Donley Auctions, a renowned auction house located in Northern Illinois, announced today an upcoming auction of priceless Grateful Dead memorabilia on Saturday, September 8th at 10:00am Central Standard Time at the company’s headquarters in Union, Illinois. A preview event held Friday, September 7th from noon to 8:00pm will provide interested buyers with a sneak peek at the amazing collection. Interested buyers can bid online or in person.
The auction features memorabilia from former Grateful Dead employees Annette Flowers and Sue Stephens and staff member Len Dell’Amico, and includes original artwork from Jerry Garcia. The auction features signed posters, handbills and rare original documents, including Garcia’s death certificate, which provide a glimpse into the extraordinary lives of the band members. The collection also includes art from Stanley George Miller, better known as “Stanley Mouse,” an American artist, who created iconic cover art for the Grateful Dead, Journey and other bands.
The Dead’s crew and staff were as equally dedicated as the fans and band themselves; Stephens served as Garcia’s office manager, bookkeeper, and all-around chief assistant for more than twenty years; Flowers worked in various capacities in the Dead’s office, and was responsible for much of the work at Ice-Nine, their music publishing company. Garcia himself selected Dell’Amico to be director of their video team at the large summer stadium concerts of the 1980s, and the pair later co-directed the highly successful hour-long video, “So Far.”
“This auction is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Grateful Dead fans to bring home a piece of history from the band,” said Randy Donley, President of Donley Auctions. “It’s a great collection of pieces – all from the Grateful Dead team members’ personal collections. This auction gives Dead Heads and music collectors the opportunity to own treasures you would find in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”
Additional highlighted items from the auction will include:
- Duster overcoat worn by the band members during their “Throwing Stones” music video
- Personal cancelled checks signed by Garcia
- A Rolodex® of phone numbers from Garcia’s personal files
- Fender Stratocaster Squire guitar signed by legendary Grateful Dead guitarist Weir
This auction is the second Grateful Dead event run by Donley Auctions. The first auction, in April 2015, was a massive success and featured the original written lyrics to “He’s Gone,” the last book Garcia ever read, the original copyright notice for the band’s name, and hundreds of other remarkable pieces of history.
To view the auction contents, visit https://www.proxibid.com/asp/Catalog.asp?aid=147147.
