came out and headed upstairs straight away avoiding myself and mates. Paul was last to appear and he seemed very jovial, as I remember we clustered around him to get autographs, the only thing I had him to sign was an Embassy cigarette packet which I have kept for nearly 60 years!’

The cigarette packet measures 7.4cm x 6.2cm (2.9 inches x 2.5 inches). The condition is very good.