An incredibly rare poster for an early performance by British rock super trio Cream at the Guildhall in Southampton, England, on Friday 13th January 1967 in support of their recently released debut album Fresh Cream. Formerly members of other successful British bands, guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce, and drummer Ginger Baker had joined forces as Cream only the year before, forming what has since been regarded as the world's first supergroup, blending rock, blues, psychedelic rock, and a hint of jazz to create a unique sound. According to the original contract for the gig, which came up for auction at Bonhams, the band were paid the grand total of £200 for the performance. Silkscreen printed in white on a very thin matte paperstock, this poster has survived in remarkably fine condition. The month JAN was applied to the poster as a snipe by the promoter. As part of the backing process, the snipe was removed and reapplied, and we can confirm that there is nothing underneath the snipe, so one can assume that the original printer forgot to include the month on the poster, which was swiftly corrected prior to the show.

Provenance

Good condition (B+)

Backed on japan paper. Backing has smoothed and diminished one light central horizontal fold and a handful of light diagonal creases. Some wear and cracking to ink along the creases. Spots of craquelure to thick ink in places. Small rusty pinhole to '1' and a chunky paper fibre under the 'G'. A snipe was applied in the same paperstock to specify the month 'JAN' ahead of the show. A superb example of an extremely scarce poster.