Huge Collection of 65 Event Posters Documenting 13 Years at One of America's Oldest Gay Bar

Provincetown, MA: Atlantic House, ca. 1983-1996. 65 posters, ranging in size from 10" x 15" to 14" x 17", either offset printed or photocopied in black-and-white and color on variously-hued stock, illustrated. A few examples with light edge wear, occasional spotting or grime on verso, faint creases and short tears; else, the majority is clean and in near fine condition.

A large group of event posters from Atlantic House, or A-House, the renowned Provincetown, Massachusetts institution considered by many to be the oldest gay bar in the United States. The Atlantic House was built in 1798 by Daniel Pease, Provincetown’s first postmaster and was operated by him until his death in 1834. The building changed hands and names several times until 1871 when it was purchased by Frank Potter Smith and named Atlantic House, a name which has permanently stuck.

During the 1920s, A-House was the hangout for writers like Eugene O’Neill and Tennessee Williams (a nude photo of Williams strolling on Provincetown beaches hangs in the bar), as well as any number of alternate-life stylists. In 1950, ownership was taken over by Reginald Cabral, and since then it has become both truly “gay friendly” and the most popular watering hole in Provincetown. Since the early ’50s, A-House has held weekly theme parties in the big room (their disco) and has had a dedicated Macho Room upstairs, a bar for “Leather Men” and their admirers.

The present collection is a superb representative sampling of posters advertising key A-House events: the annual White Party, Military Ball, Tattoo Party, Harvest Moon Ball, The Glitter and Glamour Party, and a host of others. The posters were all illustrated or designed by various artists; many sport hand-drawn homoerotic artwork, while others depict well-built shirtless celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean Claude Van Damme, with several examples reproducing photographs taken by Andy Warhol and Robert Mapplethorpe. A number of the posters bear sobering reminders of life at the height of the AIDS epidemic; posters entitled “Safe Sex Sluts”; “BENEFIT-Sid, One of Our Own”; and a 1994 benefit poster for the Provincetown AIDS Support Group, prominently featuring a portrait of Judy Garland. The earliest posters are dated 1983, though a good many of them have the appearance of being slightly earlier, as well as a group of color-copied posters likely dating from the late 1990s. An important collection of posters from one of this country’s most historic and longest-running gay establishments.

The lot includes:

1. Thirteenth Annual White Party ’83. August 18, 1983. Offset; thin stock; color flower illustration by “RC.”

2. Trash 83 Party. August 25, 1983. Offset; printed one color, black, on matte poster stock; black-and-white illustration of naked man; autograph addition in black marker.

3. You Gotta Have Legs For That. September 16, 1983. Offset; printed one color, red, on matte poster stock; illustrated with drawing of a man’s legs in heels by Claude St.O.

4. Queen of Hearts. Valentines 1984. Offset; printed one color, black, on matte poster stock; illustrated with drawing of Queen of Hearts playing cards by PJS; lightly tanned.

5. Sleaze. June 15, 1984. Offset; printed one color, black, on matte poster stock; illustrated with drawing of man with unzipped jeans sitting on stool.

6. Thief of Hearts. February 14, [1985]. Offset; printed one color, black, on matte poster stock; illustrated with Cupid shooting man in bondage gearby “Sable.”

7. The Harvest Moon Ball. Benefit for AIDS Research. October 11, 1985. Offset; printed two color, black and yellow, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with movie still of man and woman in beach attire and full moon; designed by “Bertram.”

8. A-House XXV Annual White Party. August 8, 1986. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with photograph of Roman statue; signed “Bertram” in autograph.

9. P.B.G. Benefit. Tattoo: August 17, 1988. Offset; printed one color, black, on thin matte poster stock; illustrated with drawings of fairy, eagle, and fish tattoo designs; lightly tanned at far edges.

10. The White Party. August 10, 1989. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with photograph of Elizabeth Taylor from Suddenly Last Summer.

11. Tattoo. August 24, 1989. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with photograph of Joe Dallesandro with “Mom” tattoo; very lightly tanned at far edges.

12. Fashion Follies Alert! September 29, 1989. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with a photograph Roseanne Barr.

13. Benefit: Sid, One of Our Own. October 20, 1989. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with a drawing by Gerard McCarthy.

14. Easter. April 13, 1990. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with photograph of a Charles R. Anderson work, “Gendered Eggs.”

15. Cod Fish Ball. Friday, June 22, 1990. Offset; oblong; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with woodblock design by Ada Gilmore, “Mermaids of Provincetown,” printed from the original block by Wm. H. Eraul in 1984; corners lightly bent.

16. A-House Benefit: Provincetown AIDS Support Group: Glamour and Glitter. July 19, 1990. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with a Robert Mapplethorpe photograph.

17. The Red Party. July 26, 1990. Offset; printed two colors, black and red, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with photomontage of Steph Gorkii by David Reichert.

18. White Party. August 16, [1990]. Offset; printed one color, black, on matte poster stock; text only; very lightly tanned at extreme edges.

19. Legs. August 19, 1990. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with vintage photograph of half-dressed woman.

20. White Party. August 30, 1990. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with a photomontage by David Reichert; small discoloration lower right corner.

21. Long Johns. March 15, 1991. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with Gerard McCarthy drawing of man in a union suit underwear.

22. Desert Chic. April 19, 1991. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with movie still of Rudolph Valentino from The Sheik.

23. Boots and Saddles. June 7, 1991. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with a Gerard McCarthy drawing of a cowboy reaching for his saddle.

24. Jeans. July 11, [1991]. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with photograph of man putting on jeans.

25. A. F. A. Follies. August 1, 1991. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with photograph of Silvia Sidney, partially overpainted in pink.

