Bob Dylan Joan Baez 1965 Eric Von Schmidt-Designed Handbill (AOR-1.101). ...

Description

Bob Dylan Joan Baez 1965 Eric Von Schmidt-Designed Handbill (AOR-1.101). An original first-printing Bob Dylan/Joan Baez paper advertising flyer for their joint spring 1965 tour that was withdrawn shortly after getting initial use. The late folksinger and respected artist Eric Von Schmidt designed this popular Toulouse-Lautrec-inspired concert piece. This specimen remains unused, with no printing in the blank white space up above.

Throughout 1963 and '64, Dylan and Baez had been known informally as "the king and queen of folk music," which they would dismiss of course, but which would be hard to argue. Von Schmidt's design reflected this, with its very Greenwich Village feel and acoustic-folkie ethos. The design turned out to be a bit anachronistic, however, as Dylan had long since moved on to general singer-songwriter status, and even that would be short-lived when he turned into a full-fledged rock star a few months later.

This Von Schmidt artwork is estimated to have been used only for a few weeks, from about late February to late March of 1965. But on March 8, Columbia Records had released Dylan's hard-rocking single "Subterranean Homesick Blues," startling folk purists. And then on March 22 Dylan's electrified Bringing It All Back Home LP came out. The pop-music world would never be the same, let alone the folk world.

The rumor mill has always had it that Dylan didn't like this artwork, resulting in its extremely limited use. Some cite the fact that Dylan is portrayed as a pure Washington Square folkie, even wearing his 1962 corduroy cap; or perhaps his nose looked too big; or maybe he was perceived as being second-billed to Baez. Most likely of all is the plain & simple fact that he was right on the cusp of plugging in for good, and had just moved on.

Measures 5 ½" x 9 1/2" and grades to Very Good Plus condition, with light diagonal creases in both the upper right (all in white area) and lower right (crossing Dylan's leg) corner areas. COA from Heritage Auctions.

Literature: See Grushkin, Paul, The Art of Rock - Posters from Presley to Punk, Abbeville Press, New York, 1987, p.59 (illus.).

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