BG-105 Jimi Hendrix 1968 "Flying Eyeball" Concert Poster Signed by Rick Griffin, Graded 9.6. ...

Description

SECOND-HIGHEST-GRADE SIGNED EXAMPLE EVER AUCTIONED

BG-105 Jimi Hendrix 1968 "Flying Eyeball" Concert Poster Signed by Rick Griffin, Graded 9.6. An original first-printing concert poster for The Jimi Hendrix Experience, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers and Albert King performing at San Francisco's famed Fillmore Auditorium and Winterland ballroom on the first four days of February 1968. Known as BG-105 in the Bill Graham numbered series and nicknamed the 'flying eyeball,' this specimen has been signed in black pen by its creator, Rick Griffin, and graded to a beautiful, sublime grade of 9.6 Near Mint Plus by the Certified Guaranty Company (CGC).

In our May auction, Heritage set the hobby on its ear by auctioning off this poster in 9.8 grade, also signed by Rick Griffin, for a breathtaking $175,000. That was the first-ever 9.8 of this poster ever auctioned; and now this is the very first Griffin-signed 9.6 ever auctioned. To have Griffin's signature on there is an unimaginable cherry on the cake, as Rick tragically passed away a third of a century ago at the young age of 47. Rick was one of the legendary 'Big Five' psychedelic poster artists of the 1960's, whose work appeared on many Bay-Area concert posters as well as a Grateful Dead album cover for Warner Bros. (Aoxomoxoa, 1969).

Whether you're a collector, investor, lover of psychedelic art or just desire that one trophy piece in your collection, this is it. This is one of the few posters in the hobby that seemingly everyone wants a first printing of. It's one of the true masterpieces of S.F. psychedelic rock art, designed by Griffin in the winter of 1967-68. This was very much printed before the shows to sell tickets, unlike the second printing which displays the number "10" before the word "Tickets" down in the lower left corner. It's the telltale sign that everyone in the hobby knows, and which of course CGC confirms with their grading and authenticating.

The use of the winged-eye symbol goes back to the time of the Egyptians, but its first use in the U.S. may have been during WWII as art on US warplanes. The use of the 'eye in the sky' or all-seeing eye were supposed to provide one with both personal empowerment through spiritual growth and enlightenment, an ethos of the 1960's.

Growing up in Southern California, Rick was influenced by comic books, Mad magazine and the hot-rod car culture of his childhood in the 1950's. When it came to the use of the winged eyeball, he was influenced by pin-stripe artist Von Dutch, who use of the winged eyeball predated Rick's by over a decade. As a kid, Rick discovered the winged eyeball painted on an abandoned car.

In 1963, Rick was also involved in a major car accident that nearly killed him and almost took out his left eye. He was forced to wear an eyepatch for a year while he healed. According to his family, as a result of these influences and experiences, the use of the eyeball would appear many times in Rick's art.

When one talks about the very best psychedelic San Francisco concert posters ever, the conversation invariably turns toward Bill Graham Presents and the Family Dog, and inevitably lands on this Hendrix flying eyeball and the FD-26 Grateful Dead Skeleton & Roses. Those two are always neck-and-neck for the most popular psych concert poster ever. For the FD-26, Heritage has sold copies graded 9.8 for $118,750 three & a half years ago, and then as prices grew we sold a 9.6 for $109,375 one & a half years ago, and then six months later a 9.6 for a world-record $137,500. And this beast... the 105... comes up less often. Again, it's never auctioned (or sold publicly) in signed 9.6 condition anywhere in the world before. Before last spring, the highest-graded first-printing flying eyeball that Heritage had ever auctioned? Only 9.0, three years ago. Clear the decks, here comes a nine-sixer.

As for the music represented herein, Jimi's new album was Axis: Bold as Love. According to the book Jimi Hendrix: Concert File (Omnibus Press, 1999), the first set on Thursday night consisted of "Red House," "Purple Haze," "Foxy Lady," "Fire" and "The Wind Cries Mary." Other songs performed over the poster's four days included the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor," B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby," "Little Wing" from the new album and the classic "Hey Joe," plus several others, we're sure. According to the contract with Graham that Concert File reproduced, the Hendrix camp was paid a flat fee of $7,000 total for the four nights, guaranteeing "two 45-minute shows nightly between the hours of 9 PM and 2 AM."

Second-billed blues star John Mayall is advertised as playing with the Bluesbreakers, an important distinction because his latest LP had been called The Blues Alone with Mayall playing everything on the LP himself (except percussion). Later in '68 he would return with the very successful, more conventional Bare Wires album.

Meanwhile Albert King was signed to Memphis' Stax Records and had appeared on the popular compilation album Born Under a Bad Sign released on Stax in 1967. Later in '68, King would release Live Wire/Blues Power, a live album recorded at... yep, the Fillmore Auditorium. But we were unable to ascertain if it was recorded at the shows done this weekend.

Did you know that this gem of a poster also doubles as a Janis Joplin concert poster? That's right, on the final night, Sunday February 4 at the Fillmore, Big Brother & the Holding Company stepped into the position held down by England's Soft Machine for most of the weekend (uncredited on the poster). But Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt had gotten into a row with Bill Graham on Saturday, even calling him a fascist, so the group skipped on to the tour's next show slated for Monday in Tempe, Arizona, and Janis & Company filled in. A nice little hidden 'value-added' feature of this poster, as if it needed anything else.

Measures 14 x 21 1/2" and grades to 9.6 Near Mint Plus. From the David Swartz Concert Poster Collection. COA from Heritage Auctions.

More Information: As a boy, Rick Griffin was influenced by Native American culture, comic books, surf culture and - as a surfer himself - developed the cartoon character Murphy, who would appear in many of his posters and drawings.

The following is taken from the RickGriffinDesigns website run by the family: "In the summer of 1962, while hitchhiking to S.F. from L.A., Rick was thrown from the truck he was riding in and his face - and especially his eye - was severely injured, and he barely survived. After months of surgeries, Rick still had a big scar and had to wear an eye patch for the following year. After recuperating, Rick stopped drawing the Murphy character. After nearly losing his eye and being influenced by the 1950's & 1960's California car culture of Von Dutch, Rick's iconic ‘eyeball' would appear many times throughout in his art."


Heritage Auctions provides detailed information when available but strongly encourages in-person inspection. Condition statements and photographs are offered as general guidance only, not as complete representations of facts, and do not constitute a warranty or assumption of liability by Heritage. Framed artworks are not examined outside their frames, and additional details from Heritage may be unavailable; therefore, the condition of unexamined works is not guaranteed. Heritage is not responsible for damage to frames, glazing, original boxes, display materials, or for works that have shifted within the frame. All lots are sold "AS IS" in accordance with our Terms & Conditions of Auction.