Roughly $75,000 of Grateful Dead memorabilia was stolen recently, as the merchandise was waiting to be transferred to its new owner after the recent Grateful Dead Family Jubilee Auction last month. Police believe that the items went missing between April 25-26.
Grateful Dead Original Lyrics, Furniture And More Hit The Auction Block
The items were waiting to be shipped in armored vehicles, so whoever stole the memorabilia must have snuck onto the auction house property. The report indicates that the most valuable item was an original 1966 Grateful Dead poster that sold for $19,000. That poster, pictured above, was designed from an original print, and was hand painted for the occasion.
Classic Grateful Dead Poster Sets New World Auction Record
The owner Randy Donley said, “After 49 years in storage, [the artist] decided the anniversary year would be a good time to hand-embellish his original silkscreen. Because it was painted only last fall, the colors are far sharper and more vibrant than the original.” The image is too unique and iconic to be re-sold, so anyone who is caught with the poster will immediately be identified as the crook.
Three other posters were also stolen: “a 1986 original Grateful Dead Russelheim, Germany promoter poster; a 1986 original Grateful Dead Statue of Liberty first print tour poster and a 1966 ‘The Quick and the Dead’ serigraph hand signed by artist Wes Wilson.” The latter of the three is the first Dead artwork with skeletons.
For more information, read the full report in the Northwest Herald article.