Original Concert Poster: Love, Moby Grape, Lee Michaels (December 2-4, 1966)
San Francisco, CA: Bill Graham, 1966. First Edition; First Printing. Single Sheet. A poster (appx. 14" x 23&1/2") announcing performances presented by the legendary impresario Bill Graham (1931-1991), headlined by Love, along with Moby Grape & Lee Michaels, during December 2-4, 1966 at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. The acclaimed American artist Wes Wilson (1937-2020) created the graphics & illustrations reproduced here, & "(c) 1966 Wes Wilson (four-dot cluster) 40" in facsimile hand-lettering & numbering is found at lower right side margin just outside blue border (see 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 the earlier of two first printings, the first referred to by King, with a yellow background (see details below), blue (-lined) image & the word "Love" in white (with blue borders & details). King, BG-40-OP-1, pg. 369. King writes: "This poster was printed two different ways before the concert. The earlier is light yellow and blue on a darker yellow background. The later is light chartreuse and blue on a darker chartreuse background. Both of these predate the concert and have corresponding handbills. The yellow version was not reprinted. The central image is a nude woman seen from the waist up. She is holding out a yin-yang symbol toward the viewer." (pg. 372) This poster clearly has the lighter yellow background at image of the woman, & a darker yellow background throughout the rest of the surface (again see image). No chartreuse (greenish-yellow) color is present at either backgrounds. Therefore, we definitively conclude that this is the very earliest version which "...was not reprinted" (except for its corresponding handbill) per King. A stunning, hypnotic exemplar of the early psychedelic style that would come to full fruition the following year during the "Summer of Love," in its very rarest contemporary form. From the collection of Dion Wright (b. 1937), a highly respected & prolific artiste & sculptor who was at the center of the scene that produced this & the many other fantastic posters that symbolize a fabled time & place (see Wright's memoir, Tempus Fugitive, item No. 5008). In our sharp & steady veterans' estimation, this poster is in near-fine-verging-on-very-fine condition with mild rubbing esp. at mostly blank margins/edges (the vast majority of bordered image is bright & substantially mint, see small caveats below); a touch of wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners; a few tiny chips esp. at upper corners with miniscule loss of paper/surface paper; one small (appx. 1&1/3") mostly vertical closed tear from upper edge near right corner with very slight loss of surface paper at "a" in "San Francisco near edge outside border, & at upper right branch of "V" in "LOVE" within border. This item is too delicate to be rolled & must be shipped flat to assure no damage, therefore extra shipping costs will be required. Near Fine- Fine. [Item #5407]
Price: $2,000.00