brad...i am the source of the hapshash posters, and even though i say so  myself know a great deal about british posters. the only two people who were around at the time and are still involved in the business are myself and to a lesser extent nigel metzler. i started splash posters in 1967 and as well as producing our own posters  sold osiris, apple, jlty and several  other long forgotton publishers titles to the retail trade.     You have recently made your self very busy blacking the names and reputations of fellow dealers.  Now is the time for you to stop it or find yourself being sued libel.                                                                         When you have been told the original source of the posters you do not bother to listen. Si
nce when has the artist been the printer. no one hs ever said they come from either nigel weymouth or michael english.  they if you do not know are hapshash and the coloured coat.  you very foolishly make a serious libel against nigel metzler by claiming that he knows and does not care that they are bootlegs. you accuse peter bonner of knowing nothing about posters.  luke harris of being new to the business , without knowing anything about his background. simon catterall is a highly successful music instrument dealer who comes from the city that started the music you claim to want to protect. you and your fellow 'experts' are steve chayne, a failed dealer who incidently was satified enough to buy £6500.00 worth of the very same posters you are complaining
about. He also spoke to my source., which is something i do not intend to allow again. Ken hilton, who was stupid enough to kill the value of his collection by backing them on board. he also cons simon into thinking he is a buyer.  you may be interested to know that i supplied hilton with one of his late collection namely MOVE which i sold to pete of soho records who sold it to hilton who when he got fed up with collecting sold it back to pete. All the major auction houses in this country have sold these posters, and they have checked the source and the posters with which they were satified, even when chayne tried to stop christies selling them.  i understand that you are also claiming that  one or more  of big o posters are bootlegs.  The only people who
have stock of these  are pete flanagan, myself and peter ledeboer, the founder of big o. I intend to tell pete and peter what you say and look forward to hearing their responce.  I should also mention that ted owen when at bonhams paid me for 'i can see for miles' which he gave to pete townshends mother. should we listen to the above or you and your flakey friends. philip

--
Dear Mr. Rogers.

May I ask you from whom you got permission to use the copyright photograph
of Waymouth and English.  You are very good accusing one of the UK's leading
record shops of fraud.  You have no knowledge of the poster market, yet you
accuse dealers and collectors of 40 years standing of counterfeiting
Hapshash posters.  'IN MY OPINION' is of no value when it comes from an
idiot like you. Anyone who thinks that silkscreen colors are reproduced
correctly in a litho printed book is 20 cents short of a $.  However, who
gave you permission to use this photograph, the copyright of which is owned
by Rex Features Ltd.  You accuse others, what about yourself.

Yours faithfully
Philip Townsend

Dear Mr. Rogers,

I do not believe that people have said that the Hapshash posters that you
incorrectly state are counterfeited have come from Waymouth or English's
wives.  If you have any knowledge whatsoever of their private lives you
would know that this is rubbish and far too complicated to comprehend.  The
story that I have heard many times from many reliable sources who know what
they are talking about,(unlike you), is that they come from the daughter of
Victor Tessar.  Victor Tessar owned TSR. TSR were print farmers who got the
orders then put they out to trade printers. They added a % to the bill and
had all the dealings with the client.  Victor who I knew well was always
complaining about not getting paid by Barry Miles, Joe Boyd and all the
other people involved in underground posters at the time. At the end of the
Hapshash days when Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert had failed to leave £2000
with Victor to get litho versions of the posters printed by Chevalier in
Amsterdam, he decided to cut his losses, pocketed the cash and stored all
the  stock, which amounted to over 7000 pieces. The paper was different as
was the printing as the posters were printed at different plants. The paper
was obtained as cheaply as possible from lots of sources.  There were
however two thicknesses of paper. One with a cardboard like finish that was
used to hang on walls in pubs, clubs and shops and the other was thin.  This
was more suitable for fly posting. The stock was in Victors roof, as in the
'70's and '80's it had no value. When he died his daughter moved it to her
house on the South Coast. It has always been wrapped in brown paper and
sealed with tape. The packets were in large boxes.  I am told that if the
paper does not get hot or exposed to the sun there is no reason why it
should not stay white.
This is the true story which you may not wish to hear. Should a case for
libel ever be started against you there is ample written evidence from Mrs.
Levitt (Victors daughter) and from Museum paper expects to win. I understand
that the case may be brought in the US as damages are larger than here.

I have warned you before. Be warned again, for the last time.

Philip Townsend

Ps. Luke Harris believed they were O.K, until he was got at by the 'experts'
in the US. He purchased £8000 worth
Pps. So you have fallen out with your friend, Ken Hilton, your former expert
over here. Ha ha. 

Dear Mr. Townsend,
 
Why is all of this of such great concern to you?. On the one hand, you speak as if you represent some group of owners. On the other hand you speak as if you have no vested interest. Which is it? If you have no vested interest then please go away and let whoever does be pissed at me. They obviously don't need your help as I have heard nothing from anyone but you and Simon. Hardly a quorum if you know what I mean.
 
If you are the principal owner why don't you just go ahead and give the whole, entire, complete story with names and phone numbers and I'll see what I think of your story. To dribble out partial bits of information isn't going to change my mind about anything.
 
As for XXXXXXXXX, he is not now or never was any kind of friend of mine. He is basically in the same league as you. Crawled out from under a rock. He at least had the decency to go away. Could you please do the same?
 
With warmest personal regards,
 
 
Dear Mr. Rogers.

Why is it all yanks  follow the lead of their president, George W Bush and try to bully poor little people in the third world who have just appeared from under  a rock, to quote you.
I have no intention of supplying you with any telephone numbers or addresses. To do so would be commercial suicide.
People read the garbage on your website and as a result have doubts about posters they have brought, from fairs, e bay or on the internet.  Perhaps I should do what Beano’s do and keep my powder dry and attack you in one mighty swoop, the idea that your president George W Bush had in Iraq, but got it wrong thru indecisive planning.
I don’t have to leave you alone, I can write to you as much as I like and will do so.
I think I may do a poster of you, perhaps with the line, ‘This man is a bootleg’.
You are dangerous.  We have a saying over  here, ‘A little knowledge is a dangerous thing’.
See you soon.
Philip Townsend

Dear Mr. Rogers,

Thank you, you have done exactly what I wanted and libelled me.
1. I said there were 7000 pieces printed in the 1960's
2. I did not say there were 7000 pieces around now, infact there are less
than 400, and many titles are finished.
3. Please may I have the addresses of the E-bay sellers and shops that I
supply.
4. I said there were statements from Museums as the status of the posters.
5.  I do not have to explain to you the name and address of the source,
6. Get your evidence together you will need it. It is not sufficent to say I
have been selling bootlegs.  You will now have to prove it. I will have to
prove they are not bootlegs which I can do.