'Kings Road' poster display, London, 1967

During October 2019 I purchased from eBay for UK£5 a 35 mm colour slide showing an old man in military clothing standing on a footpath in London sometime during the 1960s, and possibly from June 1967. Behind him was a large board displaying approximately eight psychedelic and counterculture posters. 

 

What? 

 

The old man was dressed in a pre-1914 scarlet tunic, worn by the military and Welsh Guards prior to the onset of World War I. This type of clothing was very popular at the time with young people, and sold at shops such as I Was Lord Kitchener's Valet and Granny Takes a Trip. The rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix was one of those who purchased such garb, including an elaborately adorned Hussar jacket with gold braid.

Jimi Hendrix outside his London apartment, circa early 1967. He is wearing an antique Hussar's jacket dating from the 1850s which he purchased from I Was Lord Kitchener's Valet on Portobello Road.

It was possible that the elderly gentleman was a store doorman, and the ex-army tunic was part of his working attire. He may also have been employed in the local tourist trade, guiding people around the then busy town, or just a "groovy ol' man" who wanted to display his military medals in public.

Where? 

 

In trying to identify the precise location of the image, King's Road was initially suggested, due to the three signs located above the poster display. However, an English friend noted that these signs were most likely mere tourist souvenirs for sale, and not an actual indication of the location. They may have been a pointer to where the shop selling the posters was actually located. Instead, he suggested that the glass blocks in the footpath seen in the photograph indicated this was Carnaby Street, London. The glass blocks can be seen on the sidewalk in the following video of people walking along that street during the English summer of 1967, around May-June, and most especially in front of the famous Biba clothing store. They remain in place to this day. It should also be noted that the blocks can be found throughout London.

London street scene, summer (July) 1967 - Carnaby Street. Source: Pathe, on YouTube. Duration: 3.29. Within this film the focus is on fashion.

London street and park scenes, summer (July) 1967. Source: Pathe, on YouTube. Duration: 4.04. Includes a segment with a person reading the 28 July 1967 (No.17) edition of International Times, alongside Yoko Ono looking at a notebook containing mathematical formulae.

Carnaby Street, London, Christmas 1967. Source: Pathe, on YouTube. The Australian editor of OZ magazine Richard Neville is seen at 47 seconds in the film, as the decoration lights are turned on.

Posters

 

The display contained a label stating: Posters for [Sale] on Re[quest] suggesting that the adjacent premises was an agency for the purchase of the posters, rather than a direct outlet such as The Head Shop at 49 Kensington Park Road, London, which was advertised in the June 1967 edition of OZ magazine as a primary retail outlet. Identification of the posters in the display was not as problematic as the location, with seven fully or partially seen in the photograph and the likelihood that another two were hidden behind the man in the red coat. Those posters that could be identified included, from left to right and moving downwards:

 

1. OZ #4 promotional poster, by Martin Sharp, June 1967. Size: 20 x 30 inches. This image is the first to indicate that this rare poster was actually produced at the time. Some researchers had suggested that it was not by Sharp and not contemporary with the issue of the magazine. This photograph proves otherwise.

 

The poster features a graphical presentation of the word OZ which would grace the cover of issue #5. The large portrait was of an indigenous South American.

2. OZ cover #4 poster, by Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, June 1967. The poster had formed the fold out cover of OZ magazine and was later reprinted by Big O Posters, London, for separate sale. 

It was designed by Nigel Waymouth and Michael English, who collectively operated as Hapshash and the Coloured Coat. On the rear of the cover and initial poster print was a series of tarot cards by Martin Sharp. They were not included in subsequent printings by Big O.

3. UFO Move concert May-June 1967 poster by Hapshash and the Coloured Coat. Silkscreen print in multiple colours on foil covered paper. Size: 20 x 30 inches.

4. Love Life poster by Marijke Koger, later of The Fool collective. Screen print in red and black. Size: 18 x 23 inches. Koger worked with pop artists such as The Beatles and Cream during this period, also producing posters featuring Bob Dylan and Donovan. She famously painted Eric Clapton's Gibson SG guitar, used to record the LP Disraeli Gears, whose cover was by Martin Sharp.

5. Book a Tripposter by Marijke Koger. Screen print in green and black. Size: 18 x 23 inches.

6. 4.3.... unknown poster. Seen at the bottom left of the photograph, though only partially exposed.

7. Does Your Country Want You poster, artist unknown. This poster on the bottom right corner of the display. It features a variant of the famous WWI Lord Kitchener recruitment poster and may have been associated with the clothing shop chain I Was Lord Kitchener's Valet. This poster is also seen in the following image, being the entrance to the UFO nightclub in London:

The above photograph shows members of the British psychedelic pop group Tomorrow amidst a group of Hapshash and the Coloured Coat and Big O posters, including Martin Sharp's Blowing in the Mind, 1967. This photograph was possibly taken in the foyer of the UFO Club, London (Hanke and Puterbaugh, 1997). To the left of Blowing in the Mind is a poster for the band Crazy World of Arthur Brown, making use of a still from the 1921 German movie The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari; to the right and below are Hapshash and the Coloured Coat posters and some by Kroger. An American Avalon Ballroom poster can also be seen near the floor on the bottom left. Two of the band members hold the Does Your Country Want You poster.

References

Payne, Alice, The story of ... the military jacket, The Conversation, 5 June 2014.  

Hanke and Puterbaugh, 1997.

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Last updated: 24 July 2021

Michael Organ