Waters, Muddy; Buffalo Springfield; Havens, Richie; MacLean, Bonnie; Graham, Bill; Bruhns, Dan

Original Concert Poster: Muddy Waters, Buffalo Springfield, Richie Havens (August 1-6, 1967)

San Francisco, CA: Bill Graham, 1967. First Edition. Single Sheet. A poster (appx. 14" x 21&1/4") announcing a series of concerts produced by the legendary impresario Bill Graham (1931-1991), with performances headlined by the great American Blues musician Muddy Waters (b. McKinley Morganfield, 1913-1983), along with Buffalo Springfield & Richie Havens, during August 1-6, 1967 at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. The acclaimed American poster artist Bonnie MacLean (1939-2020), then-recently married to Graham, created the artwork & graphics reproduced here, & "B. MacLean (c) Bill Graham 1967 #76 Neal, Stratford & Kerr (printers)" in facsimile hand-lettering & numbering is found just below curved brown border of "Fillmore" at lower right area (see image). Credited for "Lights" is "Dan Bruhn(')s Fillmore Lights," an apparently in-house light show consortium of the period whose leader Mr. Bruhn we have not been able to obtain information about. According to the Talmudic scholarship we have consulted regarding this poster, this copy is one of two variants of the first-&-only printing, with "...a narrow brown strip across the top and one third way down both sides"- a point absent in the otherwise-identical variation which was produced concurrently. King, BG-76-OP-2, pg. 415. King writes: "The central image is a human face surrounded by swirls of hair. Both this image and the one preceding it demonstrate (Bonnie) MacLean's excellent technical abilities at drawing human faces. One of the problems for psychedelic artists was the fact that a certain amount of detail was lost in the printing process. The original artist's drawings for these posters show much finer detail than appeared on the final posters. It is not that Neil, Stratford and Kerr were poor printers. They were excellent, but even a very large camera loses some fine detail. While this is not a problem with most of these posters, in some cases it is. For this reason people interested in this poster art should take the opportunity of viewing the original drawings when that opportunity arises." (pg. 415) We note that King's critical assertion holds true for most if not all reproduced images (whether in posters, art books etc.) when seen against original drawings, paintings & other artworks. Another most exemplary MacLean psychedelic concoction from the mid-"Summer of Love" in its co-rarest contemporary form. From the collection of Dion Wright (b. 1937), a venerable 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 sharp-(if sore-)eyed & experienced estimation, this poster is in relatively fine-verging-on-very-fine condition with only a touch of wear & some tiny bumps, creases at/near edges & corners; miniscule loss of brown or blue surface paper at upper left & both lower (esp. right) corners. Entire central recto image is 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. Fine- Very Fine. [Item #5847]

Price: $500.00