Jesse Kant, the widow of the Grateful Dead’s longtime lawyer is auctioning selling off her extensive collection rare treasures from throughout the band’s career. Jesse’s late husband, Hal Kant, represented the Dead in addition to acts like Cher and Janis Joplin dating back to the 1960’s. The couple amassed an extensive inventory of memorabilia over the years, and Jesse has plans to auction off over 100 one-of-a-kind pieces from the collection online by Reno art gallery and auction house Stremmel Auctions from November 22 through December 9th. The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that some of the items are expected to go for as much as $100,000 when they’re sold.
The lot of memorabilia up for sale includes signed pieces of artwork created by Jerry Garcia, a colorful set of banners used as the backdrops for 88 concerts around the world, and a poster from a Lake Tahoe show in 1968, when tickets cost $3.50 at the door, among over 100 other items.
Jesse Kant says she’s keeping some valuables with personal meaning, including letters from the band, but she’s parting with a wedding invitation from Garcia and his wife, Deborah Koons, as well as a framed, dried rose from the couple’s wedding the year before his 1995 death. She’s also selling her living room replica of the Dead’s conference table, complete with hand-carved skulls and ornate “GD” signatures on each chair.
“I spent my time very happily and grateful with all of these items,” and it was time to let someone else enjoy them, she told the Gazette-Journal.
Hudson Stremmel, gallery spokesman, said Hal Kant was responsible for keeping the band’s copyrights and introduced Garcia to the makers of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, which resulted in one of their most popular flavors, “Cherry Garcia”.
The collection is one of the rarest the auctioneer has seen, Stremmel said. The business typically deals with high-end estate sales and bankruptcy cases. “It’s amazing. It’s kind of a story of his life that hasn’t been told,” Stremmel said of Hal Kant.
[h/t – Reno Gazette Journal]