March 21st, 2009
Certain things you come to expect in rock music…Ozzy biting heads of bats, Judas Priest sued for violent lyrics then coming out of the closet, the self-mutilation of punk icon Sid Vicious. Nothing shocking. But Elvis crushing bird skulls in the morning and memorializing it in poetry? That’s shocking. A copy of the the poem, recently auctioned at Gotta Have It, gave this description:
This is a poem that Elvis would recite often on stage and in his personal life, called “Ode to a Robin.” He even used it on his home phone message machine recording. He wrote the poem down for several people and this one was given to his very good friend Charlie Hodge in the 1970’s. Hodge, a member of Elvis’ “Memphis Mafia”, met Elvis in the army and lived for 16 years in a converted apartment at Graceland. Comes with signed letter from Hodge on his personally stationery dated December 12, 1993. Estimate: $4,000 - $5,000.
I’m shocked…read on my friends.
Such a beautiful man...
Tags: auctions, elvis presley, gotta have it, judas priest, letters, ode to a robin, ozzy ozbourne, sid vicious
Posted in Auctions and Realized Prices, Strange Remains | No Comments »
February 14th, 2009
This flyer, possibly for the first of Ken Kesey's Acid Tests, had a rather bad trip on eBay this week.
As a collector of counter culture ephemera, like others I see the Acid Tests of the Mid 1960’s as being seminal events…the jumping off point for the 1960’s. On Feb 14th, a very interesting piece popped up on eBay. Here’s what Ken Kesey’s son Zane had to say in an email to the clueless seller.
ZANE KESEY: Here is what Ken Babbs said when I showed him, “Holey Moley, that’s a poster for the first Acid Test at the “Spread” where I lived outside of Santa Cruz. It even looks like something I might have drawn.”
Understand that this is the FIRST Acid Test! others sell for 10K up to 75K (if painted)
This is the only poster I have ever seen for the first Acid Test!
I think this is the only Acid Test poster I know of to list the Warlocks
Good luck with this auction, It should get very exciting in that last hour.
I wish I could afford it!
Zane Kesey
The seller was “selling this for a computer illiterate hippie friend” who had travelled in certain circles in california in the mid 60’s. She listed it with no reserve and a starting bid of 99 cents. It was titled very poorly:
Title: psychedelic acid test handbill old
Subtitle: warlocks grateful dead? acid test
Even so poorly listed, some of the right people were obviously finding it as bidding was up to about $750 with a few days left to go. Then on the morning of 2/14/09, the seller pulled the listing citing an “error in the listing or reserve price” and promptly relisted it with a $5,000 “buy it now” option. I was off with the family, came back, saw it had been relisted and promptly snatched by the first person to re-check the listing. So in the end, one of the most significant pieces of counterculture history and one of the earliest Grateful Dead posters sells for a measley $5,000. I’m sure I speak for others when I honestly confess I had a robo-bid set up on the original auction for over $10,000 and I’m not one of the trust-funded or drug-fortune funded high rollers who I’m sure were prepared to go much higher.
In a fair and well run auction what would have this piece fetched? I’ll go ahead and pitch a number out there just for shits and giggles. My guess is a minimum of $25,000…possibly reaching as high as six figures. The most recent “comparable”, if you could call it that, was sold a few months back for $15,000 (see Acid Test Poster Sells for $15,000). That poster is hardly comparable, as it was professionally printed on an offset press, in a reasonable quantity, with a number of known survivng quantities for an event much later in the timeline for the Merry Pranksters Acid Tests. Additionally, in my research the only Acid Test piece to list the Warlocks, which was the Grateful Dead’s original name.
The only thought that eases my mind and will let me sleep tonight is that maybe Zane Kesey or someone else in the Pranksters family ended up with this relic. However, my guess is we haven’t seen the last of it. If anyone has more information on this item please add it in the comments section.
Until then, I’ll be cuddling my own two original Acid Test newspaper ads.
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Tags: concert poster, flyer, grateful dead, ken babbs, ken kesey, LSD, merry pranksters, rare posters, warlocks
Posted in Auctions and Realized Prices, The eBay Effect | 2 Comments »
February 7th, 2009
Jeff Beck's 1969 Beck-Ola has some sick breaks and grooves.
Well, Jeff Beck anyway. Justin Hoy, founder of Vermont’s Halogen Records brought DJ G.I. Joe by the shop on Friday. A few of the guys were in, helping clean some records, getting some new stuff out on the shelf. My buddy James pulls out a nice clean copy of Jeff Beck’s groundbreakingly heavy 1969 release “Beck-Ola”, featuring Rod Stewart on vocals. We all start talking about what a great album it is. Meanwhile G.I. Joe and Nate are putting some other records on the listening station.
