Artifact: Beatles autographed postcard with Jimmie Nichol signature, 1964

Up for bid at Heritage Auctions.

Details:

John, Paul, George, and...Jimmie? On the day before the start of the Beatles' 1964 tour of Europe and the Far East, Ringo suddenly came down with tonsillitis and was admitted to a London hospital. With little time to spare, Brian Epstein enlisted George Martin to help find a replacement.

Martin had the ideal candidate, a talented young drummer named Jimmie Nichol, whom he knew from a recent Tommy Quickly session. Nichol duly had one practice session with the the other three, and 27 hours later was taking the stage with them for the first tour date in Copenhagen on June 4. After his surgery and recuperation, Ringo rejoined the others onstage on June 15 in Australia, and Nichol's 11 days in the most famous pop group in history came to an end.

Jimmie was apparently the first to sign this BOAC postcard of London, writing "To Lynne, Best Wishes, Jimmie Nichol" followed by Paul, John, and George, all in bold black ink.