Iron Butterfly Handbill
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Artist Alton Kelley "... got fired [up]..." for BG247. Taking Rick Griffin's inventive lettering one step farther, he drew the flashy lettering at the top of the poster to say... nothing, really: it was a design, not lettering. The poster, which featured matching amphibious figures in David Singer's balanced style, advertised all the Fillmore West concerts from August 24-September 5. Brit John Mayall played the Fillmore right after the Iron Butterfly, followed by Savoy Brown and slide guitarist Johnny Winter.
This large handbill was only printed once before the concert. It presents a calendar of upcoming Bill Graham events on the reverse and measures 7" x 9 1/4".
As a founding member of the Family Dog, Kelley handled promotions for the events at the Avalon Ballroom, drawing posters and handbills. He soon met up with Stanley Mouse, and their association nurtured Kelley's success as an artist. Kelley had a natural talent for collage and a keen eye for culling and combining imagery and styles from diverse sources. Teamed with Mouse's drafting skill, collaborations became increasingly sophisticated, yet irreverent. Kelley always worked by hand, producing posters and other print graphics for a wide array of entertainment-oriented clients.