Final Auction Price
*Final prices include buyers premium
$25,300.00
Starting bid: $1.00
The FIRST CGC authenticated and graded specimen to be offered at public auction!
If the Smithsonian Institution were to display a single concert poster that was to embody everything that the 1960's represents this would be THE POSTER.
Beginning in the fall of 1965 Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters held a series of LSD fueled multi media happenings featuring the music of the Grateful Dead and chronicled in Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool Aid Acid Tests.
These HISTORIC events provided the initial spark that led to a full scale counter-culture revolution that transformed our world forever.
As such it's no understatement to say that this is the most historically important concert poster of them all!
The collectibles world has extensively reported on the rapidly growing excitement and demand swirling around vintage concert posters for the past 2-3 years. And much of this excitement and demand is squarely focused on the "high end" of the market. In today's market the "high end" can be described as any poster worth over $10 000. And that's precisely why collectors are so excited!
You see in ANY other major collectible such as rare coins stamps comic books or baseball cards "the high end of the market" STARTS at $100 000 and quickly escalates to over $1 000 000...up to multiple millions! And that's why collectors are so excited about the opportunities inherent in Museum Quality vintage concert posters that can still be acquired for literally pennies on the dollar compared to any other collectible.
When experienced collectors become aware of this unique value discrepancy they immediately want to snap up whatever Legendary Rarities are offered for public sale. Our advice however is ALWAYS the same. BE PATIENT and wait for posters that hit on as many possible positive attributes that a poster can possibly have.
The attributes we lay out as most important are legendary performer spectacular art verified rarity unquestioned originality and if possible historic importance. Very few concert posters can lay claim to more than one of these attributes ... this famous Can You Pass the Acid Test? concert poster delivers on all possible fronts.
To sum it up this lot offers everything a collector could possibly want in a vintage concert poster. All of the positive attributes enumerated above guarantees the lucky collector that prevails victorious success in their collecting endeavors. The winning bidder will be adding a World Class Museum Rarity to their collection that is guaranteed to be highly appreciated now and this appreciation will grow with each passing year.
We started this lot description explaining that the "top of this market" for vintage concert posters is ridiculously undervalued.
This is one of the most spectacular and desirable concert posters ever created and it's rarity and desirability are secured forever.
In regards to value our database shows 2 auction appearances in recent years. A specimen cataloged as "excellent condition with only light handling and a small corner bend" realized $21 392 on 2/19/17. A second example cataloged as "A- condition there are no more than a couple of tiny edge/corner bumps a whisper of handling a nearly invisible soft diagonal bend in the upper right margin and maybe a hairline stress bend or two hiding within the image area but still at the very top of the condition scale" realized $19 800 earlier this year. Of course NEITHER of these specimens were independently authenticated and graded by CGC.
The specimen offered here is the finest that we have ever handled. We have examined this poster carefully and have found NO visible flaws of any kind. The paper is bright and crisp and all 4 corners are razor sharp. There are no creases and no corner bumps.
We were expecting a grade of 9.6 or 9.8 based on other CGC graded concert posters we've handled of similiar quality that were assigned those grades.
Regardless of the numerical grade attached the quality of this specimen MUST be included in any FINEST KNOWN CENSUS.
The superior quality of this poster can be plainly seen in the high def photos. It will be up to the marketplace to determine the value of this spectacular CGC graded specimen is now and the future evolution of this market will determine if and when it's value catches up to comparable collectibles worth 25-50 times more!
Estimate - $20 000-$40 000
Poster – Can You Pass The Acid Test?
Grade – CGC 9.2
Bands/Bill – Grateful Dead The Merry Pranksters The Fugs Neal Cassady Allen Ginsberg
Venue –Muir Beach
City – California
Date – 1965
Dimensions -17" x 22"
Printing – OP-1 Original Pre-Concert First Printing
Artist – Paul Foster
Series/Promoter - The Merry Pranksters
AOR #2.4
Condition Details - 100% Original with no restoration. Super clean with no nicks cuts tears or pinholes. No visible flaws. 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 6:00pm eastern.
*****This poster is available for inspection at our gallery by appointment. *****
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