Jefferson Airplane Poster
Bill Graham's first New Year's Eve Bash was a legendary, all-night affair with additional bands dropping by to supplement the advertised fare, and this second Bash continued the tradition. The music played 'til dawn and Graham and his staff served breakfast to those who stayed the night. The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane were at all the early New Year's concerts, and the Dead made it an annual gig for years.
The 1st printing measures 14 1/16" x 24 9/16" and is characterized by a patchy, purple/red border. It was printed before the concert.
The post-concert 2nd printing is slightly longer, measuring 14 1/16" x 24 11/16". It has a deeper, darker navy/black border.
The 3rd printing is on glossy cover stock and bears the notation "Wolfgang's Vault" in the lower right hand margin. It was printed in 2014 by the Bill Graham Archives LLC in a 500 copy run and measures 20 3/8" x 35 5/8".
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.