Poster Design by David Edward Byrd for the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the Joshua Light Show at the Fillmore East, New York, NY, May 10, 1968

American artist David Edward Byrd created this original artwork for the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s May 10, 1968 concert at the Fillmore East in New York. Long before computers were used to design graphics, artists such as Byrne had to use pencil and ink to create their designs. Type was either hand-drawn or created on a typesetting machine and pasted onto the artboard, as seen here. The original artwork is overlayed with a transparent vellum sheet where color information, notes on copy, and other instructions for the printer are included. The combination of original artwork, pasted lettering, and printer’s instructions is called a “mechanical”. The printer would then photograph the original artwork and use the color key and instructions to produce the poster using offset lithography.  

David Edward Byrd (b. 1941) is an American graphic artist, designer, illustrator, and painter, who is best known for his Rock and Broadway theatre posters.  

Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who gained mainstream prominence in the late 1960s with hits such as “Hey Joe,” “Purple Haze,” “All Along the Watchtower,” and “Fire,” and is now celebrated as one of the most influential electric guitarists of all time.