American Historical Ephemera & Photography

Posters range in size from 14 x 20 in. to 13 x 22 1/2 in. and promote performances by various artists at the Avalon Ballroom, such as Junior Wells, Canned Heat, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Iron Butterfly, Velvet Underground, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Youngbloods, Junior Wells, Santana, Buddy Guy, Kaleidoscope, and Mother Earth. San Francisco, CA: Family Dog Productions, 1968. 

Includes: FD 117-1. -- FD 118-1. -- FD 119-1. -- FD 120-1. -- FD 121-1. -- FD 122-1. -- FD 123-1. -- FD 124-1. -- Together, 8 posters in near excellent to excellent condition, few with light edge and corner wear, few with toning to verso. 

The work of artists David SMITH and Paul KAGAN, Larry STARK, and Patrick LOFTHOUSE is also included. 

Family Dog Productions was founded in 1966. Chet Helms, Family Dog's most notable promoter, began commissioning posters to advertise concerts primarily held at San Francisco's Avalon Ballroom beginning in 1966. The highly decorative posters, which feature vibrant, psychedelic graphics and references to hippie culture became so popular that they were soon produced and sold for profit.  Family Dog Productions' core group of artists came to be known as the "San Francisco Five," and included Stanley Mouse, Wes Wilson, Rick Griffin, Alton Kelly, and Victor Moscoso. 

As Family Dog's stint at the Avalon began to wind down in 1968, the budget for promotion was reduced. The promoters started utilizing black and white imagery for the posters, and as a result, the final posters in the Family Dog Avalon Ballroom series relied primarily on photographic imagery.