According to Roger Steffens, one of the best ways to study history is through ephemera, the temporary objects people never expected to survive.
Rare Hand-Painted Jimmy Cliff and Don Carlos Banner from Jamaica, featuring The Harder They Come.
According to Roger Steffens, one of the best ways to study history is through ephemera, the temporary objects people never expected to survive.
This hand-painted concert banner from Negril is a perfect example.
Likely created in the late 1970s or early 1980s, it promoted Jimmy Cliff âin personâ with the African Oneness Vibration and the Oneness Band, alongside a screening of The Harder They Come. Special guest: Don Carlos.
The banner was painted locally before cheap mass printing became common for smaller reggae events. You can still see the improvised lettering, uneven spacing, corrections, and the raw energy that made these street promotions feel alive.
âEach one bring one to Oneness / Come rub a dub with your partner to music culture and knowledge.â
That single line says so much about the roots reggae era. Community, consciousness, spirituality, dance, and education all blending together.
Most banners like this were exposed to weather, folded, reused, or simply thrown away after the dance. The fact that this one survived at all is remarkable.
The organizers of the show later gave this banner to Roger, and today it remains part of his reggae archives, preserving not just the music, but the atmosphere, language, street culture, and everyday history of reggae in Jamaica.
