Splash Posters, London, 1960s

Splash Posters, London, 1960s - 1970s

August 09, 2021

A172 - The Who

During the late 1960s and early 1970s pop culture and counterculture posters were popular amongst the young, with Head shops in the UK, Europe and the US selling them alongside drug taking paraphernalia such as bongs, tie-died clothes, records, books and underground magazines. In England, firms such as Big O Posters operated between 1967 and 1973, selling thousands of copies of posters such as Martin Sharp's Blowin' in the Mind, featuring Bob Dylan. One such firm- though little remembered today, was Splash Posters. Its address, as featured on the bottom of a number of items, was given as: Splash Posters Ltd., BCM/Splash London, WC1. No comprehensive catalogue is known to this author, unlike that for Big O, and there are precious few which come onto the market through auction houses and sites such as eBay. On a recent eBay entry, Ged Rumak was listed as the chief designer for Splash Posters in 1970. A number of 1990s Splash Posters are known, but will not be included here as the focus is on those from the late 60s and early 70s during the height of the counterculture. This blog will attempt to form a preliminary listing of the earliest "SP" and "A" series items. A number of Splash posters were reproduced in monochrome on the rear cover of OZ magazine, June 1968, alongside Big O and other posters, suggesting that Big O was one of the retails outlets for Splash.

SP3 - Crazy Horse. Reference: OZ June 1968.

SP4 - Quack. Reference: OZ June 1968.

SP5 - Marlene Dietrich. Reference: OZ June 1968.

SP6 - Single Head by David Vaughn. Reference: OZ June 1968.

SP7 - Two Heads by David Vaughn. Reference: OZ June 1968.

SP8 - Woman in hat and long black dress. Reference: OZ June 1968.

SP9 - Spaceship. Reference: OZ June 1968.

SP10 - Watercraft. Reference: OZ June 1968.

A111 - Emily. Reference: OZ June 1968.

A112 - Woman. Reference: OZ June 1968.

? - Maud, 51 x 77 cm, offset lithograph, circa 1968. Printed by McCorquodale & Co., London.

A123 - Hexagonal postcard images. Reference: OZ June 1968.

A124 - Figures in bell jar. Reference: OZ June 1968.

A125 - ? Reference: OZ June 1968.

A126 - Jon Goodchild, Fairies. Reference: OZ June 1968.

A127 - Drawing. Reference: OZ June 1968.

A130 - Love Me This Year. Reference: OZ June 1968.

A132 - Woman's head. Reference: OZ June 1968.

A133 - Girl doll, dressed with hat. Reference: OZ June 1968.

A130 - UFO over Vietnam. Reference: OZ June 1968.

M139 - Freedom.

M151 - Fire!

A172 - The Who, 51 x 78 cm, offset lithograph. Reference: eBay August 2021.

A178 - Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven, Splash Posters , circa 1970s, 76cm x 51 x 76 cm, circa 1970s.

A186 - Jimi Hendrix - climbing stairs to his last concert. Splash Posters Ltd., BCM/Splash London, WC1. Photographer Jerry Osborne. Printed by McCorquodale, London.