Quicksilver Messenger Service; Great Society; Kelley, Alton; Mouse, Stanley

Original Concert Poster: Quicksilver Messenger Service, Great Society (Sept. 9-10, 1966)

San Francisco, CA: Family Dog Productions, 1966. First Edition, Third Printing. Single Sheet. A poster (appx. 16" x 20") announcing a concert with performances headlined by the Quicksilver Messenger Service, along with the Great Society, during September 9-10, 1966 at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco. The acclaimed American artist Stanley Mouse (b. Stanley George Miller, 1940) created the artwork & graphics reproduced here, in collaboration with the great American poster & album cover artist Alton Kelley (1940-2008, known as "Kelley"), & "Poster Design: Mouse! Studios" in facsimile hand-lettering is found just below the image beginning at left edge (see image). According to the Talmudic scholarship we have studied regarding this poster (which is similar to that of our underground comix from this period), this copy is a third printing, preceded by two substantially identical first & second printings, with "No. 25-3" & "(c) Family Dog Productions, 1725 Washington Street, San Francisco" fine-printed at lower white margin below & flanking ticket outlet information. King, FD-25-RP-2, pg. 72 (the "2" rather than "3" at the end of this entry is explained by the identical first two printings noted above). King writes: "The central image is a very detailed photograph of the profile of the face of an older Native American man. Unlike the photograph in the logo of the Family Dog which was modified to give it a weird quality, this photograph taken on the frontier was used unaltered...The psychedelic poster artists reflected the culture in which they were immersed, and this culture revered Native Americans as an example of how to live in harmony with the land...The man in the image was named Bear Bull. He was from the Blackfoot tribe. The photograph was taken by Edward S. Curtis and dates from 1926." (pg. 72) Interestingly, this poster has no upper or side margins, & the images, letters are slightly cut off at those edges. King does not note this, but apparently this was the case with all printings, as shown in the small image provided by King for this entry. Another exemplary relic of the early psychedelic era that would come to full fruition the following year during the "Summer of Love," in its third-(almost second-) rarest near-contemporary form. From the collection of Dion Wright (b. 1937), a most well-regarded artiste & sculptor who was at the center of the scene that produced this & the many other iconic posters that symbolize a fabled time & place (see Wright's memoir, Tempus Fugitive, item No. 5008). In our observant & seasoned estimation, this poster is in relatively very fine condition with only mild rubbing, browning at margins/edges esp. lower edge (vast majority of images & bold letters substantially mint); a hint of wear & a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners. This item is too delicate to be rolled & must be shipped flat to assure no damage, therefore extra shipping costs will be required. Very Fine. [Item #5267]

Price: $110.00