Psychedelic Concert Posters at Auction April 21 in NY A quality selection of psychedelic concert posters of the 1960s curated by Pop Culture expert Gary Sohmers will be sold at auction April 21 including Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and The Grateful Dead.
News-Antique.com - Apr 14,2012 - The event will take place at Philip Weiss Auctions' spacious gallery, located at #1 Neil Court in Oceanside. Approximately 150 fresh-to-the market authentic concert posters will cross the block, with in person and phone bidding along with Internet bidding.
The psychedelic concert poster movement took root in San Francisco with the introduction of dance concerts in 1966 surrounding the consumption of LSD and other drugs in the Haight Ashbury section at venues such as the Fillmore, the Avalon, the Matrix and the festivals such as Monterey in 1967.
The local groups became iconic, as Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service and BIg Brother & The Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin performed at all the venues quickly securing recording contracts and nationwide popularity. Concert Promoters Bill Graham and Chet Helms competed for the audiences, the bands and the poster artists to create unique works of art that highlighted their events and venues.
Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse, Alton Kelley, Victor Moscoso, Robert Fried, David Singer, Gregory Irons, Bonnie MacLean and Wes Wilson created new unique styles of writing and graphic design that hold up today as well as Picasso or Toulouse Lautrec of their styles and eras. The first printings of the concert posters were printed before the concert to promote the show and sell tickets. With poster and head shops opening in the Bay Area and around the country, 2nd printings were done, sometimes almost immediately following the concert in 1966 through 1969.
Some of the rarest posters of that era are in this auction include the first Bill Graham concert at the Fillmore featuring the Grass Roots (BG0), several of Victor Moscoso's Neon Rose series from the Matrix, the unusual "Strange Happenings" poster from California Hall, the Batman influenced Janis Joplin concert BG2, numerous Grateful Dead iconic posters and Jimi Hendrix appearing "next week" on a Fillmore poster for The Who.
The auction also features an original Monterey Pop Festival poster and a Northern CA Folk Rock Festival poster featuring Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin on the same show in 1969, along with posters from Seattle, Santa Barbara and New York.
The Music Memorabilia will be sold during the second session on Saturday, April 21, starting at approximately 5 p.m after the Hollywood and Movie Memorabilia section of the auction. Autographed items will also be offered along with other items of rock 'n' roll and music interest. Beatles items include a copy of the iconic “butcher” cover of the Beatles' "Yesterday and Today" album. Also included will be articles of clothing owned and worn by Tanya Tucker, Marty Stuart, Randy Travis, Biggie Smalls and The Platters.
Autographed guitars, posters and other items by late 20th century and early 21st century musical icons including the Ramones, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Pearl Jam, Green Day, Korn, Linkin Park, Michelle Branch, Van Halen and many others..
A sampling of the Psychedelic concert posters:
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