Sixties Posters AOR 3.116 Grateful Dead Poster

The original/first print poster for these shows is one of the rarest and most sought after psychedelic posters. It is referred to as "Hawaiian Aoxomoxoa", and was designed by the late Rick Griffin. These shows, which were scheduled to be held at Exhibit Hall in Honolulu, were cancelled. Due to the cancellation, the promoter decided not to pay the printer for the posters & handbills that had already been printed. After learning this, the printer destroyed most of the posters, and very few are known to exist today. Originals are easy to distinguish, as they are roughly twice the size of the second print poster (which measures approx. 12" x 20"), and they do not have a white border.

The second print poster, an authorized reprint, was printed in 1982 by Rick Griffin and Jose Kent. It was printed on very thin/glossy paper stock, and measures approx. 12" x 20". It is important to note that the color of the top of the skull on this poster is pure white, as is the area in the center of the yellow sun. In addition, the left edge of the image on this poster is irregular (not straight) in a couple af areas, one in the mid-area of the poster, the other near the bottom...looks sloppy.

There are at least three known bootlegs of the second printing of this poster, the characteristics of which are as follows:

One bootleg has a yellowish tint in the top of the skull, which is pure white on the true second. This bootleg has a pure white area in the center of the sun (like the true second), but does not have an irregular left image edge. The image edge on this poster is perfectly straight. The paper used for this poster is a medium/glossy paper stock, not thin.

Another bootleg has a grayish area (looks like a small shadow) in the right hand section of the skull (not yellow, like the previously mentioned bootleg, and not pure white like the true second print). All other characteristics are identical to the previously described bootleg. This poster was printed on a medium+ weight glossy paper stock...the thickest of the three boots, and much thicker than the second print.

Yet another bootleg has the same grayish area in the right hand section of the skull, and has an off-white/slightly pink area in the middle of the yellow sun. This area is not perfectly solid...it has a "broken cloud" look to it. Like the other boots, it has a perfectly straight left hand image edge. It is most likely that this bootleg was "shot" off of the previously mentioned bootleg.