Billie Holiday 1949 "America's No. 1 Song Stylist" Globe Concert Poster....

Description

INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT POST-WWII CONCERT POSTER

Billie Holiday 1949 "America's No. 1 Song Stylist" Globe Concert Poster. An original cardboard window card advertising the great Billie Holiday performing in a "Show and Dance" in Sacramento, California on Tuesday evening, March 1, 1949. Her famous manager Joe Glaser presented her, and she's rightfully touted as "America's No. 1 Song Stylist." Indeed, 1949 was the year Billie recorded such classics as "Crazy He Calls Me," "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do," "Give Me a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer" and "Now or Never."

This poster is a mega-important piece in the fields of jazz, blues and even pop for a number of good reasons. Since Miss Holiday didn't often leave the safe confines of New York City, this is the only poster of its kind from her entire career; a carefully, well-designed "tour blank" that could be used for any tour and in any city. Billie's other known concert posters are generally one-offs from New York or the east coast. Although fun and attractive in their own right, this is the only Lady Day poster that was built for the long haul... to be used for many dates on a tour. Thus, no design expense was spared, and what resulted is a beautiful, captivating poster for the ages, with lovely colors, sharp design and an enchanting photo of Billie complete with trademark white gardenias in her hair. The type font, size and color of "Billie Holiday" alone just knocks it out of the park. And the misspelled California city at the top only adds to its intrigue.

Definitely a trophy piece, with credit going to the well-loved Globe Poster Corp. of Baltimore, MD. Scarcity-wise, this poster has never been found from any other city on the tour, and only half-a-dozen specimens of the Sacramento venue are known to exist. Measures a shade under 14" x 22" and grades to restored Very Good condition. COA from Heritage Auctions.

More Information: Poster has had some restoration and touch-up work by the respected Chameleon Restoration company. Most of those repairs were done in the white margins, the corners and the white part of the venue box, although some of the red in the "M" in "Mar." and "D" in "Auditorium" has been mended. It's a solid repair job with very few visible traces left in its wake. The board does have a pair of creases which begin under the "D" in "Auditorium." A 3 ½" one catches the first "A" in "America's" and ends at the top of the "E" in "Billie." Two others go down to the right but really, they're so indistinguishable on the front that there's no sense describing their exact location. There was once a ding that almost punched through, at the top of the second "I" in "Billie," but it's now barely there. There's some straight horizontal creasing all the way through "Show and Dance" at the very top. General toning to the white and some surface grime throughout. The board's verso is a bit rough and ragged, but very solid. And you can even see ghosts of the red lettering in Billie's name from the poster printed just before it – in fact, same with "Joe Glaser" and "Song Stylist," all very lightly of course.


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