The Grateful Dead
Concert poster highly legendary FD-26 "Skeleton & Roses" (or "Skull and Roses") psychedelic concert poster, widely recognized as the most iconic visual symbol associated with the Grateful Dead.
Poster Background & Details
• The Event: This historical poster was created by Family Dog Productions to advertise a two-night concert run featuring the Grateful Dead and the garage psych-rock band Oxford Circle. The shows took place on September 16 and 17, 1966, at San Francisco's famous Avalon Ballroom.
• The Artists: It was designed by the prolific graphic design duo Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley. They discovered the central black-and-white illustration (originally drawn by Edmund Joseph Sullivan for a 1913 edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam) at the San Francisco Public Library and altered it into a full-color counterculture masterpiece.
Collecting & Identification
Because of its massive popularity, this poster has been reprinted authorizedly several times and widely bootlegged over the decades. Original print runs hold substantial value among collectors, frequently fetching major prices at specialized auctions:
• First Printing (OP-1): Printed before the concerts in the summer of 1966 by Bindweed Press. It is most famously distinguished by a "band-aid" shaped dark blue printing anomaly located immediately to the left of the skeleton’s rose crown.
• Subsequent Vintage Printings: The second printing (RP-2) was run just two months later in the fall of 1966 to satisfy popular demand, and corrected the "band-aid" blemish while retaining other distinct printing flaws.
Poster Background & Details
• The Event: This historical poster was created by Family Dog Productions to advertise a two-night concert run featuring the Grateful Dead and the garage psych-rock band Oxford Circle. The shows took place on September 16 and 17, 1966, at San Francisco's famous Avalon Ballroom.
• The Artists: It was designed by the prolific graphic design duo Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley. They discovered the central black-and-white illustration (originally drawn by Edmund Joseph Sullivan for a 1913 edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam) at the San Francisco Public Library and altered it into a full-color counterculture masterpiece.
Collecting & Identification
Because of its massive popularity, this poster has been reprinted authorizedly several times and widely bootlegged over the decades. Original print runs hold substantial value among collectors, frequently fetching major prices at specialized auctions:
• First Printing (OP-1): Printed before the concerts in the summer of 1966 by Bindweed Press. It is most famously distinguished by a "band-aid" shaped dark blue printing anomaly located immediately to the left of the skeleton’s rose crown.
• Subsequent Vintage Printings: The second printing (RP-2) was run just two months later in the fall of 1966 to satisfy popular demand, and corrected the "band-aid" blemish while retaining other distinct printing flaws.
Before
Disclaimer
The object and/or subject of this report is private property. This page is for informational purposes only. Unless clearly stated otherwise, all conservation and restoration has been performed by Poster Mountain (PM) or Los Angeles Paper Group (LAPG)I) PM-LAPG has not knowingly withheld any significant information from its evaluation report and to the best of its knowledge all statements and evaluations in this report are true and correct.
II) PM-LAPG stated in the Evaluation Report its own personal, unbiased and professional analysis, opinions and conclusions, which are subject to the assumptions and limited conditions in this evaluation report as set forth hereinabove.
III) PM-LAPG has no present or prospective interests in the property which is the subject matter of this report and it has no present or prospective personal interests or bias with respect to the participants in this matter.
IV) PM-LAPG and its employment and/or compensation for performing this evaluation or any future anticipated evaluation was not conditioned on any agreement or understanding, written or otherwise, that it would report (or present analysis in support) as predetermined specific authenticity, a predetermined evaluation that favors the cause of any party or the attainment of any specific result or occurrence of a specific subsequent event, such as value or marketability.
V) PM-LAPG prepared all opinions and conclusions about the subject property that were set forth in this Evaluation Report. If it has relied on significant evaluation assistance from any individual or individuals in the performance of this evaluation or the appropriation of this evaluation report, PM-LAPG has named such individuals and disclosed the specific task performed in this evaluation report. PM-LAPG certifies that any individual so named is qualified to the same extent as PM to perform the task. PM-LAPG has not authorized anyone to make a change to any item in this evaluation report, therefore, any change made to this evaluation is unauthorized and PM-LAPG will not take responsibility for it.
VI) The Client may not disclose or distribute this Evaluation Report to any potential purchasers of the subject property without first obtaining PM-LAPG's prior written consent. This consent must be obtained before this evaluation report may be disclosed or distributed to any other party, including, but not limited to, the public through advertising, public relations, news, sales, or other media.