Final Auction Price
*Final prices include buyers premium
$8,400.00
Starting bid: $1.00
We are delighted to offer one of the very rarest and most sought after posters from one of the greatest Dead tours of all time TIED FOR THE FINEST CONDITION that we have ever seen handled or heard about.
The provenance of this poster is unimprovable as it comes from the grandson of the promoter! In early 1971 just months after the release of Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty The Dead played at Michigan State University in East Lansing. This was a peak definitive time in Dead history and legendary songs such as Bertha Deal Loser and Bird Song were introduced for the very first time.
A tiny quantity of these posters were produced to promote the show and we have registered just a handful of auction appearances in the past 15 years! In fact this poster is so valuable and highly sought after that it was pirated in an attempt to cash in on the high values and to fulfill the large unmet collector demand.
PAE discovered the forgery and reported the details in our Blog. We did extensive research on the pirate and fake copies are easy to identify. The paper stock on the forgeries is much thicker. The front of the counterfeit poster has been artificially aged and the back is unnaturally bright white. We have a copy of the bootleg on hand in our Gallery for authentication purposes and we invite you to visit and see the forgery for yourself. The contrast between the fake and the real thing is drastic.
The copy we offer now is a true museum piece. It is totally original and it’s authenticity is guaranteed in writing as is every poster we sell. This is the strongest guarantee of authenticity offered anywhere.
This lot is vastly superior in quality to the previous two copies we have auctioned and the one other example we have identified. It is in pristine Museum Quality condition with no nicks cuts tears or pinholes. Just the slightest trace of handling keeps this from the higher 97 grade. It is equal to or better than the copy we sold over three years ago for $6326 on 11/30/17 and is vastly superior to the example we auctioned for $5474 that we graded PAE 85 in 11/2016 that exhibited a small tear.
There is a saying in collectibles that sometimes the opportunity to buy a rarity is even rarer than the item itself. This is one of those situations. Ultra rare Vintage Grateful Dead Concert posters such as this are truly the gold standard of this rapidly growing marketplace. Coins comic books and baseball cards of comparable age rarity ( a handful known) condition and historical importance to this lot would trade for $100 000 or much much more! .
This poster will sell for a tiny fraction of that and one lucky collector will walk away with a steal regardless of what value this lot ultimately commands. Another perfect example why many experienced collectors believe this market represents the absolute best value in collectibles today!
Poster-Grateful Dead Jenison Field House
Grade- PAE Mint 95
Bands/Bill-Grateful Dead
Venue-Jenison Field House
City-East Lansing MI
Date-3/13/71
Dimensions-17 31/32 x 24 1/16
Printing-OP-1- Original Pre-Concert First Printing
Artist-Hugh Surratt Jr.
Series/Promoter- Michigan State U
Paper Type- Thin paper
Condition Details - Superb Museum Quality with no visible flaws of any kind. No nicks cuts tears or pinholes! 100% Original with no restoration.
*****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.*