The late-Sixties, those halcyon days of peace and love may be long gone but they live on in the amazing music of the period – and the posters that advertised the “dance concerts” at iconic venues like the Fillmore, the Avalon and the Fillmore East.
We spoke with Ted Bahr, owner of the Bahr Gallery which specializes in the iconic pieces of art advertising the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Jefferson Airplane and so many more.
Bahr Gallery Owner Ted Bahr Ted Bahr [right] & Photographer Jay Blakesberg [left]
Q: So Ted, tell us about the Bahr Gallery …
A: Sure, we opened nearly three years ago and are the only gallery in the United States that focuses on the rare first-printing psychedelic rock posters of the late-1960s as ART.
Q: What do you mean by that?
A: At the turn of the last century, some of the most memorable artwork was the posters of the Art Nouveau movement, most of which were advertising a product. This is also true of the posters of the late-sixties which were advertisements but immediately recognized as art by hippies and then by established art critics. Today, copies of these posters are hanging in museums around the world. And that’s how we treat the art in the gallery – everything is beautifully framed with museum glass and meticulously researched, so in many ways it feels like a museum – or, at least a pretty cool trip back in time.
First-printing Grateful Dead & Miles Davis, Fillmore West 1970 by David Singer
Q: Can you give us an idea of your inventory?
A: We generally have around 250 framed pieces at any given time and north of 60 Grateful Dead posters, most from 1966-1969. We are also very deep on the Allman Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, Big Brother with Janis Joplin, the Stones, and really all of the bands of the period.
Q: Are these signed and numbered like, say, Phish posters?
A: Typically not. The sixties posters were used to advertise the concerts and were not commemorative posters created to be sold at shows as souvenirs. They were out in the world drumming up ticket sales on telephone poles, in music store windows, on college dorm bulletin boards. The result was that many of them got beat up pretty badly and most didn’t survive. Some were stashed and saved and fairly soon, in late-1966, a guy recognized some profit potential and asked the promoters to overrun the posters and sell them to him. Collectors everywhere owe a debt of gratitude to Ben Friedman who began selling them out of his record store in North Beach and maintained a good supply of them in a warehouse where they were protected.
Panther Hall, 1970. Grateful Dead & Quicksilver Messenger Service, Ft Worth, TX.
Q: So how can we see these posters and how can we buy them?
A: The physical Gallery is in Oyster Bay, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island and all are welcome to come hang out and spend as much time as you want checking everything out. Hours vary and it’s best to email me in advance and make sure I’m there. Online at www.bahrgallery.com, all of the posters are organized under “band,” or to see everything at once all in one pace you can go to the New Arrivals section.
Q: You had mentioned that the Bahr Gallery also has live music?
A: Yes we were really on a roll when the pandemic cut us short – but we’ll be back. We host live music about 8 times per year as well as lectures, wine and cheese style openings for new Exhibitions, and private events. We have a great high-ceiling space that’s perfect for parties and we love to have people over. David Gans comes every year and chats with people and then plays some excellent Dead-style interpretations and we have also had Scott Guberman (plays keyboards with Phil), Jay Blakesberg’s only Long Island appearance for his latest Jerry Garcia book was at the Bahr… we’re in contact with a lot of other folks we are looking forward to hosting.
David Gans [right] chatting pre-show at The Bahr
Q: How do people find out about these musical events?
A: Aside from social on Facebook and Instagram (@bahrgallery), we have a mailing list and a monthly newsletter. Get your email address to me and you’ll be on the list! ([email protected])
Q: Is there a market for these posters?
A: Yes, it’s very active. Collectors are constantly shuffling their collections and buying and selling using dedicated psychedelic poster auctions. Since the pandemic and particularly this Fall and Winter, prices on many pieces have skyrocketed. As with any art, you should buy what you love as opposed to what you think will ascend in value. But just as an example, the Grateful Dead Skeleton & Roses 1966 poster has topped $115,000 twice in the past 15 months and sold for more than $50,000 three times.
First-printing, Skeleton & Roses by Mouse & Kelley, 1966
Q: How did you get into this?
A: I collected in the late-1970s in college and then lived in San Francisco for 15 years starting in 1983. In addition to being able to attend 20+ Dead shows each year, it was Poster Central. Then there was a hiatus with focus on career and family and we moved back East. Kids are grown and I sold my business (trade shows and publications) in 2017 and so now I get to have a business based on my passion. I realized last year that there really is a deeper mission here – to find great new homes for this amazing artwork where people will hang them and love ‘em every day.
Q: So, is going to see Dead & Company a business expense now?
A: Ha ha – yup, pretty much.
Pre-pandemic fun at Bahr Gallery
[Sponsored content: Bahr Gallery is a JamBase client.]
