An original T-Bone Walker window card for the guitar hero’s show in Wichita, Kansas on May 14^, 1950.

Most old Wichita, Kansas ticket posters such as this one were thrown away not long after the shows, so hunting them them down today is a fun hobby.

This cardboard blues show placard was designed and printed by Woolever Press out of Los Angeles, California.

Come to think of it, just about any Wichita, Kansas concert broadside would have been manufactured on one of the coasts, because Midwestern poster-printers were few and far between.

AND, you just don’t see a lot of T-Bone Walker boxing-style concert posters because not a lot were saved during the 1940s-1950s. Hoarders and collectors didn’t start to save old blues show posters until the early ’70s, it seems.

Pay attention to how only two colors were used in designing this Wichita, Kansas concert billboard… black and green, that’s it… but when combined with the white color of the board, the three-color effect is really handsome.

In particular, take note of the name of the club that T-Bone Walker was playing… The Plamor in Wichita… pronounced “play-more,” probably named after that musical play on words.  Cute!  It’s anybody’s guess just how long the Plamor Club existed in Wichita, but several years, I’m sure.

Wichita promoter Ray Overton held many shows at the Plamor plus the Mambo Club, the Rose Room, the Kaliko Kat, the Officers Club, the Forum and the Esquire Club. Ray Overton was one busy fellow!

In theory, you should be able to find a vintage T-Bone Walker broadside from the late ’40s well into the 1950s, when he had his string of R&B charting platters.

But if you don’t care who the musician is, and you’d settle for any cool-looking, vintage Wichita, Kansas show poster, then there would be plenty to choose from, spanning decades.

This exact T-Bone Walker billboard has “toning” around all four edges, which occurs when an old cardboard window sign is exposed to the elements over long periods of time.  Poster collectors like me usually don’t mind that.

The oldest known Wichita, Kansas concert placard actually dates back to the 1920s, so this one is a relatively young pup compared to that!

Notice how this T-Bone Walker display prominently shows the “Capitol Records” logo. That tips off the early 1950s for sure.  Any T-Bone Walker concert placard from 1947 or 1948 would give Black & White Records as his recording label, and any T-Bone Walker sign from 1948 and 1949 would probably state Comet Records as his label.

This Wichita, Kansas window card was made to sell tickets for an event that took place in the southern part of town, right adjacent to Watson Park.

Now for the complete wording as it reads on this collectable, valuable blues concert poster, from the top down to the bottom:

Plamor – 2853 South Broadway – Sunday Nite [sic] – Wichita, Kansas – May 14^th –9:00 P.M. to 1:00 A.M. – $1.75 Advance – $2.00 At Door – Direction Ray Overton.

In Person! [and then in giant, white, stylized lettering] T-Bone Walker and Band – Capitol Records.

[And then down in the bottom white margin]: Personal Direction: Harold F. Oxley Agency, 8848 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Calif. – [and the poster-printing company] Woolever Press, Los Angeles, Calif.

It’s difficult to believe that this particular T-Bone Walker telephone-pole poster was ever used to sell ducats, or exposed to the elements; it’s in excellent condition, other than the previously discussed toning.  It has no nail or thumbtack holes, or tape residue… so most likely, this is a vintage T-Bone Walker ticket poster that flat-out was never used.  Thank goodness, say collectors (like me)!

Finding any vintage Wichita, Kansas concert poster is really not that hard, because Wichita was a major tour-stop for sundry musicians in the 1940s and ’50s.

Collectors are in general agreement that the design of this T-Bone Walker tour poster is really, really nice, what with its circle of musical notes, the big musical clef and its cool, mint-green color.

Take a look at how catchy and upbeat this old Wichita, Kansas tour poster is… Walker himself has a big smile on his face, and the poster’s design is very warm and cheery.

I always like to note that this 14×22-inch T-Bone Walker placard was made of cardboard in order to withstand the elements of being posted in inclement weather.

For that matter, you’d have to search pretty hard to find a Wichita, Kansas tour placard constructed of anything but cardboard… only once in a while were they made of paper.

This T-Bone Walker window display is displayed and happily discussed by veteran window-card collector Pete Howard (call 805-540-0020 “direct or collect,” or email pete@postercentral.com). And please keep in mind that I pay the BIGGEST AMOUNTS for any vintage blues-music concert posters and window cards!

To see a few other vintage blues tour placards, just skip over to this page located here on my poster-loving web site: http://www.postercentral.com/blues.htm