Grateful Dead Poster
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A neatly constrained design reminiscent of BG030 characterizes this poster headlining The Grateful Dead, who were still largely a local group. Offering mixed fare, big-draw Lightnin' Hopkins brought blues to the table.
The 1st printing variations are based primarily on the stock used, so it may be necessary to compare the different printings side by side. Both 1st printings were produced prior to the concert.
The 1st printing A is on smooth plated white index that measures 13 3/4" x 22 1/2". The stock used is .0085" thick.
1st printing B mirrors the A version except it is on coarse, porous stock that also is .0085" thick. It measures 13 11/16" x 22 1/2".
In 1986, Wes Wilson authorized a 3rd printing of the poster and added red, blue and orange colors to this reprint. It measures 13 1/2" x 21 15/16".
When the Avalon Ballroom and Bill Graham's Fillmore Auditorium began to hold weekly dance concerts, Wilson was called upon to design the posters. He created psychedelic posters from February 1966 to May 1967, when disputes over money severed his connection with Graham. Wilson pioneered the psychedelic rock poster. Intended for a particular audience, "one that was tuned in to the psychedelic experience," his art, and especially the exaggerated freehand lettering, emerged from Wilson's own involvement with that experience and the psychedelic art of light shows.