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46.
An original sheet of wrapping paper designed by Paul McCartney for Indica, c. March 1966.
Printed in bold black lettering on white paper. 41.9x53.2cm.
In his memoir, Miles recalls McCartney arriving at Indica and hauling a heavy package out of a brand new Aston Martin DB6 containing a thousand sheets of wrapping paper he’d had printed on “best-quality paper, which made each one virtually an artwork”, continuing: “The design read ‘Indica Books and Gallery’ with our address, the lines of the text forming a cross and a diagonal cross - a Union Jack, in fact - done in large black capital letters on white, each painstakingly hand-lettered” (In the Sixties, p.96).
In his official biography of McCartney (which illustrates the wrapping paper in the photo-insert), Miles remembers how McCartney had “kept it a big secret”, arousing Peter Asher’s curiosity by locking himself in his room in Wimpole Street for two days, and that “It was not until the shop was about ready to open that he arrived and presented his surprise gift” (Many Years From Now, p.227).
Miles also tells of how Asher leaked the fact that McCartney had designed the wrapping paper to Gloria Stavers at 16 Magazine, and of how Indica was soon inundated with letters from American Beatles fans requesting copies of it; how many, if any, were actually sent is unrecorded. The quantity printed is also unclear, as Miles has stated figures of 1000 and 2000. Either way, sheets are rare, intentionally ephemeral, and represent a neat convergence of the underground scene with the pop world.
Trivial handling wear, o/w Fine.