Posters

A rare and sought after tour blank poster for Joan Baez and Bob Dylan's brief joint acoustic tour of the US East Coast in March and April 1965.

Friend and fellow folk musician Eric Von Schmidt created the painterly design in the spirit of French artist Toulouse-Lautrec, based on a photograph by Richard Waterman - the artist's initials 'VS' were incorporated into the design at lower left.

Already a global star, Baez had helped to boost Dylan's early career by introducing the then unknown folk musician to her fans and tour audiences in 1963, and the pair would continue to duet and tour together for the next couple of years as Dylan's star continued to rise. In her autobiography 'And A Voice To Sing With,' Baez recalls "we made plans to sing together in a short concert tour of the States in March and April of 1965. Manny [Greenhill] was in charge of the poster, which we both had to okay. The billing was to be exactly equal, and a design by Eric Von Schmidt was finally agreed upon which had Bob's head a little higher than mine, and my name a little higher than his ... we were something of a phenomenon, packing houses and getting rave reviews." Although printed as a 'tour blank,' with a blank portion at the top of the poster for the details of each date and venue on the tour, only a couple of posters have surfaced with printed venue details for the March 6th concert in New Haven, Connecticut. Rumour has it that Dylan objected to the design and the poster was shelved after the first few dates, only adding to the its scarcity. With the release of Dylan's first electric recordings on his historic album 'Bringing It All Back Home' on 22nd March, the tour marked a turning point in the early sixties folk movement. Baez and Dylan's relationship would fizzle out by May 1965 and only a few months later, Dylan would further alienate fans when he famously 'went electric' at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. The orange on this poster is prone to fading, however the colour on this example remains rich and bold. The poster appears in Paul Grushkin's 'The Art of Rock' plate 1.101.

Condition

Wear consistent with age and use. Unfolded card stock, not backed. Slight darkening to edges and overall age toning. Light bumps to corners and soft crease to lower right corner. Small chip to left edge in Baez's hair. Image and colours excellent.