THE 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS

13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS POSTERS
by Patrick Lundborg

Previously published in 13th Floor Elevators - The Complete Reference File, 2nd edition, 2003. Some minor corrections and additions have been made.

Date	Venue	Participants	Artist	Description & Comments
1966 Mar-25	Market Hall Dallas, TX	~ Chaparrels ~ Gary Ferguson ~ Novas + 4 more acts		Crude flier/handbill on blue paper; the show is billed as "Spring Clean-up". This is the earliest known poster/handbill for the Elevators. Earlier the same day the Elevators appeared on the local Sump N Else TV show.
1966 Aug-26 Aug-27	Fillmore San Francisco, CA	~ Great Society (first night only) ~ Sopwith Camel	Wes Wilson	BG 25 a k a "Grace". Red/blue with swirly lettering around Grace Slick photo. Three formats exist: (1) Poster originals are currently very expensive ($1000+). A second printing exists. (2) Handbill is very similar to poster, 5x7 on card stock with plain back. This is the very first full color BG handbill. (3) A postcard version exists. Note: the Elevators never played the second night.
1966 Sep-02 Sep-03	Avalon San Francisco, CA	~ Sir Douglas Quintet	Mouse/Kelley	FD 24 a k a "Barnyard", or "Treehouse". Drawing of bird's claw/treehouse. (1) Poster is red/purple/olive green.Two printings exist. (2) Handbill is 10x14 in pink/red on thin paper, with ID Magazine ad on reverse on two variants. Four variants have been identified, with minor differences in color.
1966 Sep-10	Santa Rosa Vet's Memorial Santa Rosa, CA	~ New Breed		A simple "boxing-style" b/w poster/flier which gives the two bands equal billing. The Elevators are misspelled "...Elevator".
1966 Sep-23	Rollarena San Leandro, CA	~ Staton Bros ~ Elements Of Sound	Don Ryder	A crude "punk"-style b/w drawing that shows two elevators, with various comments added incl "M=13=M" and "Elvis queer", both written upside down. Year incorrectly listed as 1967 in Art Of Rock [AOR 2.295]. Note: the Elevators are mentioned in a Rollarena poster for the Standells from the preceding week, as a coming attraction.
1966 Sep-30	National Guard Armory San Bruno, CA	~ Inmates ~ Westminster V	C Thayer	Abstract psychedelic shapes in blue-green and navy blue with some lettering in white. Very appealing [AOR 2.335].
1966 Sep-30 Oct-01	Avalon San Francisco, CA	~ Quicksilver Messenger Service	Mouse	FD 28 a k a "Spaceman" or "Zebra Man". Blue/orange man's head in psychedelic patterns. The image comes from a Life magazine cover from 1954. (1) Poster exists in at least four vintage printings, and a few modern bootlegs. (2) Handbill is 5 x 7 on white paper.
1966 Oct-15	San Mateo College San Mateo, CA	~ Baytovens ~ Harbinger Complex ~ Immediate Family + 4 more acts		Diamond/leaf-shaped psychedelic swirl designs with artful lettering inside the shapes. (1) The poster is full color. This is rarely seen, but appears to exist. (2) The handbill is less colorful in brown/blue and has a phone # at the bottom. (3) An 8-page show program exists, which has a front cover very similar to the handbill (no phone # or ticket office data). The program contains a picture spread with unique photos of the Elevators. (4) The postcard is more colorful than the program or handbill. It's not the same colors as the poster.
1966 Oct-22	Monterey Fairgrounds Monterey, CA	~ 37 Scence ~ English Leather ~ Color Us Sound ~ Beau Modes		A traditional, light blue flier with a vampire/halloween motif, produced by the KMBY station who presented this concert. The Elevators are misspelled "...Elevator", and exaggerated data on their TV appearances is given.
1966 Nov-10	The Armory, Santa Venetia, CA	~ Niteriders		Boxing-style poster with orange box highlighting the Elevators. Not listed in the "Complete Reference File".
1966 Nov-11 Nov-12	Avalon San Francisco, CA	~ Moby Grape	S Renick	FD 34 a k a "Pyramid Eye". Swirly eye/pyramid design in pink and green. The new "Reverberation" 45 is promoted, which is unusual for SF posters. (1) Two printings of the poster exists. (2) There are three handbill variants (green/purple, green/tan, green/orange).
1966 Nov-23	Maple Hall San Pablo, CA			A light yellow handbill/ ticket made out to resemble mock dollar bill like you might find in a board game. Note: this item may have been bootlegged.
1967 Jan-07	Doris Miller Auditorium Austin, TX	~ Conqueroo	Mark Weakley	A k a "The Angel". Winged angel in abstract, dreamlike setting. The first psychedelic Texas poster for the Elevators. (1) Poster is green/grey/white. (2) Handbill is blue/white.
1967 Feb-10	City Coliseum Austin, TX	~ Conqueroo	Mark Weakley	A k a "Ram'sHead". Drawing of man's (or ram's) head with psychedelic lettering in hair/crown. (1) Poster is yellow with a white border. (2) The handbill is light blue/dark blue and has no white border. A pink handbill variant has also been reported.
1967 Feb-18	Houston Music Theatre Houston, TX	~ Conqueroo	J Moore	A k a "The Hand". Drawing of a hand such as one might see hanging at a palmist's shop, with lines identified with astrological and latin signs/ phrases, plus psychedelic lettering. Great design. (1) Poster is 14x22, full color in yellow/ green/red. (2) A two-color yellow/green variation has been seen as a handbill, and other handbill variants appear to exist.
1967 Jun-03	Magic Mountain Music Festival Mt Tamalpais, Marin County, CA	~ Several major S F & L A acts		Program in red/white/orange with psychedelic lettering and flower image [AOR 2.324]. AOR shows several poster items for this event, but only the program mentions the Elevators. Note: The band did not play this gig.
1967 Jun-22 Jun-23 Jun-24 Jun-25	Avalon San Francisco, CA	~ Charlatans (headline)	Rick Griffin	FD 67 a k a "RLAT". Brown border and blue lettering around a Charlatans photo. The Elevators' name looks like it may have been added at a late stage. This was part of a series of 3 Charlatans posters designed by Griffin. (1) Poster exists in two printings. (2) Postcard is 5x7 and identical to poster, with two variants that differ on the back only. Note: The Elevators never played these gigs.
1967 Oct-14	Market Hall Dallas, TX	~ Mitch Ryder ~ Uniques ~ Doug Clark & His Hot Nuts ~ Soul Society + 4 more acts		Traditional pre-psychedelic handbill featuring a photo of headliner Mitch Ryder, plus smaller photos or logos for the supporting acts. No Elevators photo. The handbill exists in at least two variants. A poster has been reported to exist but remains unseen.
1967 Nov-03 Nov-04	Vulcan Gas Co Austin, TX	~ Conqueroo (first night) ~ Shiva's Headband (second night)	Gilbert Shelton	VG2 a k a "Winnie The Pooh". Winnie The Pooh animal images. (1) Poster is blue/purple (2a + 2b) Handbill is black & white and exists in two versions, one being the mirror image of the other.
1967 Nov-22 Nov-23	Love Street Light Circus, Houston, TX			Crude poster combining two old stock photos with handdrawn lettering promoting the gig. This recently discovered item is not listed in the "Complete Reference File".
1967 Dec-08 Dec-09 Dec-10	Vulcan Gas Co Austin, TX	~ Swiss Movement ~ South Canadian Overflow ~ Shivas Headband (one night each)	Gilbert Shelton	VG7 a k a "Brains & Guts". Circular design withdrawing of a brain and guts and the word "POT" hidden in the brains. (1) Poster is 22 x 28 in red/yellow/blue/green (2) Handbill is black & white
1967 Dec-23	Santa Rosa Vet's Memorial Santa Rosa, CA	~ Them ~ Sir Douglas Quintet		Photo of headliners Them (Texan incarnation) with their name in big print inscribed in a semi-circle, while the Elevators and SDQ are in small print. (1) Poster is in color (2) Handbill (shown) is b/w and much smaller Note: the Elevators never played this gig.
1968 Feb-02 Feb-03 Feb-04	Avalon San Francisco, CA	~ Electric Flag (headline) ~ Mad River ~ The Fugs	Moscoso	FD 104 a k a "The Finger". Odd eagle/lightning /finger motif. (1) Poster is yellow/red on blue background. (2) Postcard. Note: the Elevators never played these gigs.
1968 Mar-15 Mar-16	Love Street Light Circus Houston, TX			Psychedelic orange/pink/blue "sunrays" design. No supporting band is listed. This rarity is currently the only known Elevatorsposter from Love Street.
1968 Aug-29 Aug-30 Aug-31	Vulcan Gas Co Austin, TX	~ New Atlantis	Gilbert Shelton	A k a "Grackle Debacle". Shows the band as 'Stacey & The 13th Floor Elevators'. Poster is b/w in 19th century-style with a drawing of two ravens. In order to save money, Vulcan Gas printed some posters on newsprint, including this one. New Atlantis, which featured former Elevators member Dan Galindo, performed on the 29th as well (without the Elevators). This is the hardest to find of the three Vulcan Elevators posters.
1968 Oct-25 Oct-26	Love Street Light Circus, Houston, TX	~ Shayds		Red and black lettering on white background. Not listed in the Complete Reference File.

