1978 Bensalem HS Senior Awards Dinner Program Owl Art Petrick Bucks County PA For Sale

30 pm in the school cafeteria. Bensalem High School is located in Bensalem Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a suburban community in the Delaware Valley region near Philadelphia. The document, measuring approximately 8.5 by 11 inches when folded, is printed on a single sheet of heavy, uncoated card stock, folded in half to create four pages, with the front cover featuring a distinctive and elaborate illustration. The cover art, signed in the lower right corner by an artist or designer identified as “PETRICK,” depicts a whimsical, surreal scene: a massive, anthropomorphic owl, rendered in a detailed pen-and-ink style, perches atop a globe that rests on a stack of oversized books. The owl wears a mortarboard cap and holds a diploma tied with a ribbon, while a tiny human figure in academic robes stands on the globe, gazing up through a telescope. The image is executed in black ink with extensive crosshatching and stippling, evoking the aesthetic of a 1970s underground comix or psychedelic poster, a striking departure from the more conservative design conventions typical of high school academic events. The event details are printed in a clean, sans-serif typeface within a white rectangular block centered on the cover, creating a stark contrast with the dense, intricate illustration. The interior pages contain the evening’s program, including a list of award categories and recipients, the names of faculty and administrative staff, and a menu for the dinner. This program serves as a tangible artifact of late 1970s American high school culture, documenting a specific rite of passage—the senior awards ceremony—while also reflecting the broader artistic and graphic design trends of the era. The idiosyncratic cover art, blending academic symbolism with a fantastical, almost countercultural sensibility, makes this piece particularly notable for collectors of vintage school memorabilia, 1970s graphic design, and ephemera that captures the intersection of institutional life and personal artistic expression. The item is in used condition, with the expected light age-toning and a single horizontal fold line, but remains fully intact and legible.