Final Auction Price
*Final prices include buyers premium
$12,600.00
Starting bid: $1.00
This poster has been professionally restored to offer the appearance and eye appeal of a Mint Condition specimen! Please note this piece has been immaculately restored but NOT bleached.
For the FIRST TIME in our auction it is our pleasure to offer a very rare opportunity to own what is considered by serious collectors to be amongst the most difficult to find posters from the 1960's. This next to impossible to own GIANT sized original poster is one of very few copies to survive the past 51 years.
This original poster was commissioned by promoter Durwood Settles and was designed by legendary poster artist D.W. Beeghley. Merriweather Post had just opened a year prior during 1967. Settles had come from New York City where he booked pop concerts at venues like Carnegie Hall. He wanted to bring pop acts to Merriweather but wasn’t quite sure how the community of Columbia Maryland would handle it.
In an interview years later he spoke about how he originally wanted to have Jimi Hendrix be the first rock show at Merriweather but instead he opted to test the waters of the venue with someone a little less shocking. “I booked Tiny Tim first mainly because I didn’t want to overreach ” Settles recalls. “The whole approach was to be genteel about this. I didn’t want to blast the community with hard rockers.” The show was a huge success which then paved the way for Settles to bring The Jimi Hendrix Experience to Merriweather a month later.
Beeghley is a renowned concert poster artist whose work is amongst the rarest and most sought after EVER produced. Beeghley's claim to fame was the ridiculous time effort and materials he invested to create true works of art that transcended the genre. First Beeghley created this poster in cardboard this was a work of art that Beeghley intended to last far beyond the actual concert date. Second Beeghley created this poster in massive size something that was.. and is... highly unusual. Third Beeghley created this poster as a hand pulled silkscreen that used stunning day glow fluorescent inks that dazzle under black light. The icing on the cake is that Beeghley produced under 200 of this poster and this is the very FIRST we have ever offered in our auction!
All of these unusual steps were taken to create an important work of art that would be considered to be amongst the most beautiful and sought after rock and roll concert posters produced by ANYONE ANYWHERE. Beeghley succeeded in his goal as today 51 years later his posters are wanted and searched for by the world's most advanced collectors.
Estimating the value of this piece is difficult and highly speculative due to it being the first to EVER appear in our auction. It's important to note the very few surviving specimens of this poster have traded privately for as much as $45 000 and is much more sought after than ALL of the artist's other works that routinely command well into five figures.
In the past year we have had the pleasure to auction 2 other Beeghley posters including a Jimi Hendrix Atlanta Municipal poster from 8/17/68 that realized $27 600 in our auction held August 2018 and a Doors Hitlon Hotel poster from 11/25/67 Washington D.C. that realized $25 200 in February 2019. These tremendous values speak for themselves in regards to the rarity and desirability of these posters.
Despite all this it is UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED that the Hendrix Merriweather poster is the RAREST AND MOST DESIRABLE of all of Beeghley's world famous concert posters.
It will be interesting to see what value the market attaches to this Major Museum Rarity. The collectibles world will be watching as advanced collectors fight it out for the right to add this masterpiece to their collection! Bid accordingly as this may be your ONLY CHANCE to acquire this Legendary Classic.
To read more about this poster click here.
Estimate: $20 000 - $40 000
Poster – Jimi Hendrix Experience Merriweather 1968 Beeghley
Grade – PAE Excellent 79 Restored
Bands/Bill – Jimi Hendrix Experience The Soft Machine
Venue – Merriweather Post Pavilion
City – Columbia MD
Date – 8/16/68
Dimensions – 21 29/32" x 27 15/16"
Printing – OP-1 Original Pre-Concert First Printing
Series/Promoter - Durwood Settles
Artist - D.W. Beeghley
Paper Type – Cardboard
Condition Details - This poster has been professionally restored to provide unbeatable eye appeal. Restored but not bleached. Some foxing and light toning minor creases pin holes. 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. *****
*A 20% Buyers Premium will be added to the final hammer price of this lot.*
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