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JOHN VAN HAMERSVELD: A 1968 PINNACLE PRODUCTIONS CONCERT HANDBILL FOR JIMI HENDRIX, SOFT MACHINE, THE ELECTRIC FLAG, AND BLUE CHEER AT LOS ANGELES' SHRINE AUDITORIUM - BLUE-GREEN VARIANT
(VAN HAMERSVELD, JOHN) (HENDRIX, JIMI). Van Hamersveld, John. Los Angeles: Pinnacle Productions, 1968. Edition Not Stated - Presumed First. 8vo. Printed Sheet. Concert Handbill. Very Good.. One 8 ½ x 5 ½" paper sheet printed offset recto only. Artist turned Art Director John Van Hamersveld is responsible for some of the most iconic graphic images to emerge from California in the sixties and seventies. Raised in the surfing community of Palos Verdes, his teenage adventures with Mickey Dora, Dale Velzy, John Severson and childhood pal Rick Griffin led to his becoming the graphic designer for "Surfer" and "Surf Guide" Magazines at the height of the "Gidget" and Beach Party craze. In 1964 he created the timeless Day-Glo one-sheet for Bruce Brown's genre-defining film "The Endless Summer." After a stint at the famed Chouinard Art Institute, Van Hamersveld went on to create striking posters for Cream, The Who, The Velvet Underground, Traffic, and more for Pinnacle Productions' mid-sixties concerts at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium. The most iconic of these was his image of Jimi Hendrix sprouting wild, Medusa-like snakes from his Afro produced for the February 10th, 1968 concert featuring The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Soft Machine, The Electric Flag, and Blue Cheer. Van Hamersveld's colorful poster is perhaps the era's most recognizable psychedelic concert graphic from outside San Francisco. In addition to the full-sized poster, Pinnacle produced two handbills for the event. One with red ink on blue-green paper, and the other with orange ink on goldenrod. A most handsome, well-preserved example of the exceedingly uncommon first printing of the blue-green variant showing a bit of age toning along with some trivial tape residue to the verso. Inventory Number: 027117