Turner Auctions will rock you with vintage concert posters, Aug. 7

‘Art of Rock’ promotional book poster, estimated at $700-$900

SAN FRANCISCO – Turner Auctions + Appraisals is pleased to present Feelin’ Groovy: Hippie, Counterculture & Music Posters and Memorabilia on August 7. Featuring 150 lots from a Northern California collector’s estate, the sale features an eclectic range of colorful or psychedelic posters, mostly rock concerts, plus a smaller selection of travel, movie, French, and other offerings. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

Music and other posters include the Jimi Hendrix Experience; Wavy Gravy in concert with Janis Joplin and other renowned musicians; the Allman Brothers; Lightning Hopkins; Jefferson Starship; the Artists Rights Today benefit concert; Willie Nelson; the Art of Rock; and groups by Bill Graham Presents. Among the noted poster artists are Stanley Mouse, Alton Kelley, Peter Max, Robert Fried, and David Lance Goines. Travel posters include images of Monaco, Lausanne, and Denmark. Among the French posters offered are Ambassadeurs by Toulouse-Lautrec, Diege aperitif, and a Marc Chagall lithograph. Movie posters, some reprinted, include Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane, and Steam Heat. Rounding out the sale are several photographs and a 1965 Ray Charles concert program.

Highlights of the sale include a complete nine-issue run of The Oracle of San Francisco, published from September 20, 1966, to February 1968 and estimated at $1,000-$2,000. Allen Cohen, the editor during the paper’s most vibrant period, and Michael Bowen, the art director, were among the founders of the publication. Ron and Jay Thelin, owners of The Psychedelic Shop at 1535 Haight Street, were the financial backers and sometime managing editors of the periodical. The Psychedelic experience was meant to generate peace, love, and good vibrations; the paper did not reflect this, so all involved kept debating and offering ideas. By issue #4, when Allen Cohen and art director Gabe Katz took the creative reins, the Oracle started to become the voice of the community. The dynamic color covers began with issue #6, and the different printings may be identified by the variation in the colors. A complete run of this influential underground newspaper is very rare and possibly unique to the market.

Uncut sheet of one poster and six handbills for the first Artist Rights Today benefit concert, estimated at $250 – $350

Also featured is an offset lithograph Art of Rock promotional poster dating to 1987 and created by Wes Wilson. It touts the Paul Grushkin book of the same name, and carries an estimate of $700-$900. Another notable offering is an uncut sheet of one poster and six handbills for the first Artist Rights Today benefit concert, which was held on August 20, 1986. The artwork was a collaborative effort of Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse, Alton Kelley, Victor Moscoso and Wes Wilson, known as the “Big 5” of psychedelic art. Performers at the show included John Cipollina, James Gurley, and Nick Gravenites. It is estimated at $250 – $350.

Still another standout is a scarce first printing of an original lithograph concert poster for a 1967 Lightning Hopkins show at the Straight Theater on Haight Street in San Francisco. Dubbed “The Straight on the Haight,” the renovated vaudeville theater hosted such acts as The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Country Joe, and many others from 1966 to 1969. The poster is estimated at $150-$200.

The final highlight is a circa-1930 Diege Aperitif a la Gentiane des Monts d’Auvergne color lithograph poster credited to Henri Le Monnier and published in Paris by Joseph-Charles. It is estimated at $200-$400.

For more information about Turner Auctions + Appraisals, please contact President Stephen Turner, President, by phone at 415-964-5250; via email at sturner@turnerauctionsonline.com; or through www.turnerauctionsonline.com

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