CGC-certified 'Skeletons & Roses' Poster Realizes $93,750

Posted on 11/22/2023

The iconic 1966 poster was among nearly 200 CGC-certified original concert posters offered in a November Heritage Auctions sale.

A popular Grateful Dead concert poster graded by Certified Guaranty Company® (CGC®) was near the top of the bidding in Heritage Auctions’ Music Memorabilia and Concert Posters auction held November 18-20, 2023.

The top-selling CGC-graded poster was a Skeleton & Roses, Avalon Ballroom, September 16-17, 1966 original poster graded CGC 9.8 (lot 26078), which realized $93,750. Well known in the psychedelic poster world, Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley would often search the shelves of the San Francisco Public Library for images and ideas that they could then build their posters around. From a series of skeleton drawings by British book illustrator E.J. Sullivan, they found an illustration of a skeleton picking roses and assembling a wreath from the flowers, which became the impetus for the iconic poster.

Click image to enlarge

This is the third time this year that a CGC-certified example of this poster sold for at least $75,000 through Heritage Auctions, with this sale topping them all.

Other CGC-graded concert posters sold in this auction include:

  • a Jimi Hendrix Experience, Fillmore Auditorium & Winterland, February 1-4, 1968 original poster graded CGC 9.6 (lot 26031), which realized $55,000
  • a Tribal Stomp, Fillmore Auditorium, February 19, 1966 original poster graded CGC 8.0 (lot 26075), which realized $40,000
  • a Steppenwolf, Fillmore West, August 27-September 1, 1968 original poster graded CGC 9.9 (lot 26314), which realized $20,000
  • a Winged Pigpen, Fountain Street Church, March 24, 1968 original poster graded CGC 9.8 (lot 26376), which realized $18,750
  • an MC5, Grande Ballroom, October 21-22, 1966 original poster graded CGC 9.0 (lot 26360), which realized $17,500
  • a Jimi Hendrix, Shrine Auditorium, February 10, 1968 original poster graded CGC 8.5 (lot 26387), which realized $11,250
  • a Jimi Hendrix Experience, CNE Coliseum Arena, Toronto, Ontario, February 24, 1968 original poster graded CGC 9.6 (lot 26386), which realized $10,625
  • a The Who, Fillmore Auditorium, June 16-17, 1967 original poster graded CGC 9.8 (lot 26023), which realized $10,000
  • a Benefit for the Grateful Dead, Winterland, February 23, 1970 original poster graded CGC 9.6 (lot 26047), which realized $9,375
  • a Jimi Hendrix Experience, Fillmore East, May 10, 1968 original poster graded CGC 9.4 (lot 26101), which realized $8,750

Prices realized include a buyer’s premium.

About CGC

Since revolutionizing comic book grading in 2000, CGC has grown to include certification services for many other types of pop culture collectibles. These divisions include CGC Cards, CGC Video Games and CGC Home Video. CGC Cards provides expert card grading for TCGs, sports cards and non-sports cards. CGC Video Games is dedicated to video game grading for the most popular consoles, including Nintendo, Sega, Atari, PlayStation and more. The newest division of CGC, CGC Home Video, provides expert VHS grading in addition to other types of videocassettes.


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