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Riverwalk Records, 30 State Street, Montpelier, VT.

(802)223-3334

Welcome, one & all, to my addiction. Thanks for checking out my auctions. I collect, buy, sell & trade counterculture event advertisements from all era's in hopes of preserving some angles of history which would otherwise be lost. What I look for in a poster is that it is actually a piece of history. A poster of the actual print run that was used to advertise the show. Something that really gives a feel of the era. Something that was there. These are the posters, handbills, flyers that the promoter used to promote the events. This nitch is historically the most valid and time tested. When you read a book about say, Portland's Crystal Ballroom, look and see what they use for reference. Among interviews and newspaper clippings you will find they also used the advertising posters and handbills as historical doucuments for their research, often giving details and a feel of the event which would otherwise be forgotten. Not all, but the vast majority of my auctions are advertisements for events. The most common of these are the standard 11x17 telephone pole posters. This is an item that is printed by the promoter, venue, or group to promote the show. They are generally not printed as an art item, though many do an awesome job of reflecting the moods and styles of the times. As such, most of these posters are printed on paper stock so the promoter could get as many as possible for their advertising dollar.

So how do you know it's actually the real poster?

That's where I come in. I have collected over 30,000 different pieces from reliable sources over the past 10 years. Much of it I collect directly off the street. For material that's "before my time" I use reliable sources such as promo guys, promoters, artists, or others who collected at the time of the event. My life's work is a database, availalble via the above link of this material which collector's will be able to reference to which states the characteristics of originals, varients and reproductions for each piece. I keep one of every piece I sell for future reference. The truth of the matter is that even with todays technology, you cannot clone a piece of paper. You can make a damn good copy, but even with a basic magnifying glass you can see it is not as sharp as the original. Beware that some are printed poorly to start with, though most are very sharp and crisp with nice even half-tones. As such, the only way to truly identify an original is to reference to a first printing, collected at the time of the event, which is where my collection and others like it come in. Trust me, I have no interest in discrediting the historical documents I have 1000's of dollars into by placing fraudulant posters into the market.
Questions? Want to Trade? Call or email.

Jacob Grossi

saiddone@hotmail.com