Jefferson Airplane Poster
FD001 was the first concert presented by Chet Helms, and because there were only approximately 250 copies printed in this run, the poster is very rare and highly sought after. In this pre-concert printing, the distance from the base of the "9" in "Feb. 19" to the top of the "o" in "Jefferson" is 18 3/8". The 1st printing is 13 13/16" x 19 3/4" on thick, uncoated index.
The 2nd printing adds "No.1-2" to the lower right corner, and "(c) Family Dog Productions 1725 Washington St. San Francisco" appears in the lower left corner. The distance from the base of the "9" in "Feb. 19" to the top of the "o" in "Jefferson" is 17 13/16". This post-concert reprint measures 14" x 20 7/16".
The 3rd printing, printed after the concert and discovered in 2000, incorrectly bears the notation "No.1-2" in the lower right hand corner. It omits the "Washington Street" credit and adds "1967 (c) Family Dog Productions 639 Gough St., San Francisco, Calif. 94102" instead. The distance from the "9" to the "o" is 17 13/16", and the poster measures 14 1/4" x 20 3/8".
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.