I was non plussed to stumble upon this fantastic poster this week. The title, “Amor librorum nos unit,” which translates as “the love of books unites us,” is the longtime motto of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers.

The color lithographed poster was designed by Jim Blashfield, with lithography by Neal Stratford. The 1967 psychedelic poster surprisingly was created for a conference of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers and  printed during the height of the counterculture movement in the San Francisco Bay Area for one of the leading local booksellers at the time, William P. Wreden. The artist, Jim Blashfield, is mostly know for posters advertising concerts by cutting-edge rock bands such as the Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape, Credence Clearwater, and Big Brother and the Holding Company.

According to an explanatory note accompanying the poster: “The Renascence of poster art in San Francisco has received wide attention. With this in mind we present to you the enclosed poster which was designed for us on the occasion of the 19th Congress of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, San Francisco and Los Angeles, 15-20 September 1967. Art work is by Jim Blashfield; lithography by Neal, Stratford and Kerr.–William P. Wreden.”