Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin w/BBHC 1967 "Trip or Freak" Winterland S.F. Halloween Concert Poster (AOR-2.183). ...

Description

Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin w/BBHC 1967 "Trip or Freak" Winterland S.F. Halloween Concert Poster (AOR-2.183). An original first-printing concert poster from Halloween 1967 at San Francisco's Winterland auditorium featuring the mega-lineup of the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company w/Janis Joplin and Quicksilver Messenger Service. The show was cleverly named "Trip or Freak" as a play on "Trick or Treat." The poster's famous, highly captivating artwork was created by three stars of the trade: Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley.

The poster famously uses horror-film actor Lon Chaney to get its Halloween message across, and legend has it the 600 little renditions in the backdrop were cut up and used by some LSD dealers as 'acid blotters' to distribute doses. Another quirk of the highly frameable artwork is that Griffin accidentally left a letter out of "Quicksilver." A true masterpiece of the San Francisco psychedelic-poster era, Trip or Freak remains one of the most popular images of the time. Just the music alone is enough to knock you out, but the highly compelling artwork takes it miles ahead.

Measures 14 1/4" x 26 1/4" and grades to Very Good condition. COA from Heritage Auctions.

More Information: Poster has horizontal creasing along the top row of faces, largely hidden in the busy artwork but breaking color in the far-left five faces. The upper right corner has a 1" diagonal crease that breaks color, and there's an edge bump above the third face from the right. (All these faces sure make it easy to point out flaws.) The lower left corner has a 2 ¼" diagonal corner crease which breaks color, and the corner edges there are a bit frayed. The lower right corner has a ½" diagonal crease which breaks color. The poster's verso has uneven toning, plus either very light tape residue or mild tape lifts across the top margin and again along the bottom margin, evenly spaced out of course.


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