Grateful Dead 1966 "Aid the End of Marijuana Prohibition" Benefit Ball Handbill (AOR-2.147)....

Description

Grateful Dead 1966 "Aid the End of Marijuana Prohibition" Benefit Ball Handbill (AOR-2.147). An original, elaborately designed flyer which states its cause very plainly: To end the prohibition on marijuana. The Grateful Dead and the Charlatans took part in this benefit gig at San Francisco's California Hall on Sunday night, May 29, 1966. Although the artwork is flowery, the cynicism couldn't help but show through... at the very top a banner says, "What fools / these mortals be."

This specimen is known as the AOR-2.147-OHB-B version, with its green color throughout. There is also an OHB-A version that is more B&W in appearance but with spot color . Both were printed before the show. This first-ever Heritage offering measures 8 1/2" x 11" and grades to Very Good Plus condition. From the Tim Backstrom Grateful Dead Collection. COA from Heritage Auctions.

Literature: See Grushkin, Paul, The Art of Rock: Posters from Presley to Punk, Abbeville Press, New York, 1987, p.175 (illus.).

More Information: The handbill was once eighth-folded down, but those creases are all but invisible on the front. There's also a tape lift in each corner of the verso.


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