LATER POSTERS

Posters exist for several Elevators "reunions" from the 1970s-80s, as well as Roky concerts where the Elevators may be mentioned. There is also a retrospective (?) Love Street Light Circus handbill/flier with a very crude drawing of a building with a flight of stairs and some graffiti, which mentions the Elevators and local Houston band Matchbox, with no reference to a specific concert. In addition, noted poster artist Gary Grimshaw created a circa 1981 retrospective psychedelic poster in the Family Dog style, which bears the legend "Journey To The Center Of Mind" and mentions the Elevators among dozens of other artists.

FAKE & DUBIOUS ELEVATORS POSTERS

(1966-Oct-00) A poster from a 1966 Albuquerque gig has been offered on the market. The poster which by most accounts is fake and recently designed/ manufactured shows a buddha figure sitting among small flowers, while the participating bands are listed in crude psychedelic lettering. No genuine Elevators posters from New Mexico have yet been found.

(1967-Mar-5) A poster from a fictitious concert at California Hall in San Francisco on this date has been circulating on the market. This is a "fantasy" poster wherein a recent artist has taken an original b/w poster and added color and names of several bands who did not appear; apart from the Elevators these include the Doors, Captain Beefheart and Strawberry Alarmclock. Needless to say such a concert never existed, and the actual benefit was a local affair featuring no major names.

(1967-Dec-1) A poster from a supposed gig at Doris Miller Auditorium on this date has recently been "found", this is believed to be fake and recently made, probably by the same entrepreneur who did the fake Albuquerque poster. The poster shows a crude multilayered swirl design in red and blue with the Elevators "eyebrow" logo repeated across it. There are no records of an Elevators gig at Doris Miller on this date

Thanks to Dennis V Hickey for invaluable assistance, and to Ross Hannan for additional data.

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