Collection Guide
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Newhall (Tony) Collection of Rock Concert Posters
priNewhall
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Tony Newhall collection of rock concert posters
Creator:
Newhall, Anthony (Tony)
Identifier/Call Number: priNewhall
Physical Description:
7.67 Linear Feet
(4 oversize folders)
Date (inclusive): 1966-1967
Abstract: The Anthony (Tony) Newhall collection
of rock concert posters consists of 62 offset lithographed concert posters produced from
1966 to 1967 for the Bill Graham concert series at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco,
California. Images on the prints by graphic artists Wes Wilson, Peter Bailey, Bonnie
MacLean, and John H. Myers exemplify graphic design during the early years of the
psychedelic era. Many of the graphic artists also incorporated photographs taken by Edmund
Shea, Gered Mankowitz, and Herb Greene of the musical performers in their prints. The
concert posters include visual motifs of Art Nouveau-inspired curvilinear forms, illegible
and fluid block lettering styles, and usage of vibrant optics and colors.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Tony Newhall collection of rock concert posters, The Huntington
Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Tony Newhall, February 2010, 60 posters (BG 00-18, BG 20-58, BG 60-61).
Gift of Tony Newhall, December 2010, 2 posters (BG 19, BG 59).
Anthony (Tony) Newhall was born in Palo Alto, California in 1941. He grew up in Berkeley,
California, but went to boarding school at Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts when
he was 14. From there, Newhall attended Stanford University, then served in the Peace Corps
in Peru from 1964 to 1966, before returning to Stanford to pursue a graduate degree in
Business Administration.
Prior to graduating, Newhall moved to Newhall, California to work with his father and
brothers at the
Newhall Signal newspaper. Newhall spent the
next 30 years working in the newspaper industry, retiring in 1999. During that time, he
served as circulation manager, general manager, then publisher of the
Signal before moving to San Francisco to be the associate publisher of the
San Francisco Chronicle. Newhall was elected president of the
California Newspaper Publishers Association in 1986. Since 1992, Newhall has served as
director of the board of the Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation and now resides in Santa Clarita,
California.
The Tony Newhall collection of rock concert posters consists of 62 offset lithographed
concert posters produced from 1966 to 1967 for the Bill Graham concert series at the
Fillmore Auditorium (later Fillmore West) in San Francisco, California.
Bill Graham was a concert promoter who ran the Fillmore West in San Francisco, California,
and the Fillmore East in New York City. Graham's concerts were originally designed to
promote local-based San Francisco musicians such as the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger
Service, and Jefferson Airplane. His influence in promoting artists spread to the wider
popularization of rock music during the late 1960s and 1970s counterculture movement.
A total of 289 posters were created for the entire concert series spanning from 1966 to
1971; this collection contains the first 62 prints of the series. Tony Newhall assembled the
collection by acquiring pieces from concerts he attended at the Fillmore Auditorium, from
purchases made through vendors in the Bay Area, and through receipt of 20 prints from Bill
Graham directly when he interviewed him as a student in Stanford.
Images on the prints by artists Wes Wilson, Peter Bailey, Bonnie MacLean, and John H. Myers
exemplify graphic design during the early years of the psychedelic era. Many of the
printmakers also incorporated photographs taken by Edmund Shea, Gered Mankowitz, and Herb
Greene of the musical performers in their prints. The concert posters include visual motifs
of Art Nouveau-inspired curvilinear forms, illegible and fluid block lettering styles, and
usage of vibrant optics and colors.
The collection was organized and rehoused by David Mihaly in 2011. Items are organized by
their Bill Graham (BG) number, a numerical system assigned by copyright holders to identify
the prints at the time of production. The BG numbers (BG-00 to BG-61) are retained in the
item descriptions.
The preliminary finding aid was prepared by Krystle Satrum in May 2021.
In February 2022, Mari Khasmanyan completed the finding aid and processing.
Arranged chronologically in order of the Bill Graham production number (BG-00 through
BG-61), a numbering system that was assigned by the copyright holders.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ephemera
Fillmore Auditorium (San Francisco,
Calif.)
Graphic arts -- California -- San Francisco
Lithographs
Posters
Prints
Psychedelic art -- California -- San Francisco
Rock concerts
Rock music -- 1961-1970 -- Posters
Rock posters
Bailey, Peter, 1924-1991
Graham, Bill, 1931-1991
Greene, Herb, 1942-
Kley, Heinrich, 1863-1945
MacLean, Bonnie
Mankowitz, Gered
Myers, John H., (Graphic designer)
Shea, Edmund, 1942-2004
Wilson, Wes (Robert Wesley), 1937-2020