If you're a music lover, chances are you own a concert poster. Perhaps it's one you waited in a merch line for hours for, one from 1970 that you spent hundreds on, or it could be the one you got for free at a festival or record store. Maybe it's still stored in a tube in your closet, or maybe it's expertly framed on your wall. But do you know how to spot concert posters from different eras? Here's a quick introduction to the types of collectible concert posters you can get your hands on today.
Boxing Style Posters
Concert posters as advertisements began to appear during rock 'n' roll's golden era in the mid-1950s. These posters were produced using the technique of letterpress printing, by companies such as Hatch Show Print and Globe Poster. The letterpress style is often also called "boxing style" because it resembles the kind of poster that would advertise old boxing matches. These simple designs advertise old school rock 'n' roll groups and tours. Posters at this point were simply used as advertisements outside the venue where they took place. Few people saved these pieces, making them quite rare finds today.
Psychedelic Concert Posters
Psychedelic concert posters from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s are among the most collectible. As society changed during this period, so did concert posters. During this time, posters became visually stunning art pieces. These colorful, "trippy" posters were mostly designed to promote shows put on by Bill Graham and The Family Dog in San Francisco. Psychedelic posters are famous for their bright colors and unique, melting fonts that are often hard to read. Many of these posters were accompanied by handbills or postcards, smaller versions of each piece which are also collector's items. The Grateful Dead are perhaps the band most associated with psychedelic concert posters. As with early posters, these beautiful works of art were designed to advertise rather than collect and are rare to find today in good condition.
Punk Rock Flyers
In the late 1970s, another form of rock art emerged. Flyers designed to promote punk shows were generally not created by artists, but by band members and amateurs. This makes them drastically different from the posters of the psychedelic era. Punk flyers were produced crudely, usually with a Xerox machine, in black and white on cheap, 8.5" x 11" paper. This style remained true to the DIY nature of punk music. Flyers were posted in mass quantities on telephone poles around the cities where the gigs took place. Because they weren't necessarily created as art pieces, very few were saved, and even fewer remain in good condition.
Modern Concert Posters
There are countless poster artists today that draw on the traditions set forth by their predecessors. However, most posters today are created for merchandise rather than advertisements. Artists generally make limited quantities of each poster, which increases their value. This makes it exciting to purchase a poster at your favorite band's concert. The lucky few who get their hands on these posters sometimes resell them. This is a way in which the market for modern concert posters thrives today.
