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1st Edition
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- Artists
- Mouse, Stanley
 - Kelley, Alton
- Greene, Herbie
- Bands
- Grateful Dead
- Manufacturer
- Warner Bro. Records
- Edition Details
| Year: | 1971 | | Class: | Poster | | Status: | Official | | Technique: | Offset Lithograph | | Size: | 24 X 30 |
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- Comments
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This poster was hastily produced by anxious Warner Brother’s executives for use as a promotional piece to promote for their newly signed recording artists, The Grateful Dead. The WB people knew that they had a sure winner on their hands with many potential radio play list hits that would generate sales and royalties for years, so in their rush to bring the American Beauty album to market not one of them ever bothered to actually check out the poster that they had commissioned.
As was the custom in the era, once the posters were produced the printer usually removed five or six original untrimmed finished pieces as proof copies for the artist and the record company to review and either approve or disapprove. Once the artwork was approved the printer would then cut and trim all remaining posters, stacking them into either tube rolling or folding machines- whatever was requested by the client. So all but a few of these posters (Kelley’s half dozen or so evaluation copies) went through the printer’s folding machine and were then delivered to WB’s warehouse for immediate distribution to their national record store clients- hopefully for some Main Street USA record store front window exposure!
Then… only days before American Beauty was to be released to the public did someone at Warner Brother’s happen to take a glance at the image within the poster. I can only imagine what some stunned record executive must have sounded like as he called this little tidbit of news into his boss at WB headquarters, “Oh my God- That is correct sir… Jerry Garcia is sitting right there in front- and he’s smoking a joint!”
Outraged and embarrassed Warner Brother’s managers ordered the immediate destruction of the entire (folded) American Beauty production run, but one or more of the employees must have liked the art and managed to sneak a few out of the building prior to shredding.
This is why when you do happen to find one it will usually have the machine fold marks heavily creased into it, and also why the unfolded are among the very best in the world of top tier Grateful Dead posters.
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 | Sold | 1 |
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| Six Month Average | $867.88 |
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| Average Price | $867.88 |
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| Collections | 5 |
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