Cardiff Castle, Wales 9/22/73

This amazing poster is quite likely the rarest and most desirable Rolling Stones poster out there. This image was designed by K. Burness and was used to advertise a one-day show at Cardiff and Pembroke Castles in Wales in September 1973. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled due to an outbreak of Puritanism by the local government, and the bulk of the posters were destroyed. The small quantity of around 15 to 20 originals that exist in nice condition all came from one source.


The original poster was printed beautifully in five colors: the normal four-color process plus a fifth layer of solid silver ink for the border and lettering. The overall effect is stunning — in fact, we like it so much we have one of these framed and hanging in our office! Because these pieces are quite large and were printed on extremely thin and fragile stock, most have some damage and creasing.


The extreme rarity of this poster led to a bootleg that is easily identified by its smaller size and poor print quality. The silver ink on the bootleg is more of a gray color and the entire poster lacks pizzazz. This poster was later reprinted in a smaller size by Muiscom in a numbered edition of 5,000. These are also poorly printed and highly pixilated.


The original poster was printed on very thin white stock and measures approximately 20" x 30".