Howlin' Wolf; Big Brother& the Holding Company; Kelley, Alton; Mouse, Stanley

Original Concert Poster: Howlin' Wolf, Big Brother & the Holding Company (September 23-24, 1966)

San Francisco, CA: Family Dog Productions, 1966. First Edition. Single Sheet. A poster (appx. 14&1/8" x 19&7/8") announcing a concert with performances headlined by Howlin' Wolf, along with Big Brother & the Holding Company, during September 23-24, 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 noted American poster & album cover artist Alton Kelley (1940-2008, known as "Kelley"), & "Mouse!(logo)Studios" in facsimile hand-lettering & illustration is found just above lower-middle-right scroll-border of image. According to the Talmudic scholarship we have consulted regarding this poster (which is similar in its depth to that of our underground comix from this period), this copy is a first printing, one of two states whose precedence cannot be determined, & therefore "Both are considered originals." King, FD-27-OP-2, pg. 76. Both entries -1 & -2 are considered originals as noted, & we categorize this copy as belonging in -2 because of the heavily red (with some orange) color inside the wolf's mouth, the wolf's eye & inner border of "Avalon," by which King distinguishes the copies in this entry. The purer orange color seen in the inner borders of "Howlin' Wolf" here also appear in the areas mentioned above in the -1 copies. The mixture of orange & orange-red here, as opposed to one or the other, we're afraid further complicates this matter. As King writes: "Previous material in these notes incorrectly stated that there was a transitional copy showing a mix of orange and red orange ink indicating only one press run. This is incorrect...The supposed transitional copy is really a red/orange copy with a little less ink. It is not known, and probably never will be known, which of these two printings, pure orange or orange with a lot of red in it, is the original and which the reprint. For this reason it has been agreed to regard both as originals." (pg. 76) We don't mean to give the reader a headache with this particularly hair-splitting skullership, but feel obligated to impart what has been determined (or perhaps can never be quite determined) about this especially collectible production. To boot, the concert announced here apparently "Actually was cancelled" & a very limited, gigantic silk-screen version was concurrently produced before this (non-) concert, so rare as to be virtually unobtainable & "...one of the most sought-after of Family Dog items" per King. A particularly iconic relic of the early psychedelic era that would come to full flower-power the following year during the "Summer of Love," in its rarest obtainable (albeit confusing) contemporary form. From the collection of Dion Wright (b. 1937), a most respected & prolific artiste & sculptor who was at the center of the scene that produced this & many other collectible posters that symbolize a legendary time & place (see Wright's memoir, Tempus Fugitive, item No. 5008). In our eagle(& in this case red-)eyed & experienced estimation, this poster is in relatively fine condition with mild rubbing, browning & occasional spotting mostly to blank white margins/edges (image, letters are bright & substantially pristine); very light wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners; one short, thin line of clear tape affixed to blank upper-middle margin/edge, protruding very slightly above edge (were it not for this latter point, we would declare this poster to be very fine). This item is too delicate to be rolled & must be shipped flat to assure no damage, therefore extra shipping costs will be required. Fine. [Item #5306]

Price: $1,200.00