As G.I. Joe is paying for his records, his ear catches the drum break in Jeff Beck’s version of the King’s Jailhouse Rock. He’s gotta have it. So we pull that off the house turntable and then James says, “can we listen to this”? I can’t remember what it was exactly, but it was some demented early seventies childrens folk duo we’d been dying to check out, simply because the picture on the back had that “this is going to be interesting” look to it. Pop that on the house system and G.I. Joe’s gotta have it too, borrowing more money from Justin.
It was cool to see this DJ with a great gig (he’s the DJ for Immortal Technique), still just so into and excited about honing his craft , find new beats, and a new spot to score some records that the other DJ’s hadn’t gotten to yet.
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“Vermont’s Premier Vintage Vinyl Destination”
Tags: DJ G.I. Joe, halogen records, Hip-Hop, Immortal Technique, Jeff Beck, Rap, Riverwalk Records, Rod Stewart, turntable, vermont, vintage vinyl
Posted in Adventures in Vintage Vinyl | No Comments »
February 7th, 2009
America's 1971 debut LP, people still love it, unabashedly.
So, I’m constantly looking over the shoulders of my beloved helpers at Riverwalk Records, my vintage vinyl record shop that doubles as my home base in the sleepy little hamlet of Monpelier, VT.
Issue being, the fellas have a habit of dissing the hits of the seventies, throwing most of them into the $1.00 bin. Thing is, America sells….you know, “Horse with No Name”, “Sister Golden Hair”. Every year after the holidaze, I’m a bit shocked to to see we have no Kansas, Styx, or America LP’s left in the bins. Yet the rare Woody Guthrie on Folkways, pristine Trout Mask Replica, and original mono version of The Beatles Sgt Peppers Lonley Heart Club Band have survived the onslaught.
Sure enough lady walks in yesterday, “Do you have any records by America?” Sure do, $78.37 later, she walks out with a thick stack, the complete discography and a few album frames….God bless America!
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“Vermont’s Premier Vintage Vinyl Destination”
Tags: america, Beatles, Captain Beefheart, LP's, Montepelier Vermont, records, Riverwalk Records, vintage vinyl, Woody Guthrie
Posted in Adventures in Vintage Vinyl | No Comments »
February 7th, 2009
So I’ve had this idea for an article for some time regarding the effect of eBay on the collectibles marketplace, music memorabilia in particular. Thinking there were some main points I wanted to make, it ought to be fairly simple yet interesting to others as I have been selling on eBay for over 10 years (view my eBay listings) and began buying, selling and trading in the pre-web days. As i got into it, it became clear just how vast the subject truly is. See The eBay Effect.
I’m not done with the subject, and plan to break it down further. If you have some thoughts ideas, opinions, let me please use the comments section to let me know.
This post brought to you by the fine folks at:
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“Over 4000 Original Concert Posters, Flyers and Vintage Ads”
Tags: collectibles, collecting, collector, eBay, music memorabilia
Posted in Selling Rock-The Business of Music Memorabilia, The eBay Effect | No Comments »
January 22nd, 2009
There it was sitting in my in box:
I found this and I don’t know if its an original or a reprint, can you tell me what it might be worth? -Larry
There are 1000's of these bootleg concert poster floating around, hundreds of different designs with the same cheesy layout and mismatched stolen photos.
I do free memorabilia appraisals through my site as a service to collectors and just regular folks. I would say one in four appraisal requests I get are for one of hundreds of versions of these bootleg posters. Some guy is making his living printing up these fake posters and selling them to every head shop and record shop in the country, probably overseas as well. His wholesale price is only a buck or two each and so they are literally everywhere.
Most measure 14×22 and are printed on card stock. They feature everyone from Elvis Presely to Bruce Springsteen, I’ve even seen some for the Worlds Series and other famous sporting events. The guy obviously does not do his research. The example at left shows an image of the Dead from 1966 or 1967. The concert date says 1972. Another dead give-away is that it is quite rare for an original concert poster to state a year, except maybe in the small printing of credit line. When you think about it, if a poster was put out to advertise a concert, the person looking at the poster at the time of the event most likely knows the year, so it’s rare to actually see it printed.
In this case the photo is by Herb Ritts, who is obviously not being paid for its use. The poor layout degrades it’s use. Obviously the printer and seller are also infringing on the copyright and trademarks of the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane as well, by producing unauthorized merchadise with ther names and likeness.
So, Larry, it’s not really a reprint as there was never an original that looked anything like this, the date is made up, the photo is stolen, and the bands are ripped off. Anyone with more info on the guy who prints/sells these please post in the comments section. I’ll try to update the post if I get more info.
