The Seed

The Holy Grail of Posters or the "SEED"

Historically speaking the poster that has become known as the "SEED" is recognized as the very first psychedelic rock poster. It is the piece that in so many ways began the revolution of what we now experience as rock poster collecting! It was the catalyst that seemed to merge graphics and music in a form all its own. The event it "advertised" was the opening of the Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City, Nevada way back in June of 1965. Because the gig was delayed, a revision of the original poster was done. The artists for this piece were Michael Ferguson and George Hunter. Mike (the Charlatans keyboard player) drew the body of the poster and George (the leader of the band) drew the very distinctive logo for the CHARLATANS.

However when the revision was done, it was George that made most all of the corrections to the existing poster. As you can see there were major additions as well as deletions made for the actual event poster. The SEED is also seen in the book "ART of ROCK" on page numbers 89 & 90. This is also a classic example of how the Professor makes the distinction between "Art Rock" & "Rock Art". One piece is for an actual event that occured and the other is for the one that never did! Now the terms are interchangable just as long as the distinction is made between the two. This could also apply to any posters that are non-event pieces such as photo posters of rock bands, psychedelic drawings, or just about anything other that an event or a gig! Keep in mind that this concept is right out of the Professors own personal visions. What I put together for all of you fellow citizens of Posterville is a wonderful visual extravanaganza as well as abit of a history lesson on this classic and semin al event and poster that took place over thirty years ago!

Ironically enough and dispi te the billing, "Direct from San Francisco," the Charlatans had never played an official gig in San Francisco until nearly nine weeks after performing at Red Dog Saloon. On August 30th,1965 at a club in North Beach called the Committee, Don Sturdy (aka D r. Johnny Fever) presented in association with the Big Snake Hunters, "The Limit of the Marvelous!" This was the Charlatans first San Francisco gig. The Charlatans had finally come back to their hometown. The poster shown here has become known hencefor th as the "San Francisco SEED". This very rare poster is the only one that the Professor has ever run across and believes still survives!

The 25th Anniversary Celeb ration
After 9131 days it all came back together as if it had just been between gigs. Sure a bit less hair here and there, but the very same spirit brought them back from out of the woodwork to join together one more time. The celebrat ion lasted 4 days which for most was a nonstop journey as if it were by way of a time machine. Different yet never changing. Although the original Red Dog Saloon was no longer, the Odion Hall was briefly converted into a facsimile of what the Red Dog Saloon might have been had it survived. The celebration will be remembered by those that attended as the party that could have raised the dead.

Pictured to the left is a shadowbox containing the original invitation, a drink voucher for a mint julep, a photo of the facade of the Odion Hall, original Red Dog Saloon matches, a garter belt from one of the Red Dog barmaids, and a snapshot of the Boys in full regalia.
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Pictured to the right is a silkscreen version of the SEED produced in 1992. This poster is 17% larger than the original SEED poster. A limited edition of 300 pieces were produced on high quality heavyweight paper. This project was a colaboration bet ween the Professor and George Hunter. Each poster is signed and numbered by the surviving artist George Hunter. As a bonus they are prematted on acid free rag board with archival materials. The outer dimensions measure 20 inches by 24 inches. This artwork is frame ready! The price of this piece is a mere $100. Artists proofs without mattes are available for only $50. However the artist proofs are presently unsigned. What a bargain! Recently an original copy of the SEED poster has sold for $1000. This is an opportunity for you to enjoy this historic piece of art at a very reasonable price. In addition,100% cotton short sleeve T-shirts silkscreened with the SEED poster are available in all sizes for $25 plus postage.