Collection of 237 Musical and Theater Posters, Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon. IMPORTANT COLLECTION OF 237 “GIG POSTERS” GRAPHICALLY FEATURING THE AFTER DARK SOCIAL SCENE IN PORTLAND, OREGON. 1980’s TO 2000’S.
An incredible collection of 237 “gig posters” relating to the social fabric and night life of Portland, Oregon.
A large percentage of the posters, which vary in size from 8 1/2 x 11; 8 ½ x 14; to 11 x 17 inches, have been removed from street and poster board postings. Thus, there are expected staple and nail holes in some plus some weathering. Some, torn down quickly from utility poles show some torn effects. However, the majority of this poster collection is in good to very good condition. There are duplicates--perhaps 5%.
The posters are an extremely interesting documentation of the contemporary music, theater and musical groups which dominated Portland. With an emphasis on punk and heavy metal era groups and women performers, these “gig posters” represent many of the bands which played the various clubs. Some of the groups were short lived, others lasted a decade or more and a few still perform solo or within other bands. These “gig posters” are visual representatives of poster design at the turn of the 21st century and document the work of several Portland area graphic artists of that period. While the vast majority of posters represent musical acts, the collection also includes a small representation of political, literary, environmental and social cause posters.
The collection was assembled by an artist during the 1980’s to early 2000’s. The collector stated he was attracted to “gig posters” for their graphics or portions of the imagery that spoke to him as an artist. From there he began collecting posters wherever he encountered them, telephone poles, street poster boards, pubs and performance venues and street fliers. In retrospect, the artist realized that he had visually documented roughly a 15-year period of Portland, Oregon’s musical, cultural and social scene. This two-decade glimpse of Portland’s night-time scene is rich with cultural and social research potential for studying the 1980 to early 2000s. Most of the posters contain the month, day of the week and date which help, and with the use of a perpetual calendar the year of the event can be established.
Some of the clubs represented were Satyricon, Berbati’s Pan, Paris Theatre, Conan’s Pub, Blarney Stone, Viscount Ballroom, The Roseland, Doc’s Bar and Grill, Bitter End Pub, Biddy McGraw’s Irish Pub, The Ash Street Saloon, Mt. Tabor Pub Main Room, Crystal Ballroom, Conan’s, Pine Street Theatre and Medicine Hat Gallery. Item #2628
Price: $1,750.00