Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite: the poster that inspired The Beatles
See how it was made
Welcome to Kite. We create fascinating, exclusive art prints in open and limited editions
Starting with our famous reproduction of John Lennon’s Victorian circus poster that inspired The Beatles’ Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite!, we go to extraordinary lengths to produce beautiful, museum-quality art that lasts a lifetime.
From our studio in London, England we ship prints all over the world and the people who buy our work love what we make.
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite: A Limited Edition Print
In 1967 John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote a song called Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! for the Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band!. The inspiration – and many of the lyrics – came from a letterpress-printed circus poster from 1843 that Lennon had bought in an antiques shop.
We have lovingly recreated that poster, using antique wooden and metal type as well as specially-commissioned wood engravings. Every print is hand-pulled on a Victorian press and individually numbered.
See the printStephen Hawking's Time Travellers Invitation
Professor Stephen Hawking devised an ingeniously simple experiment to determine whether time travel into the past was possible. The success of the experiment entirely depends on his invitation being seen by time travellers.
To tie in with this experiment, and with Professor Hawking's approval, we have created this poster printed in two letterpress limited editions and an open edition. It was meticulously assembled using antique wooden and metal type. Purchasing this print may help to prove that time travel is possible!
See the print
“How can we learn to widen our perception of time and honour our obligations to the lives of those not yet born?”
...This quote comes from Hatchette, who are the publisher of The Long View by Richard Fisher—a book about time. It will be published on the 30th March 2023, at least from our linear point of view. (It's all relative, isn't it?)
On this day in 1969, Yoko Ono and John Lennon got married
They made headlines around the world when they staged a week-long "bed-in for peace" at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel, immediately after their wedding. The couple spent their honeymoon in bed, inviting journalists and fans to visit them and discuss the ideas of peace and love.
Could ‘ring lasers’ make time travel possible?
Maybe—according to Professor Ronald Mallett, a retired physics professor from the University of Connecticut. The Guardian’s recent interview with the Professor details the backstory behind his career as a physicist, and outlines his theory for ring laser time travel.
The Beatles: ‘Bigger than Jesus’?
On this day in 1966, John Lennon made a controversial statement in an interview with London's Evening Standard newspaper, where he stated: "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink...We're more popular than Jesus now."
