The Rolling Stones 1973 Cardiff, Wales, U.K. Concert Poster Graded 9.4 (AOR-4.273). ...

Description

The Rolling Stones 1973 Cardiff, Wales, U.K. Concert Poster Graded 9.4 (AOR-4.273). An original, first printing, large-format Rolling Stones concert poster promoting a show in Cardiff, Wales, England on Saturday, September 22, 1973. A famous and wildly popular poster for its depiction of a dragon with the Stones' lips-and-tongue logo as its mouth; credit the artist Kate Burness.

Naturally it's been reproduced, but this is absolutely an original printed in the summer of 1973 to sell tickets for the show, which was eventually cancelled and most of the posters destroyed. This poster was linen-backed for conservation and subsequently graded 9.4 Near Mint by CGC (the Certified Guaranty Company). Not only is this the first graded example that Heritage has ever offered, it's the highest grade CGC has ever given this poster; the next best grade they've given is only 8.0.

One of the greatest Stones concert posters ever, if not the greatest. Not only is the artwork itself stunning, but the rich silver-ink border puts it in a class almost by itself. In our last (April) auction, Heritage sold a restored, ungraded version of this poster for $6,250. Measures 20" x 30". COA from Heritage Auctions.

Literature: See Grushkin, Paul, The Art of Rock: Posters from Presley to Punk, Abbeville Press, New York, 1987, p.417 (illus.).

More Information: So why was the show for such a beautiful poster canceled? Well for one thing, the promoter made assumptions and moved forward on things before it was locally approved. According to the BBC's web site BBC.com, the Pembrokeshire Borough Council refused permission for this show to take place, citing health and safety reasons. As one council member told the BBC years later, "The council's response to the concert was utter horror. The councillors said it would mean closing the whole main street, and shop windows would have to be battened down. They were saying things like 'We'll be inundated by hippies and wild people.' There was a meeting and it was thumbs down completely when it came to the vote. Young people couldn't believe that we'd lost such an opportunity."

Condition details: Poster has been professionally linen-backed for conservation, having been originally printed on very thin paper. The CGC graders obviously didn't mind that at all.