Final Auction Price
*Final prices include buyers premium
$9,000.00
Starting bid: $1.00
Our records indicate this to be the very FIRST CGC GRADED APPEARANCE of this extremely scarce and long lost Grateful Dead collectible to surface in any public auction!
This original cardboard poster was created for the Grateful Dead appearing at DuPont Gym (the M.I.T. Armory) on the campus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge MA on May 7th 1970.
The concert included New Riders of the Purple Sage performing the second set (with Garcia on pedal-steel) the Dead playing an all acoustic first set and an extremely long jammed-out electric Dead third set. We urge you to check out the audio recordings here.
In addition the Dead performed a special set the day before in Kresge Plaza at M.I.T. as well! The band arrived in Massachusetts a day early on the tour and heard about a student rally taking place at M.I.T. protesting the killings of student demonstrators at Kent State Ohio just three days prior. They showed up on May 6th and did a free outdoor set on the steps of the Student Center with a large crowd of people in attendance all across Kresge Oval. The Saint Stephen was incredible listen here!
The poster is a hand-pulled screenprint created on cardboard with day-glow inks (see black light photo) at the MIT Art Department before the concert. In a league of its own this AWE INSPIRING MASTERPIECE was printed in ridiculously low quantities. There were allegedly only a handful of copies that were made by the student print shop at MIT for this appearance. According to accounts they were posted around the campus and most of them disappeared.
This piece was owned and stored safely untouched for 50+ years by a member of the MIT University Class of 1971! Not surprising this is the very FIRST time this poster has appeared in one of our auctions and it’s the FIRST CGC Graded example to ever surface in any public auction! When you consider we have auctioned several thousand lots over 120+ plus auctions including most major rarities and this is the FIRST SPECIMEN to ever appear in our sale it's easy to understand why the entire universe of concert poster collectors will be watching closely to see what value the market attaches to this magnificent Grateful Dead rarity at this specific moment in time!
This lot presents the classic collectors dilemma: Do you stretch and bid a little more NOW get to enjoy the poster NOW and for years to come?... or do you wait for possibly forever to maybe own the poster many years down the road at a value that could be multiples of what this specimen will sell for HERE AND NOW?
Estimate: $6 000 - $12 000+
Poster – Grateful Dead MIT
Grade – CGC 8.5
Bands/Bill – Grateful Dead
Venue – DuPont Gym M.I.T. Armory
City – Cambridge MA
Date – 5/7/1970
Dimensions – 11” x 14"
Printing – OP-1 Original Pre-Concert First Printing
Paper Type – Cardboard
Condition Details - 100% Original with no restoration. Pinhole top center and bottom center tiny bit of wear in the corners. View the detailed high res photo of this lot. Click on the thumbnail photo to see an enlarged photo. Click a second time on the magnifying glass in the upper right corner of the enlarged photo. A super high res image with every millimeter will now be clearly displayed. For a personalized eyewitness examination call 410-464-6180 11:00 am to 6:00 pm eastern.
*****This poster is available for inspection at our gallery by appointment. *****
*A 20% Buyers Premium will be added to the final hammer price of this lot.*
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