[Item #5467] Original Concert Poster: Moby Grape, Sparrow, Charlatans (January 13-14, 1967). Moby Grape, Sparrow, Charlatans, Stanley Mouse, Alton Kelley, Roger Hillyard, Ben van Meter.
Original Concert Poster: Moby Grape, Sparrow, Charlatans (January 13-14, 1967)

Original Concert Poster: Moby Grape, Sparrow, Charlatans (January 13-14, 1967)

San Francisco, CA: Family Dog Productions, 1967. First Edition. Single Sheet. A poster (appx. 14" x 19&7/8") announcing a concert with performances headlined by Moby Grape, along with Sparrow & the Charlatans, during January 13-14 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 Studios (logo)" in facsimile hand-calligraphy & illustration is found at the lower right area of image just below the garment of the seated ethereal figure (see image). Also credited for "Lights" are Roger Hillyard & Ben van Meter. Hillyard (b. 1942) was highly involved with the exemplary psychedelic light shows of this era, later became the proprietor of a popular coffee shop & most lately the practicing resident of a Zen Buddhist center- all in San Francisco. Van Meter (b. 1941) was also a major light show producer & experimental filmmaker at this time, & still engages in cutting-edge creativity as of this writing. Additionally, there is a lights-credit reference to "The Marc" (possibly a reference to Marc Arno Richardson). Of further note is this statement referring to a most legendary event, below image at lower margin: "Saturday Jan. 14 1-5PM/ (logo)/ The Family Dog Will Be at/ the Gathering of the Tribes/ For a Human Be-In....Free/ Polo Field- Golden Gate Park...." 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), we believe this copy to be the second of two types of concurrent original first printings, with absence of printer's credit, fluorescence of printed front under black light (which we have confirmed as still rather strong), & "Code No. 43 (1)" fine-printed at lower left margin just above "TICKET OUTLETS." King, FD-43-OP-2, pg. 98. We hedge ever-so-slightly from positively confirming this poster as belonging in the above-noted entry due to the particularly dense, parsing, hairsplitting commentary King accords it across three pages of his Collector's Guide (our curators' Bible). King writes: "The central image is a photograph of a kneeling woman, Alla Nazimova, from the 1923 silent movie Salome." (pg. 98). Another iconic relic of the psychedelic era from early in the year that would blossom into its apotheosis during the "Summer of Love" in one of its rarest original contemporary forms. From the collection of Dion Wright (b. 1937), a most respected artiste & sculptor who was at the center of the scene that produced this & the many other beautiful posters that symbolize a fabled time & place (see Wright's memoir, Tempus Fugitive, item No. 5008). In our seasoned, sharp-(if a bit bleary-) eyed estimation, this poster is in relatively remarkably very fine condition with only a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners; otherwise bright & substantially mint. 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 #5467]

Price: $400.00