Relix

This artifact of the Acid Test era can be seen in Paul Perry's On the Bus (Thunder's Mouth, 1990, p.140). The Pranksters had these made to signify "who was a 'Card Carrying Merry Prankster,'" and decorated the front with the famous image of Uncle Sam by James Montgomery Flagg. It is accompanied by one of Ken Kesey's own mysterious business cards, with "IT IS" and "mobile KESEY".Ca. 1965–66. 3.5 x 2 in. Browning to edges, image clean and bright; in remarkable condition for a 60-year-old cardstock. With a signed COA by Zane Kesey, Ken Kesey's son.Domestic (United States) shipping is included in the purchase price. International shipments will be subject to additional shipping costs, to be invoiced after the auction is completed.

"Can You Pass the Acid Test?" Business Card | Merry Pranksters | Ca. 1965–66 | With Ken Kesey "IT IS" Business Card & COA by Zane Kesey

Before there was a band, there was a story. The Grateful Dead took their name from a folk tale as old as human memory—the story of a traveler who honors an unburied stranger and is repaid with gifts beyond measure. This auction traces that literary lineage from its earliest scholarly study, Gordon Hall Gerould's extraordinarily rare 1908 volume The Grateful Dead: The History of a Folk Story, through the very dictionary Jerry Garcia consulted when he discovered the name in 1965. These foundational artifacts anchor a collection that illuminates the written word's central place in the Dead's universe.From there, the collection expands into the poetry and publications that defined the band's intellectual circle: Robert Hunter's landmark verse, Bobby Petersen's elegies to fallen friends, the iconic Jester songbook with its Mouse and Kelley illustrations, complete runs of The Golden Road, and the monumental Taping Compendium that documented three decades of live performance. Together, these items reveal the Grateful Dead not just as a band, but as a literary movement—a community of poets, scholars, and writers whose work gave shape and meaning to the music. For collectors and scholars alike, this is a rare opportunity to own pieces of that story.

This is the dictionary that Garcia consulted when he found the band's name. The editor responsible for the entry was Maria Leach, a folklore scholar best known for her monumental Dictionary of Folklore. She consulted Gerould's book to write the entry. We are pleased to offer the correct edition, confirmed by consulting the actual dictionary, which differs from the version famously depicted in The Book of the Deadheads.1956 edition. Pristine condition in a custom archival clamshell box.Domestic (United States) shipping is included in the purchase price. International shipments will be subject to additional shipping costs, to be invoiced after the auction is completed.

Funk and Wagnalls New Practical Standard Dictionary | The Dictionary of the Grateful Dead | 1956 Edition

Princeton University literary scholar Gordon Hall Gerould wrote the first book-length study of the grateful dead folk tale in English, which inspired the entry in the dictionary that Garcia found in November 1965. One of the rarest books in the world of the Dead, few copies survive, especially in this condition.David Nutt, 1908. Octavo, 177 + 15 pp. Cloth. As issued, without jacket, in a custom clamshell archival box. Fine condition; an extraordinary copy.Domestic (United States) shipping is included in the purchase price. International shipments will be subject to additional shipping costs, to be invoiced after the auction is completed.

The Grateful Dead: The History of a Folk Story | Gordon Hall Gerould | David Nutt, 1908

The seminal 1960s work about Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters that catapulted the Dead into national prominence. Tom Wolfe's classic book was a foundational work of New Journalism, a school of writing that emphasized the literary potential and subjective nature of journalism. The book's chapter on the Dead cemented the band's place in the American counterculture and enshrined their legendary participation in the Acid Tests.Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1968. Octavo, 434 pp. First edition, first printing. Toning to flyleafs, otherwise clean and bright. Beautifully rebound in psychedelic purple leather and marbled fine book paper.Domestic (United States) shipping is included in the purchase price. International shipments will be subject to additional shipping costs, to be invoiced after the auction is completed.

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test | Tom Wolfe | Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1968 | First Edition, First Printing

Conducted by Yale law school professor Charles Reich, the author of The Greening of America, along with Rolling Stone editor and publisher Jann Wenner, this interview provided the first sustained, book-length view of the Dead as they entered the 1970s from the mind of the musician who, for many fans, represented the leader and guiding spirit of the band.Straight Arrow, 1972. Hardbound in dust jacket, 254 pp. Quarto. First edition. Near fine, very good condition with a dust jacket that is in very good condition, some chipping to the lower edges and discoloration on jacket.Domestic (United States) shipping is included in the purchase price. International shipments will be subject to additional shipping costs, to be invoiced after the auction is completed.

Garcia: A Signpost to New Space | Jerry Garcia with Charles Reich & Jann Wenner | Straight Arrow, 1972 | First Edition

The first full-length biography of the band was written by a college friend of Phil Lesh, who managed the Warlocks briefly in 1965. Although Harrison became a controversial figure, prone to exaggeration and error, his book was the first to treat the Dead as part of a larger cultural movement. This copy shows minor wear but includes the flexi-disk of Neal Cassady rapping with the Dead, providing accompaniment at a famous concert at the Straight Theatre in July 1967, less than a year before his untimely passing. Almost every copy has had the flexi-disk removed; this copy not only includes the disc, but it is as issued, bound in.Links, 1973. Square octavo, 180 pp. First edition, first printing. Some toning to cover, minor creases, and one small tear to the back cover at the bottom edge. About very good. Includes flexi-disk.Domestic (United States) shipping is included in the purchase price. International shipments will be subject to additional shipping costs, to be invoiced after the auction is completed.

The Dead Book Hank Harrison | Links, 1973 | First Edition, First Printing | With Flexi-Disk (Neal Cassady)

Grateful Dead&nbsp;band staffer and longtime manager of the Dead's publishing arm, Ice Nine Publishing, edited this commemorative tour program, the band's first extensive effort. Along with band member biographies, it included a range of revealing essays by fellow travelers such as Paul Krassner, a collage of album cover art, a moving afterword by Milton Mayer, Robert M. Petersen's moving elegy to Pigpen, "He Was A Friend of Mine," and more. The most significant essay is by Petersen with Alan Trist on the Grateful Dead folk tale, marking the first exploration of the link in a band publication.Tall octavo, 29 pp. Fine condition.Domestic (United States) shipping is included in the purchase price. International shipments will be subject to additional shipping costs, to be invoiced after the auction is completed.

Grateful Dead Tour Program, 1983/84 | Edited by Alan Trist | Ice Nine Publishing

Longtime band staffer and Ice Nine manager Alan Trist continued his research into the Grateful Dead folktale after cowriting the essay on it for the band's 1983 tour program, finally producing this "retelling," as he modestly called it, in 1989. Beautifully illustrated, this rendition captures the essential features of the folk story, offering an authentic and compelling narrative suitable for storytelling. At heart, the story is about the obligations of the living to the dead, a debt that, when honored, provides precious gifts.Hulogosi, 1989. Octavo, 43 pp. Hardbound in dust jacket. Signed by the author. Near fine.Domestic (United States) shipping is included in the purchase price. International shipments will be subject to additional shipping costs, to be invoiced after the auction is completed.

"Can You Pass the Acid Test?" Business Card | Merry Pranksters | Ca. 1965–66 | With Ken Kesey "IT IS" Business Card & COA by Zane Kesey

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