26. Benefit. August 14, 1991. Offset; printed two colors, black and magenta, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with photograph of Jean Claude Van Damme and drawing of spiral; small area of discoloration extreme lower left margin.

27. White Party. August 29, [1991]. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with signed photograph of man in white briefs.

28. Bandana. September 13, 1991. Offset; printed two colors, black and red, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with an Andy Warhol photograph of Joe Dallesandro.

29. Studs. October 4, 1991. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with photograph of Arnold Schwarzenegger; small stains upper left margin.

30. Fall Ball at the A-House. October 11, 1991. Offset; printed two colors, black and orange, on glossy poster stock; text only.

31. Halloween. October 26, 1991. Offset; printed one color, black, on matte poster stock; illustrated with an image by Richard Bernstein.

32. Wild Thing! November 23, 1991. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with movie still of Marlon Brando from The Wild One.

33. Mayflower Madame. November 29, 1991. Offset; printed two colors, black and red, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with photograph of Holly Woodlawn by Don Herron.

34. Long Johns. February 21, 1992. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with Gerard McCarthy drawing of man in a union suit underwear.

35. Toys. March 20, 1992. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with a photograph of Jack Dillon and Carl Thomas.

36. Buns. April 3, 1992. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with a signed photograph by Steph Gorkii.

37. Easter Bonnet Parade. April 19, 1992. Offset; printed two colors, black and purple, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with photograph of a woman in a large headdress.

38. Flower Power. May 1, [1992]. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with line drawing of flowers.

39. Chains. May 8, 1992. Offset; printed one color, black, on matte poster stock; illustrated with drawing by Gerard McCarthy of man in bondage gear.

40. Lonesome Cowboy. May 29, [1992]. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with drawing of cowboy from behind by Gerard McCarthy.

41. Trash. June 12, 1992. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with photograph of Mickey Rourke.

42. Mr. New England Drummer 1992. June 12, 1992. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with a photograph of Mr. New England Drummer 1991 by T. Kanar; small unprepared tear upper edge, not effecting text or image; bottom right corner bumped, with light wear to extreme lower right edge.

43. Leather. June 19, 1992. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with photograph of Jim Sausalito by Robert Mapplethorpe.

44. Red Party. July 24, 1992. Offset; printed one color, red, on glossy poster stock; text only.

45. Glitter and Glamour. August 19, 1992. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with photograph of Joan Crawford by George Hurrell.

46. The Red Party. July 16, [1993]. Photocopy; one color, black, on red matte poster stock; illustrated with photograph of two naked men.

47. Firemen’s Ball. August 23, 1993. Offset; printed three colors, black, red, and blue, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with a black-and-white collage by Steph Gorkii.

48. Tattoo. August 25, 1993. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with line drawing of man’s torso with tattoo on upper arm.

49. White Party. August 27, 1993. Offset; printed one color, black, on glossy poster stock; illustrated with signed photograph of man holding candle by Steph Gorkii.

50. Veteran’s Day. November 11, 1993. Photocopy; one color, black, on matte poster stock; designed and illustrated by Steph Gorkii with collage of soldiers and flag; light brown stains upper quadrant and on verso.

51. “Judy…25 Years After the Rainbow.” June 17-19, 1994. Offset; printed one color, black, on thin glossy stock; illustrated with photograph of Judy Garland; light foxing overall.

52. Military Ball. July 14, n.d. Photocopy; one color, black, on matte poster stock; illustrated with line drawing of a man in military garb; very light tanning to extreme edges.

53. Full Moon Party. July 21, [1994]. Photocopy; one color, black, on matte poster stock; illustrated with drawing of exposed buttocks.

54. Encounter. July 28, [1994]. Photocopy; one color, black, on matte poster stock; illustrated with drawing by “Ken” of man pulling down underwear.

55. Made in Japan. August 4, [1994]. Offset; printed one color, black, on matte yellow poster stock; illustrated with abstracted drawing of a Japanese woman.

56. Give My Regards to Broadway Party. August 11, [1994]. Offset; printed one color, black, on matte poster stock; illustrated with drawing of 1920s-ear couple in formal attire; lightly tanned at edges.

57. Pecs. August 12, [1994]. Color photocopy on thin matte poster stock; illustrated with signed photomontage of bodybuilders.

58. Safe Sex Sluts. September 9, [1994]. Color photocopy on thin matte poster stock; illustrated with signed photomontage featuring Elvis Presley.

59. The Annual Harvest Moon Ball. September 30, [1994]. Offset; printed one color, black, on matte ochre poster stock; illustrated with line drawing of rising moon by Claude.

60. Thanksgiving. n.d. Offset; printed one color, black, on matte light orange poster stock; illustrated with drawing of cornucopia, Indian, and woman by Claude St. [illegible]; small staple marks top and bottom.

61. Naughty Nightie. June 14, [1996]. Color photocopy on matte poster stock; illustrated with photograph of man wearing thong and robe.

62. The Summer Party. June 21, [1996]. Color photocopy on matte poster stock; illustrated with photograph of man in beach attire and Speedo baseball cap; small image losses at top corners.

63. Fourth of July Week Featuring Billboard D.J. David La Salle. n.d. [c. 1996]. Color photocopy on matte poster stock; illustrated with photomontage of shirtless man and flags.

64. Buns. July 12, [1996]. Color photocopy on thin matte poster stock; illustrated with photograph from behind of male in underwear.

65. Carnival Grand Finale Costume Ball. August 21, [1996]. Offset; printed full color on glossy poster stock; illustrated with digitized playing card.

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This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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