Grateful Dead's First Gig Poster Leads Music Memorabilia Auction

December 4, 1965, marked the live debut of the Grateful Dead and tacked up around San Jose was the band's simple, hand-drawn poster asking: “Can you pass the Acid Test?”. It is among the highlights of Heritage Auctions' April 17-19 Music Memorabilia & Concert Posters auction.

This particular poster survived thanks to two high schoolers from the Menlo Park area who snagged the poster off a telephone pole.

“San Francisco in 1965 was a crucible, and this Acid Test was one of its first big sparks,” said Pete Howard, Heritage’s Director of Concert Posters. “The Dead weren’t stars yet, just a local outfit testing their wings, but the energy was already there, raw and unpolished.” The poster’s simplicity is crayon-drawn from a time when the counterculture was still finding its voice. “It’s not polished or mass-produced like the Fillmore posters that’d come later, it’s a rough, honest artifact of a night when music, mischief, and a little madness collided,” said Howard. “For collectors, it’s a rare chance to hold a piece of the Grateful Dead’s origin story, straight from the streets where it all began.” The piece comes from the David Swartz Concert Poster Collection. 

There are nearly 100 other Grateful Dead posters in the auction including the 1968 Hawaiian Aoxomoxoa poster by Rick Griffin. Since the weekend shows were called off, most copies were thrown away. Another standout is an FD-26 Skeleton & Roses poster in near mint condition. 

Other highlights include:

• original art for Led Zeppelin’s Get the Led Out limited edition, signed by artist Ioannis and author Denny Somach
• a handwritten note from Eddie Van Halen on Marriott stationary (“Get crazy with us”)
• an array of photos of Bruce Springsteen by photographer Phil Ceccola
• a limited edition photo print of the artwork for the Rolling Stones’ Stripped album signed by Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts
• John Lennon’s Strong artwork, drawn in 1967 on Hotel Continental Paris stationery, featuring felt-pen colors, wild figures and abstract shapes all swirling around the word “Strong” near the center
• original paper patterns for the Beatles' suits