Skip to main content
Go back

An iconic poster

A poster printed in light purple, dark blue and orange inks featuring an illustration of the Greek goddess Penelope under a large curved banner with the words The New Penelope and with differently stylized psychedelic type along the bottom half.

Date: 1967
Credit: Peter Adams (design), copyright 1967
Alan Brown collection. Courtesy of Alan Brown

This is possibly the most iconic The New Penelope poster. It promotes the band The Sidetrack performing live at The New Penelope from June to September 1967. Imagine the same band playing live every evening for four months! They were probably the regular clients’ favourite band. Even though they never released any recordings, their fans’ enthusiasm is still as vibrant as ever more than 50 years later!

The poster features vibrant colors, curvaceous typography and Art Nouveau influences. The style is characteristic of the counter-culture movement that emerged from San Francisco during 1967’s “Summer of love.” The mythical figure of Penelope, of course, features prominently. The design is by Peter Adams, whose only work appears to have been several posters designed for Gary Eisenkraft.