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“Over 4000 Original Concert Posters, Flyers and Vintage Ads”
Tags: appraisals, bootleg, collectibles, collecting, collector, concert poster, copywrite, counterfeit, grateful dead, herb ritts, jefferson airplane, lawsuit, rare posters, vintage posters
Posted in Selling Rock-The Business of Music Memorabilia | No Comments »
January 10th, 2009
It was the buzz of the concert poster and music memorabilia world for it’s first few years. In 2003, Minnestota millionaire Bill Sagan purchased the archives of Bill Graham Presents, including copywrites, for over $5,000,000. What ensued over the next few years was a heavy handed interpretation of those copywrites, which gave Sagans newfounded company, Wofgangs Vault, a pretty bad name among dealers and collectors and even musicians who had been in the business for many, many years. There were and still are a number of lawsuits surrounding this company.
The main effect I felt in regards to Wolfgangs was that within that same year they bought out two of my colleagues, Legends Concert Posters out of Portland Oregon and New York City’s Psychedelic Solution. I had been trading, purchasing, and selling to these businesses while building my archives and website. It was a little unsettling to have them both gobbled up withing such a short time span. At the same time, I’m happy for Jacaeber Kastor of Psychedelic Solutions. Jacaeber had worked for many years, starting with nothing, and built his collections and business from what I felt was a true love and respect for material itself. I understand he was paid well for his efforts, and so in that way, Wolfgangs did him a service that is to be respected: they paid him for his efforts. I’m not sure how Dave Cutter did with Legends though I think some of Wolfgangs interest may have been in his URL, www.concertposters.com. They have also bought out numerous other stashes including the archives of Hawaii’s Tom Moffat Productions.
I’m always trying to look for the positives in any situation and there are quite a few in this case.
From an archivists point a view, it’s great to have the Bill Graham Presents archives searchable via Wolgangs website. On ConcertPosterArt.com, I list my collection items as well as items which are currently for sale. While those looking just to purchase may find it somewhat of a hinderance, the music researchers and biographers have really appreciated it and found the information useful. Currently, Wolfgangs is only listing items it has for sale, but it’s still a massive collection to browse. They also have some detailed printing information and specifications, which now matches up with the reserach of one of my mentors and idols, Eric King, author of the Collectors Guide to Psychedelic Rock Posters.
Another positive is that there is once again a “Big House” in the concert poster world, which really I think sets an air of importance to the field and the memorabilia itself. It says something about a segment of the collecting world when someone drops 5 million.
There has been alot of huff about Wolfgangs Vault’s pricing, which is really no ones business thier own. Though I’ve never purchased from them, I find their pricing to be like most collectibles/antiquities businesses I deal with, which is to say that there are some great deals in there, you just have to know what they are when you see them. While their pricing structure definately represents the high end of the spectrum, that position has to be held by someone. From my point of view, at least they aren’t undervaluing the material.
All in all, it is what it is…my only question is: Where’s my buyout offer?
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“Over 4000 Original Concert Posters, Flyers and Vintage Ads”
Tags: antiques, archive, Bill Graham, Bill Sagan, collectibles, collecting, collector, copywrite, lawsuit, Psychedelic Solution, rare posters, san francisco, SFX, vintage posters, Wolfgangs Vault
Posted in Selling Rock-The Business of Music Memorabilia | No Comments »
January 5th, 2009
We all have our little haunts. I go into pretty much every antique mall, shop, record store…I’m sure I’ve been to thousands over the years in 48 states and a few countries. I love to browse, just educating myself on what’s out there in the collectibles world. I’m mainly a collector of concert posters and they’re pretty tough to come by offline these days, but I just love looking at old stuff.
A find that blew my mind. I've always really dug the album and the bootlegs from The Dylan and The Dead tour. I especially like the "Slow Train Comin" with the heavy Brent Mydland vocal.
So, I was doing just that, walking the isles of one of my favorite spots here in Vermont. It’s an antique mall, which can often be terrible collections of cast-offs, but this one is always fun, lots of pop culture material and always some new stuff. Sometimes I’ll find some vinyl for my record shop. I noticed at one booth an East Bay poster for sixties side-liners Stoneground by Randy Tuten. Nothing I want, but interesting that it’s there. After more perusing I come across a wall downstairs with some framed Fillmore handbills and cards. Also some rare rimages, including a Grateful Dead Mouse and Kelley “memorial” handbill, but all the rarer stuff was pirate printings and/or bootlegs. And then there it is: a 1988 Dylan and the Dead flyer from Autzen Stadium in Eugene Oregon. I immediately take it off the wall in it’s frame an take a closer look, and sure enough, it’s the real thing.
