Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention 1971 German Poster by Gunther Kieser. ...

Description

Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention 1971 German Poster by Gunther Kieser. An original large paper concert poster from Dusseldorf, Germany for Frank Zappa and his Mothers of Invention group playing in that city's Rheinhalle on Tuesday, November 23, 1971.

Famous German graphic artist Gunther Kieser designed this delightful artwork, one of his most popular poster designs ever. Our POV is that it's the best-looking Zappa/Mothers concert poster ever created. It's a colorful cornucopia of faces and characters, promising attendees "Total Music Theatre." Six highly disparate faces and one Sgt. Pepper-like cello player are backed by a bed of colorful flowers.

Adding even more coolness to this poster, the band was on tour promoting its new album, the soundtrack to Frank Zappa's 200 Motels. They played only five dates in Germany; this plus Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich. So there can't have been many of these printed. Measures 23 ½" x 33" and grades to Very Good condition. COA from Heritage Auctions.

More Information: Blanks of this poster (no venue info) are seen from time to time, but this is one of the hardest Kieser concert posters to find with the venue information printed in, like this one has. All details for the engagement are given in the white in the poster's lower left and right areas. The German promoter's name is given under "Mothers": "Presented by Lippmann-Rau," two names very familiar to any German concert-poster collector.

This short German stint, and this poster, also represents the end of an era of sorts for Zappa. Less than two weeks later, the band lost all of their equipment in a venue fire in Montreux, Switzerland - worth $50,000 in 1971 dollars. Worse yet, within a week after that, Frank was attacked by a fan, took a huge spill and suffered multiple fractures. The breaks healed but Zappa was in a wheelchair for months, missed a lot of touring and his voice was never the same again. So this classic poster and its amusing artwork definitely represents happier times.

Note: Many European concert posters were "knocked off," or reproduced, at a later date to be sold in stores and such. This is an absolute pre-show first printing of this poster.

Condition details: There is light edge crumpling down along both sides of the poster, also resulting in a couple of tiny edge tears, less than ¼" in length. General toning throughout.


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