In recent years the field of concert poster art has expanded greatly, leaving many collectors to wonder just what is an original concert poster. Sadly, the most significant and true to form material is often getting buried in the masses of colorful oversized commercial posters, unauthorized posters, and reprinted material. Much of this material is signed and numbered by the artist to give it the appearance of being valuable, though this type of poster often played no authorized role in the event.
The most relevant material is the material that actually had an authorized use in the production of the event. The criteria spelled out by Eric King (the most widely respected consultant of psychedelic era material) for an "original concert poster" is a poster that is "printed prior to the show and used to advertise the show". It goes without saying that the material should be authorized by event personnel. This is the criteria I use when deciding whether to stock certain items, as well as the criteria I use for my personal collection. As a heavily invested collector, I feel this is a time tested and reliable way to filter out the fluff. The material which was used to advertise the show can be most heavily relied upon to stand the test of time, relay the feeling of the era, as well as document printing and production processes by which posters were produced at the time of the event. These are historical documents that prove the show was set to happen, give location, ticket price, sponsor logos, promoter logos and other pertinent details. Good artistic material of this type is hard to find in perfect condition as most of it is used for the purpose for which it was created, then discarded. Most of this material is one-color, on paper stock, and is almost never signed and numbered. Rarely do promoters take the time or expense to produce art pieces to advertise their shows. However, they do often employ graphic designers who produce outstanding advertisement posters using scene appropriate graphics and photographs of the band. The photo's used on these original advertisements convey the style and feel of the various eras beautifully, as well as cause the material to age quickly(rock stars rarely keep the same "look" very long). The difference in feel comes from the artist trying to design a poster which will grab the attention of the potential concert goer, rather than trying to please their artistic/investment sensibilities in hopes they will purchase a poster. Often referred to as telephone pole posters, these are the real original concert posters of today.
My concern with many of the signed and numbered silkscreen/fine art type posters is: WHY DO THEY EXIST??? Silkscreen and fine art concert posters are often a deal between the promoter and artist which does not involve the band. This is fine if the material is being used to advertise the show, and the bands contract does not require it's approval of ad material. The promoter has every right to put out a nice poster to advertise his show. This type of poster is valid even if it is only 20 or so that go out to the ticket outlets to advertise the show. It qualifies as memorabilia: the image was on the street and people who bought tickets probably relate that image to the show. If a poster is sold at the event as merchandise or handed out by the venue/promoter commemorate the event, this material is also significant as an "event poster". The image was widely seen by the show goers and was a part of the event.
The problem of insignificance arises when the promoter and/or artist arrange for a poster which is for underground sales only, never saw the light of day prior to or during the event, and played no role in the production of the event at hand. This is fairly common even among major artists who may have work in legitimate concert advertisements as well. When was the last time you saw a Coop or Kozik poster wrapped around a telephone pole? In extreme cases, of which there are quite a few on the market these days, an artist has no approval whatsoever and is using the band name/venue name to support their artwork, with no compensation such as advertising going to the band or venue. This type of item has no relevance to the event at all, does not qualify as memorabilia, or really have any significance or value to the serious collector of concert memorabilia.
So what can be done to remedy the mass capitalism which has overtaken and confused a once simple field of collecting? The key is information. Any publication, be it a catalog, book, website, or auction listing should clearly state what the item is including it's use: Original Concert Advertisement? Commemorative? Authorized? Unauthorized? Reprint? Artists must work to keep the credibility of their work in tact by insisting on any reprints they authorize be identified as such(preferably in the copyright line on the poster itself), and not producing unauthorized material. As collectors you should expect nothing less from those you buy from. Get to know your seller. Email. Call. Ask questions.
Welcome, one & all, to my addiction. Thanks for checking out my auctions. I collect, buy, sell & trade counterculture event advertisements from all era's in hopes of preserving some angles of history which would otherwise be lost. What I look for in a poster is that it is actually a piece of history. A poster of the actual print run that was used to advertise the show. Something that really gives a feel of the era. Something that was there. These are the posters, handbills, flyers that the promoter used to promote the events. This nitch is historically the most valid and time tested. When you read a book about say, Portland's Crystal Ballroom, look and see what they use for reference. Among interviews and newspaper clippings you will find they also used the advertising posters and handbills as historical documents for their research, often giving details and a feel of the event which would otherwise be forgotten. Not all, but the vast majority of my auctions are advertisements for events. The most common of these are the standard 11x17 telephone pole posters. This is an item that is printed by the promoter, venue, or group to promote the show. They are generally not printed as an art item, though many do an awesome job of reflecting the moods and styles of the times. As such, most of these posters are printed on paper stock so the promoter can get as many as possible for their advertising dollar.
So how do you know it's actually the real poster?
That's where I come in. I have collected over 10,000 different pieces from reliable sources over the past 6 years. Much of it I collect directly off the street. For material that's "before my time" I use reliable sources such as promo guys, promoters, artists, or others who collected at the time of the event. My life's work is a database of this material which collector's will be able to reference to which states the characteristics of originals, variants and reproductions for each piece. I keep one of every piece I sell for reference. The truth of the matter is that even with today’s technology, you cannot clone a piece of paper. You can make a damn good copy, but even with a 50x magnifying glass you can see it is not as sharp as the original. Beware that some are printed poorly to start with, though most are very sharp and crisp with nice even halftones. As such, the only way to truly tell is to reference to a first printing, collected at the time of the event, which is where my collection and others like it come in. Trust me, I have no interest in discrediting the historical documents I have 1000's of dollars into by placing fraudulent posters into the market. I do have a collection of fakes(as well as the names of people they came from), so they can be documented as such. As far as the feedback file goes, there are a couple that say something to the effect of "looks like a photo copy" or "a computer printout". Well in some cases, they are originally printed that way. However, most have a crisp professional look to them, and are printed offset. Thing is it's the original printing. Not a copy of a piece from my collection, but one of the prints from the original press run, printed to advertise the show. So what about that $1000 Jimi Hendrix handbill? Well, that's a mimeograph(early form of the photocopy). How do they know it's original? Well, someone like me collected one at the time of the event. Same thing.
Jacob Grossi
www.concertposterart.com