Bob Dylan Eric Von Schmidt Handbill

An original first-printing Bob Dylan/Joan Baez paper advertising flyer for their joint spring 1965 tour that was withdrawn shortly after getting initial use. The late folksinger and respected artist Eric Von Schmidt designed this popular Toulouse-Lautrec-inspired concert piece. This specimen remains unused, with no printing in the blank white space up above.

Throughout 1963 and '64, Dylan and Baez had been known informally as "the king and queen of folk music," which they would dismiss of course, but which would be hard to argue. Von Schmidt's design reflected this, with its very Greenwich Village feel and acoustic-folkie ethos. The design turned out to be a bit anachronistic, however, as Dylan had long since moved on to general singer-songwriter status, and even that would be short-lived when he turned into a full-fledged rock star a few months later.

In May 1964, Dylan visited Von Schmidt at his home in Sarasota, Florida and recorded several songs there, including an early version of "Mr. Tambourine Man". The recordings were released in 2014 as part of Dylan's "50th Anniversary Collection 1964". In liner notes for Von Schmidt’s 1969 album, Smash, Dylan wrote:

“Of course we had heard about Eric Von Schmidt for many years. The name itself had become a password. Eventually, after standing in line to meet him, there it was – his doorstep, a rainy day, and he greeted his visitors, inviting them in. He was told how much they liked Grizzly Bear [a von Schmidt song] and he then invited the whole bunch to the club, where he was about to perform the thing live. "C'mon down to the club" he said – "I'm about to perform it live." We accepted the invitation. And that is what his record is. An invitation. An invitation to the glad, mad, sad, biting, exciting, frightening, crabby, happy, enlightening, hugging, chugging world of Eric Von Schmidt. For here is a man who can sing the bird off the wire and the rubber off the tire. He can separate the men from the boys and the note from the noise. The bridle from the saddle and the cow from the cattle. He can play the tune of the moon. The why of the sky and the commotion from the ocean. Yes he can.”