Those of you who are familiar with my
website and collections know I have the most extensive collection or Northwest telephone pole posters form 1980 to present on the planet. And I’m a Deadhead (though equally into punk, country, jazz and just about everything else). On top of that, it’s size is 8.5 x11. I love the 8.5 x 11 flyers because they fit so nicely into a regular binder with archival sleeves making them easy to store, flip through, and when your dealing with collection of my magnitude, simply find.
I was and still am thrilled to have come across it the way I did. Like it was waiting for me. Turns out a former Grateful Dead roadie lives in the area and was parting with some goodies, reminding me I’m on the right path.
This post brought to you by the fine folks at:
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“Over 4000 Original Concert Posters, Flyers and Vintage Ads”
Tags: antiques, bob dylan, collectibles, collecting, collector, concert poster, grateful dead, san francisco, vermont
Posted in The Art of Poster Collecting | No Comments »
January 2nd, 2009
Christies Auction house held thier first ever auction devoted punk rock music memorabilia Nov. 24th. The auction included photos by Mick Rock, flyers, T-shirts, stickers and pomotional posters. Performers represented included punk’s rock top tier: Sex Pistols, the Clash, and The Ramones as well as lesser knowns favorites such as the Germs, Wierdos and Screamers. Billed as a Punk/Rock auction there was a fair amount of standard classic rock material and 90’s material which I may report on seprately.
I was immediately struck by the prices the promotional posters were fetching. $2000 for an early flyer of the Sex Pistols and the Clash I can see, but over $6,000 on a 1977 Sex Pistols promo poster was a rather impressive feat. $1000 on the over-sized Clash Sandinista promo was impressive as well.
This original 1977 "God Save The Queen" promo poster by Jamie Reid sold for $6250.
This oversized Clash Sandinista Album Promotional Poster sold for $1063 at Christies, a decidedly high price for a promotional poster.
Probably the most significant and rarest item in the Christies auction, this concert flyer featuring the Sex Pistols and the Clash sold for $1875.
While the highest realized prices in the auction went to the Brit’s there was at least some representation of US Punk scene with one lot of 28 Raymond Pettibon flyers, including a few 11×17 inch posters. The lot of 12 items went for $2500, once again demonstrating the prowess of the larger auction houses in pulling in higher dollar buyers for items which are fairly easily obtainable for much less. Street collector to collector prices for these are usually in the $50 range, while these averaged oout to over $200 a pop.
A lot of 12 Raymond Pettibon Black Flag flyers reached record prices through exposure at Christies.
There was also one lot of LA punk flyers, a nice batch of significant groups, 28 flyers in all, including the Circle Jerks, Suicidal Tendencies, Screamers and Fear which went for $438. At about 15 each, these were closer to or a bit below current values. A couple surprises were a Weirdos/Germs Mabuhay Gardens flyer for $688. Some other early punk flyers by Ramones and Television reached similar prices.
This 1977 Weirdos Germs Flyer reached an unbelievable $688.
When I see these kind of prices, I’m not so much thinking about them in terms of dollar value but more in a sense historical and societal value. The punk aesthetic has now been passed down to a number of generations and is holding strong as a social movement with a unique set of ideas and a strong graphic style which was pioneered in the design of many of these items. The prices I believe reflect the ongoing importance of the punk movement. I’d also note these prices likely reflect that fact that the buyers are comfortable with the reputation of Christies as to the authenticity of the items.
I’ve personally been collecting and documenting this material for many years. Great to see the suits at Christie’s coming around.
This post brought to you by the fine folks at:
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“Over 4000 Original Concert Posters, Flyers and Vintage Ads”
Tags: Black Flag, Christies, Clash, concert poster, germs, Jamie Reid, mabuhay gardens, Mike Rock, punk, punk flyer, Ramones, rare posters, Raymond Pettibon, san francisco, Sex Pistols, vintage posters, weirdos
Posted in Auctions and Realized Prices | No Comments »
January 1st, 2009
A poster advertising the 1966 SF State Acid Tests sold for $15,000 in an eBay auction ending ecember 28th. This set of Acid Tests, held 9/30/66 through 10/2/66 at San Francisco State University, were free form multi-media events put on by Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, and generally featured the Grateful Dead as the house band. These events are now widely recognized as the jumping off point for the 1960’s psychedelic scene.
This poster advertising the 1966 SF State Acid Tests, featuring the Grateful Dead and Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters sold for $15,000.
It is interesting that the poster does not advertise the event as an Acid Test, though all usual characters were in attendance. I would assume that this would be because of the heat being put on the scene at that time. LSD was criminalzed in California on October 6th, 1966, four days after the events conclusion. Few copies of this poster are known to be in existence in any condition and this example as close to mint condition as they come.
Tags: acid test, concert poster, grateful dead, ken kesey, LSD, merry pranksters, rare posters, san francisco, sf mime troupe, vintage posters
Posted in Auctions and Realized Prices | No Comments »
