I. Pro-drug, 1804-2011, undated
Scope and Contents
The series consists of posters depicting drugs and drug use, the bulk are psychedelic counter-culture era (1967-1978) posters. Posters include lithographs, etchings, blacklight posters and posters on flock paper, "velvet" or "fuzzy" posters colloquially, and velvet blacklight posters. Prominent groups of posters in this series include: posters by pioneering Psychedelic artists, "the San Francisco five," Wes Wilson, Victor Moscoso, Alton Kelley, Stanley Mouse and Rick Griffin; images of marijuana, LSD, opium, cocaine and other drugs; Underground Comix by Robert Crumb and Gilbert Shelton, in particular Shelton's Fabulous Fuzzy Freak Brothers are prominent in the series; posters and flyers for hemp festivals and marijuana co-ops; and a handful of educational posters. Other artists well represented in the series include Jason Austin, Mark Konen, Nate Owens and Joe Petagno.
Counter-culture era 'pro-drug' poster are often humorous, making liberal use of word play and double entendre. Many images printed by early Psychedelic poster artists gained popularity and were printed, and reprinted by distribution companies and appear in varying production styles and colors. Posters such as R. Crumb's "Stoned Agin!" would have featured in countless college dorm rooms. As a result some duplicates in this series may be printed by different companies or on different media.
Dates
- Creation: 1804-2011, undated
Language of Materials
English, French, Russian, German, Spanish, Polish, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Greek, and Kurdish
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine retrieval policies and times.
For a portion of the collection special handling is required; use surrogate images when possible and consult Houghton Public Services staff for appointments.
Extent
20.6 linear feet (28 flat oversized boxes and 21 tube boxes)Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.
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