A rare handwritten postcard from George Harrison, sent to Pattie Boyd's mother during the Beatles 1964 world tour, postmarked Darwin, Australia, presumably mailed on 11 June 1964, and addressed in Harrison's hand to Mrs Gaymer Jones (I think) + Paula + Jenny, 22 Strathmore Road, Wimbledon, London, Harrison writes in black ballpoint pen Dear Pattie's Mum and everybody, We are just leaving Manila in the Philippines on the way from Hong Kong to Sydney. Everything is going O.K. I suppose, but I don't half miss your daughter!, signed lots of love from George xxx, the reverse featuring the Marble Temple at Bangkok, Thailand
3¹⁄₂ x 5¹⁄₂ in. (9 x 14 cm.)

Christie's would like to thank noted Beatles autograph and handwriting expert Frank Caiazzo for his assistance in authenticating this lot.

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Lot Essay

On Thursday 11 June 1964, the Beatles flew from Hong Kong to Sydney as part of their 1964 world tour, stopping en route in Darwin to refuel. Although it was an unscheduled stop, 400 fans were already waiting for the Fab Four as they landed in Darwin at 2.35am. Harrison's message to Boyd's mother indicates that the Beatles must have made another stop in Manila in the Philippines before landing in Darwin. According to the postmark for Darwin, Harrison must have mailed the postcard during their stop in the Darwin airport terminal.

In his 1984 autobiography Fifty Years Adrift, Beatles press officer Derek Taylor remembered: None of us slept on the flight to Australia. There were reports of impossible weather on the eastern seaboard and as we flew on into the night, over the maddened sea and through the storm-crazed sky, I trusted in my purple prose and Their invincibility to get us there intact. We made a refuelling stop in Darwin, just in case we had to divert from Sydney (for the fans, God forbid such a necessity); but despite the short notice, the word was out and there was a good-sized crowd awaiting us when we landed. The Darwin welcome was, for me, compensation for the disappointment we had caused at the earlier, scheduled stops on the flight from England. It is more blessed to give than to deprive, and at Darwin The Beatles certainly gave. They were, like the rest of us, genuinely excited; this was a long, long way from home – indeed, from anywhere.
Australia! Euphony in the name; splendour and romance. What did we know of this unimaginably large island-dominion? Precious little. I have an imperfect memory of the short time we spent in the Darwin airport buildings; large windows, a balcony; darkness, cheering fans, a lot of good-natured babble into tape-recorders; a talkative John, full of fun, pushing and shoving his friends like a schoolboy in a bus queue.