Quicksilver Messenger Service; Kaleidoscope; Musselwhite, Charlie; Griffin, Rick

Original Concert Poster: Quicksilver Messenger Service, Kaleidoscope, Charlie Musselwhite (January 12-14, 1968)

San Francisco, CA: Family Dog Productions, 1968. First Edition. Single Sheet. A poster (appx. 14" x 20") announcing a series of three concerts headlined by the Quicksilver Messenger Service, along with Kaleidoscope & Charlie Musselwhite (b. Charles Douglas Musselwhite, 1944, the noted American harmonica player & bandleader), during January 12-14, 1968 at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco. The legendary American psychedelic artist Rick Griffin (b. Richard Alden Griffin, 1944-1991) created the artwork & graphics reproduced here, & "Rick Griffin" in facsimile black hand-lettering is found inside a small, bordered orange window at black background inside orange image-border near lower right corner (see image). Credited for "Lights" is "Jerry Abrams Head Lights," a consortium of psychedelic light show creators including Abrams which began its work at the famous Monterey Pop Festival of June 1967. According to the Talmudic scholarship we have consulted regarding this poster (among the most intensely hair-splitting we've yet encountered), it is a variation among original first printings, distinguished by smooth texture at both recto & verso & a slightly less-than-total black background color. We quote King, FD-101-OP-5 in its entirety: "A small number of copies of this poster exist which do not have a rows or woven texture on either side. These copies are not a bright black as are the others, either originals or reprints. These are originals." (pg. 165) It appears, therefore, that this variation may be rarer than the first-referenced first printing, Fd-101-OP-1 (pg. 164), which is described as having a woven/row pattern at verso. King writes at exceptional length, here excerpted: "The central image is a heart shaped design with roots descending into the ground below and branches rising into the air. There is an opening in the heart from which flow two streams of orange liquid. Immediately upon seeing this image, viewers recognize Griffin's intention was to depict a living entity which he saw in his mind and in his heart as both growing from the soil and nourishing it. This is one of the most profoundly biophilic of the psychedelic images, and for this reason it has been popular from the first day it was posted. Griffin was a very complex man who, more than most people, confronted a number of serious conflicts about the nature of spiritual reality. On one side of what he saw as the dual nature of existence was the Old Testament "Jealous and Angry God" before whom we have all given in to temptation and on the other was the New Testament Savior who stood between man and the Old Testament God on Judgement Day...not only was he going through a period of intense artistic fertility, he was also being torn between these two polarities as he wrestled with himself and sought to decide on his own personal answers to the moral questions of existence that all serious people must confront...He both loved this life and feared that by loving this life he would lose eternal life. Whatever the eternal Answer might be, Rick Griffin certainly turned his seeking for that Answer into great art." (pgs. 165-166). King has entitled this intense (& intensely described) poster "Eternal Reservoir (or the Source)." An iconic Masterpiece of Griffin's mature Psychedelic style from the dawn of the ultimately disillusioning year that followed that of the "Summer of Love," in perhaps its very rarest contemporary form. From the collection of Dion Wright (b. 1937), an acclaimed artiste & sculptor who was at the center of the scene that produced this & the many other outstanding posters that symbolize a fabled time & place (see Wright's memoir, Tempus Fugitive, item No. 5916). In our sharp-if-stunned & seasoned estimation, this poster is relatively & particularly in quite very fine condition with only a touch of wear & a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners- the entire printed recto appears completely 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 #6249]

Price: $2,000.00