FD-1 Jefferson Airplane "A Tribal Stomp" 1966 Family Dog Fillmore Concert Poster Signed by Wes Wilson. ...

Description

A POSTER THAT STOMPS OVER ALL OTHERS IN RARITY

FD-1 Jefferson Airplane "A Tribal Stomp" 1966 Family Dog Fillmore Concert Poster Signed by Wes Wilson. One of the true Holy Grails of the psychedelic concert poster hobby... a very rare original, pre-show first printing of the first Family Dog concert poster advertising just one show from the Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother & The Holding Company on Saturday night, February 19, 1966 at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium. This rare specimen has been signed by its creator, the dean of San Francisco poster artists Wes Wilson, in pencil down in the lower right.

FD-1 is one of those key psychedelic concert posters that everyone wants and needs, but only the privileged few have. The print run has been scholastically estimated at 250 copies, and most of those were discarded after the show. People didn't save this one because it wasn't a visual beauty with catchy colors, and nobody knew this would turn into a hobby a few months later. Any that were saved were likely done so accidentally, and by the quirky few Bay Area denizens who felt it might be a cute memento.

"We were really winging it in those early days," says Family Dog co-owner Bob Cohen, who sold his personal FD-1 through Heritage a few years ago. "We had no idea what was happening. We're all looking at this in retrospect now, knowing how important all this was. But when it first started, the first 6-8 weeks of shows, we had no idea."

This was the first concert produced by Family Dog promoter Chet Helms, who suggested the image used from a photo by Edward Curtis from the book The American Heritage Book of Indians, and Wes Wilson designed his poster around it. Its name, the "Tribal Stomp," represented the people of the Family Dog collective (tribe) and "stomp" was an old-timey word for a dance.

"A Tribal Stomp" was designed by the aforementioned late Wes Wilson. Mr. Wilson designed the first 10 Family Dog posters and 45 of the first 50 Bill Grahams. And FD-1 was the first poster Wes drew for either promoter; his first BG poster would come a month later ("Batman"). Wes also personally printed this poster at his small San Francisco print shop, Contact Printing, in either January or early February 1966, when the psychedelic concert-poster movement was still at ground zero.

FD-1 is a perfect representation of the earliest psychedelic poster art, with its low-budget lack of colors (which allowed some people to color it themselves - see page 104 in The Art of Rock), its rolling, psychedelic yet easy-to-read lettering, the quaint simplicity of just one show on a Saturday night, its simple $2.00 admission price, and two of San Francisco's most famous bands ever. (Janis Joplin was not in BBHC yet; she would join them about five months later. And don't forget, Grace Slick wasn't in the Airplane yet, either.)

With all the hoopla about the Avalon Ballroom, a lot of people lose sight of the fact that the first four Family Dog dance-concerts were held at the beloved Fillmore. And there it is, right above the show's date, in black & white.

This poster is referred to as "Tribal Stomp" because of the wording found on the American Indian artwork in the center. Wes Wilson did all the drawing and designing, and Chet Helms picked out the photo and theme, his MO in the Family Dog's early days. This was also the debut of the Dog's Indian-smoking-a-joint logo appearing in the upper left corner. This was only half of it, however; Wilson would flush out the logo to completeness on the very next poster.

Notice the dark 'scumming' in the lower margin which is associated with first printings of this poster. That ink scumming was inherent on almost all original printings of this poster, as they were hand-rolled by Wes Wilson himself. According to the web site PrintWiki.org, "In offset lithography, scumming is a generic term for the presence of ink on non-image areas of the printing plate, which can be caused by a variety of press conditions." To serious poster collectors, this ink residue doesn't lessen the value of this extremely rare piece, but actually bolsters its authenticity.

Some lucky bidder is going to walk away with one heck of a rare psychedelic concert poster, a crazy-cool conversation piece and very special bragging rights for life. Heritage sold this exact specimen in 2016, and now it has come back around to find a new home. Measures 13 ¾" x 19 ¾" and grades to restored Very Good condition. COA from Heritage Auctions.

Literature: See Grushkin, Paul, The Art of Rock: Posters from Presley to Punk, Abbeville Press, New York, 1987, p.70-71 (background), p.95 (illustrated).

More Information: The poster has had some restoration, including paper replacement along the edges and corners. There is much "scumming" or "smudging" all across the bottom, which was just a byproduct of the early, primitive, on-the-cheap printing process.

This specimen has been noted as a first printing by poster authority Eric King on the reverse side. Here is what King has lightly penciled on the verso:
"To Whom It May Concern:
This is to state that my name is Eric King, that I am the author of The Collector's Guide to Psychedelic Rock Concert Posters, Postcards and Handbills 1966-1973 and that I am a widely recognized expert on this material.

"On this day, 10/8/11, I examined this poster carefully and determined that it is an original printing, one done before the event with the intention of distribution to promote the concert, FD-1-OP-1 according to the numbering system in my guide. [Signed], Eric King."

It is unknown who wrote the annotation at the bottom, also in pencil, "FD-1-OP1 Signed & Authenticated. Restoration at edges & corners."


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