James Rosen Beatles Literature Collection

The James Rosen Beatles Literature Collection is an intentionally assembled collection of published materials (principally magazines and books) relating to the Beatles--John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr--and contains materials published both during the group's activity and in the ensuing years. It also includes materials relating specifically to each band member after the band broke up.

James Rosen’s intent in assembling this collection was to create a documentary record of the Beatles in popular culture publications, and to compile information about the Beatles for his personal research. Each item in this collection mentions the Beatles or one of its members in some way, often in the form of a concert review, an interview, or even celebrity gossip. But since these publications exist here in their entirety, not as clippings, descriptive notes are added to each item as a point of access in order to make evident the purpose of each item’s inclusion.

The first series, Periodicals, is arranged alphabetically by publication title. Each publication described here contains one or more volumes or issues relating to the Beatles or its former members. The second series, Books, is arranged primarily by author’s last name, with book titles described within. Auction catalogues make up the third series, which are arranged chronologically by auction date. The fourth series contains a small number of photographs, which are mostly reproductions. Finally, the fifth series, Additional materials, contains a variety of Beatles ephemera such as posters, greeting cards, interview transcripts, and letters.