Jimi Hendrix 1968 ‘Flying Eyeball’ Poster Sets Auction Record
Jimi Hendrix 1968 'Flying Eyeball' concert poster
A 1968 Jimi Hendrix ‘Flying Eyeball' concert poster signed by its designer Rick Griffin has been sold by Heritage Auctions for $175,000.
The original first-printing poster is for The Jimi Hendrix Experience, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers and Albert King performing at San Francisco's famed Fillmore Auditorium and Winterland Ballroom on the first four days of February 1968. According to Heritage, the previous record holder in the psychedelic concert poster category was a Grateful Dead ‘Skeleton & Roses' poster that sold for $137,500 in 2022, also at Heritage.
The Hendrix poster came from the collection of David Swartz, sold on the first day of the Music Memorabilia & Concert Posters auction.
"It's simply wonderful to see these iconic concert posters start to gain traction in the art world itself," said Pete Howard, Heritage's Director of Concert Posters. "$175,000 exceeded even the most optimistic estimates."
There was a second $175,000 poster lot in the four-day sale, a poster advertising the Beatles' 1966 Shea Stadium appearance. The two posters reaching $175,000 mark the third and fourth highest prices ever achieved for any concert posters.
Other highlights from the sale included:
* a 1966 poster for the Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol's the Plastic Inevitable at The Trip in Los Angeles that brought in $37,5000
* the cardboard window card commemorating the moment President John F. Kennedy was serenaded by Marilyn Monroe at Madison Square Garden ("Happy birthday, Mr. President…"), a very rare poster, with only two known in collectors' circles, and featuring Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, and Jack Benny on the bill - it sold for $35,000
* Grateful Dead's 1966 ‘Skeleton & Roses' concert poster went for $81,250, signed by its creators Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley
