This Grateful Dead auction offers ultra-rare artifacts, merch and drug ephemera. Among its 228 lots are an astounding array of musical instruments, gear, clothing and memorabilia. Here is just a taste of the auction’s weird and wonderful offerings. The auction closes on October 14, 2021.
The alchemist's tools. Stanley was the Dead's audio engineer and LSD chemist. Glass beaker, glass bottle with red and green stripes, glass bottle with "Champion Concentrated Embalming Fluid" printed label, Pyrex beaker, glass rods, metal stem, two thermometers; worn from use. Estimate: 10,000 - 15,000 USD. Current bid: 8,500 USD.
Blue and white "Twenty Years So Far" stage backdrop (approx. 238 x 300"), with large minuteman and the American flag at center. Worn from use, a few closed tears, but bright and intact. Designed by pioneering psychedelic artist Rick Griffin, who was one of the preeminent poster designers of the 1960s. Estimate: 50,000 - 70,000 USD. Starting bid: 35,000 USD.
White cotton coveralls, size 42 long, ca. 1966. Embellished by hand, moderate to heavy wear consistent with frequent use, apparent mud stains along jumpsuit legs, with numerous tears, repairs, and holes, evidence of an oval tag removed from left breast pocket, perhaps an old gas station tag (Shurtliff once owned a gas station). Despite, or even because of, this wear, an evocative relic of an important and ephemeral cultural moment. Estimate: 20,000 - 30,000 USD. Starting bid: 14,000 USD
The “wall of sound” solid-state power amplifier is 300 watts per channel or 600 watts per monoblock with an anodized gold and black panel. With original “Grateful Dead” black rolling road case with stickers and stencils. Estimate: 5,000 - 7,000 USD. Current bid is well over the estimate: 17,000 USD.
Bought by Pigpen himself in the mid to late 1960s, he used this electric piano for rehearsals and gigs. Leo’s Music Incorporated Oakland CA sticker on back; broken key, wood a little worn. Estimate: 5,000 - 10,000 USD. Current bid is well over the estimate: 5,000 USD.
Blue and white "Twenty Years So Far" stage backdrop (approx. 238 x 300"), with large minuteman and the American flag at center. Worn from use, a few closed tears, but bright and intact. Designed by pioneering psychedelic artist Rick Griffin, who was one of the preeminent poster designers of the 1960s. Estimate: 50,000 - 70,000 USD. Starting bid: 35,000 USD. $65.75 CAD.