Offered is a stunning display of 1962 Beatles photographs taken by photographers Bill Connell and Les Chadwick of Liverpool's "Peter Kaye" photo studio, mounted for display with the studio's stamping on the reverse. Prior to the photo shoot that captured these images, Connell and Chadwick were tasked by Beatles manager Brian Epstein to shoot the band during rehearsals on August 22, 1962, at The Cavern Club in Liverpool. In September of that year, Epstein hired them again to shoot the band's publicity photos. Several local locations were chosen for the shoot, including Liverpool's Albert Docks, on board the fire boat The Salvor, and the site of the offered group of photographs, a Liverpool dumping ground with an old, burned out car. These are from the first set of promotional photos taken of the band with their new drummer, Ringo Starr.
Peter Kaye was present during the shoots, but the photographs are usually credited to Connell and/or Chadwick. Regardless, it was Kaye that actually did the location scouting several days before, when The Beatles were in his studio being shot by Les Chadwick. In Gareth Pawlowski's 1989 book How They Became The Beatles, Peter Kaye recounts asking Chadwick about the studio session that had run several hours: "'How'd it go?' Kaye asked upon returning to the studio. 'It's hopeless,' replied Chadwick." Kaye also described the shoot that produced the offered photographs: "We worked on principle, contrasting their appearance in suits against drains and rubble. The group looked neater than they really were. Toward the end of the session we finished up on the Pier Head, against the Liver Building. Then we used the fire salvage vessel, The Salvor."
While photos from this session have been seen many times in books and on websites, original, period prints from Peter Kaye's studio are much more scarce. The offered group of four prints capture the young Beatles, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and new drummer Ringo, just as the ascent to super-stardom is beginning. The photos, which each measure 8 x 10 inches, are mounted to an overall size of 20 x 16 inches. The photos present with excellent contrast, but do have a few areas of edge wear, possibly from being framed. Near Mint condition.