Best of 2001: Best Beatles Collection

Team Reprographics
1200 Fourth Avenue, San Diego
619-234-4488

From the earliest days of Beatlemania, band manager Brian Epstein licensed merchandise rights to any product manufacturer with an open wallet. Fab Four mittens, toothbrushes, dishes, wallets, combs, bubble bath, sunglasses, and Halloween costumes have since evolved from kitsch curiosities into collectible treasures. Hundreds of these Beatles rarities are on display inside Team Reprographics' downtown storefront (look for the roof sculpture of an airplane crashing into the building). They offer printing, design, and photocopy services, but no purchase is required to view the museum of moptop memorabilia, arranged on shelves and pedestals in a room-length glass booth. The five-inch tall Beatle dolls made by Remco in 1964 feature oversized heads with "lifelike hair," four-fingered hands, collarless fabric suits, and autograph facsimiles printed onto their tiny plastic instruments. Originally priced at $3.99 per Beatle, all four pieces in the original packages currently fetch over $1000. However, the dolls showcased at Classic Repro, like everything in the display, aren't for sale, so take your wallet elsewhere if you want a set. Other coveted trinkets in rotation include Beatles hairspray (valued around $500 per can), a "Flip Your Wig" board game ($200), a "Ringo Roll" bread bag ($700), "Yeah Yeah" candystick packs ($1000 per set of six), and a Beatles phonograph player ($3000 and up).