Grateful Dead, Steve Miller 1968 Shrine L.A. Handbill Graded 9.4 (AOR-255-A). ...

Description

Grateful Dead, Steve Miller 1968 Shrine L.A. Handbill Graded 9.4 (AOR-255-A). An original paper advertising flyer for the Grateful Dead, Steve Miller Band and Taj Mahal in concert at Los Angeles' Shrine Exposition Hall on May 17 & 18, 1968.

This handbill was drawn up by the renowned poster artist John Van Hamersveld, who created many famous works in the psychedelic world including the Jimi Hendrix Experience concert poster at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles three months before this. The innovative artwork on this piece shows keyboardist PigPen rising above the rest proclaiming the band's name, and then Phil Lesh and Jerry Garcia down below adding more information... the concert promoter, the two opening acts and the venue.

More details are given below the central image in standard type face. It's interesting how the show's 5 ½-hour running time and the light-show credit ("Single wing turquoise bird") are each given twice, as if almost by accident.

We're very pleased that CGC grades and encapsulates this piece, because it does not carry a standard Art of Rock plate number. Rather, it's depicted in one of the book's text passages, in this case on page 255. That is why CGC's grading strip calls it simply "AOR-255."

May of 1968 found the Dead still known for only their first album, 1967's The Grateful Dead, as their second effort, Anthem of the Sun, wouldn't be released for a couple of more months. But their reputation as a live band, and indeed their very culture, had grown considerably in a year's time.

Meanwhile, the Steve Miller Band, with Boz Scaggs on guitar, were just about to release their first album the following month, Children of the Future, beginning a long career for Miller which continues with concert tours to this day. And 1968 was also the year of bluesman Taj Mahal's first album, Taj Mahal, so there's a lot of firsts here.

Handbill measures 8 1/2 x 11" and has been graded to a lovely 9.4 Near Mint by CGC (Certified Guaranty Company). 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.255 (illus.).

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