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The booking diary used by Mona Best at the legendary Casbah Club, where The Quarrymen - who later became The Beatles - famously played a residency. After watching a television report on The 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, Mona decided to convert her house's basement into the Casbah Club. The venue opened on 29 August 1959, and she began selling membership cards and sought a band to perform on opening night.

A friend convinced her to meet with Ken Brown and his friend George Harrison, who played in the The Les Stewart Quartet, and the band was given a Saturday night residency, until they split and Paul McCartney and John Lennon joined Harrison and Brown. As The Quarrymen, the four played the Casbah every Saturday, and even helped decorate the club's interior. However, after only eight shows, The Quarrymen quit over a financial dispute with Mona.

The diary is bound in red leather effect vinyl with gold foil lettering reading "Desk Diary". Inside are multiple sheets of paper displaying the weeks (excluding Sundays) from 1 January 1959 to 2 January 1960. Mona amended the dates and days to coincide with the first few weeks of 1960. The diary contains Mona's handwritten notes and doodles, and mentions several bands she booked. On Saturday 9 January, she wrote "Quarrymen"; this is the only known written record of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Brown being booked under this name, though it is not known whether this performance took place. Interestingly, the band booked for Sunday 10 January is "Rory Storm & The Hurricanes", whose line-up included Ringo Starr. There is also a note on the back of the first sheet reading "Find Woods number; also Richie's address", which also may be an early reference to Starr.

The paper inside the diary displays discolouration, marks and tearing due to age. The diary's leather exterior exhibits several marks and edge wear from use. It remains fragile and should be handled with care. Dimensions: 22.5 cm x 15.75 cm x 3 cm (8 3/4" x 6 1/4" x 1 1/4")

Additional Provenance:

An image of the Quarrymen diary entry can be seen on page 55 of The Beatles: The True Beginnings by Roag Best. In the book, the caption incorrectly attributes the dates to October 1959 when the date in the diary is 9 January 1960.

Estimate: £20,000 - 40,000 M