Grateful Dead 1966 Trips Festival S.F. Early Handbill Signed by Wes Wilson, Graded 6.5 (AOR-2.42). ...

Description

Grateful Dead 1966 Trips Festival S.F. Early Handbill Signed by Wes Wilson, Graded 6.5 (AOR-2.42). An original paper advertising flyer for an extremely important event in rock history, the legendary Trips Festival, which took place at San Francisco's Longshoreman's Hall on the weekend of January 21-23, 1966. There were two fliers made for the event, and this is by far the better one... designed by a new, fresh young face on the scene named Wes Wilson, and printed at Contact Printing, the little print shop in which he worked. This specimen has been signed in pencil by Wes.

This event predated the first organized Family Dog and Bill Graham dance-concerts by a month. Participants included the newly named Grateful Dead, the newly formed Big Brother and the Holding Company, Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, hipsters on the scene like poet Allen Ginsberg, and multi-media presentations galore. The Art of Rock book gave this flyer a full page all to itself, picturing both sides of it. Measures 6 ½" x 9 ½" and graded to 6.5 Fine Plus by CGC (the Certified Guaranty Company). From the David Swartz Concert Poster Collection. COA from Heritage Auctions.

Literature: See Grushkin, Paul, The Art of Rock: Posters from Presley to Punk, Abbeville Press, New York, 1987, p.116 (illus.).

More Information: Graham himself, who helped organize the Trips Fest, also produced a handbill, but it was mostly informational with no design per se. This gem is a two-sided affair, with compelling psychedelic artwork on the front and great, detailed information on the back.

"The idea was to gather up all the separate but equally groovy elements of the local scene, toss 'em into one big pot and invite the whole town to supper," states the Grateful Dead: The Illustrated History coffee-table book. "It would be a mammoth Mad Hatter's ball; no one would be left out." Observes another erudite source, "This event marked the beginning of the psychedelic 60's." No self-respected psychedelic collection is complete without the poster or handbill.


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