Fantastic vintage circa 1963 Rolling Stones fan club promo card (the earliest form of a Stones fan club card), 5.25 x 4.75, signed on the reverse in blue ballpoint, "Mick Jagger," "Brian Jones, xx," "Keith Richard," "Charlie Boy [Charlie Watts]," and "Bill Wyman." A printed caption on the reverse lists the address of the fan club's national secretary, Diane Nelson. In very fine condition. A hugely desirable example of this rare promo card, boasting a scarce quintet of ultra-early Rolling Stones autographs — quite possibly the finest example of this early fan card that we have encountered.
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks, a full letter of authenticity from Beckett Authentication Services, and a letter of provenance from the original recipient: “‘This letter shall serve to authenticate the full set of Rolling Stones autographs on the rear of an early promotional card. I received their signatures whilst in their presence, following a concert on 13th August 1963, at High Wycombe Town Hall. As I recall, they only had one single out at the time and were just starting to venture outside of London. The five bandmembers were quite scruffy but pleasant, and I enjoyed meeting them very much!”
The iconic early image on the frontside of the card was captured by Philip Townshend during the group’s first professional photo session in London on May 4, 1963. Townshend’s brief was to make them the opposite of the Beatles. He instructed the band to wear normal clothes, and then he walked them around the streets of Chelsea to Cheyne Walk, a disused wharf on the Thames, and finally to a pub, The Australian. Just days earlier, the band had signed a management agreement with 19-year-old Andrew Loog Oldham. On the day of the photoshoot, Oldham decided on a makeover for the boys.
‘We went with [Oldham] on the morning of May 4, 1963, to Carnaby Street,’ bassist Bill Wyman said in his Stone Alone autobiography. ‘He bought us all these tight black jeans, black roll-neck sweaters and highly fashionable Anello & Davide black Spanish boots with Cuban heels.’ The day after the photo session, and on the recommendation of George Harrison of the Beatles, Dick Rowe (head of A&R at Decca Records) saw the band perform at the Crawdaddy in London; within the week, they were signed to the label. Their debut single, a raw version of the Chuck Berry rocker ‘Come On,’ was issued just a month later.
