A poster from Buddy Holly’s tragic final tour, iconic Grateful Dead imagery, and the first ever auction sale of a “Woody Guthrie” poster are some highlights of a major rock ‘n’ roll sale in early December.
Holly’s final shows have been a holy grail for concert poster collectors for a long time.
The tour on which the Texan rock ‘n’ roll pioneer died, taking a plane ride to avoid yet another long coach journey, was the 1958 Winter Dance Party concert series.
Holly was killed in a crash alongside fellow musicians Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper on February 3, 1959.
This posted advertsises the show he played three days earlier at Ford Dodge in Iowa.
It has fantastic provenance, having been shown at the New York Metorpolitan Museum of Art. It is on sale along with 100 items from the David Swartz Concert Poster Collection at Heritage Auctions.
It has never been auctioned before.
A poster for the show Holly was flying to when he died sold in November 2022 for $447,000, a world record for a concert poster.
This example, with no estimate, is currently valued at $21,000 by one bidder.
Heritage say: “[This] was the first Winter Dance Party poster ever to surface publicly, thanks to a wanted ad in Goldmine magazine in the 1970s, and remains the only known advertisement for this show. This grail, from the eighth stop on the tour, has never been to auction.”
This poster is probably the only surviving artefact of this historic show. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
Alongside it is what Heritage are calling the “the first poster ever offered at auction bearing the words “Woody Guthrie.””
That comes from a 1942 World War II fundraiser at New York Town Hall.
Guthrie alongside Leadbelly, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGee, and others played on June 26, and got rave reviews in the New York Times for their efforts.
A folk pioneer with a vital influence on Bob Dylan, Guthrie has produced few collectibles, so it’s hard to place a value on this landmark item.
Pete Howard, Heritage’s Director of Concert Posters, says: “This is a stunning discovery that set the poster hobby back on its heels.”
It has a bid as we publish of $3,200.
In plain black and white, that item is in stark contrast to some of the well-known psychedelic pieces in the sale.
Currently under offer at $15,500, a Grateful Dead “skeleton and roses” poster from 1966 is an iconic image from the Summer of Love and the California rock boom.
Sure to attract buyers too are original art from Elton John’s Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy album, currently with a $30,000 bid; a Michael Jackson crystal glove ($10,000), and a Beatles Yesterday and Today “first state” album ($2,000).
The sale runs from December 2 – 4.
