Jefferson Airplane Poster
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BG042 documents Grace Slick's move from Great Society to rival band, the Jefferson Airplane. Featured here with Chicago bluesman Junior Wells, Slick joined the Airplane in time for their release, "Surrealistic Pillow" and brought with her two songs,"White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love." The lettering on Wilson's poster is becoming denser, a style that the artist assured a skeptical Bill Graham would make "...people stop and look at it."
The 1st printing, which pre-dates the concert, has a purple/navy blue background and brownish/black dates which match the handbill. It measures 14" x 22".
The 2nd printing has a brighter, medium purple background and milk chocolate colored dates which match the postcard. The photograph displayed in the image is more detailed than in the 1st printing. It was printed after the concert and measures 14" x 22 5/8".
The 3rd printing is on coated matte stock and has "W 2022" in the lower right hand margin. It was printed in 2022 by Wolfgang's in a 100 copy run. This reprint measures 14" x 22". This printing would fall under 4th printing according to Eric King's catalog.
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.