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Hunter's major press debut was a landmark work that features some of his finest poems. This volume cemented Hunter's claim to the status of serious poet in a volume that remains one of his most important and collectable. The final poem, "Holigomena," ends with some of Hunter's most eloquent poetry: "attempting / to speak truly / if not / truthfully / about lost things / in lost places / with lost words / in a lost song / and somehow / bring it / to be found."Viking, 1991. Octavo, 94 pp. Hardbound in dust jacket. Slightest of edgewear and bowing to upper edges of jacket, else mint. A beautiful 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.

Night Cadre | Robert Hunter | Viking, 1991 | First Edition

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 only known copy to have ever come to market to be signed by the compiler and editor, longtime band staffer Alan Trist, who was Garcia and Hunters friend in early 60s Palo Alto and a central person in Hunter's recent novel The Silver Snarling Trumpet. Incredible condition.Published a year after Petersen's death, this volume honored the Dead's longtime friend and lyricist, offering definitive proof of his ambition and achievement. This beautifully produced volume showed how Petersen's poetry helped to define the Dead and connected them to the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance.Hulogosi, 1988. Octavo, 129 pp. Hardbound in dust jacket. Signed.Domestic (United States) shipping is included in the purchase price. International shipments will be subject to additional shipping costs, to be invoiced after the completion of the auction.

Alleys of the Heart: Collected Poems | Robert M. Petersen | Edited by Alan Trist | Foreword by Robert Hunter | Hulogosi, 1988 | Signed

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.

The Water of Life: A Tale of the Grateful Dead | Alan Trist | Hulogosi, 1989 | Signed

Band lyricist and poet Robert M. "Bobby" Petersen's first published chapbook. It contains his moving elegies to Janis Joplin, "For Janis," and to Pigpen, "He Was A Friend of Mine." Petersen was an important figure in the early Dead scene, a close friend of Phil Lesh's and Alan Trist's, and an early and stalwart supporter of the band. Petersen is best known for his lyrics for the Dead, including "New Potato Caboose," "Pride of Cucamonga," and "Unbroken Chain"; his last lyric was "Revolutionary Hamstrung Blues," performed only once and never recorded in the studio. Petersen was considered the most serious and accomplished poet in the Dead's scene in the band's early years, and a link to the older San Francisco Bay Area poetry scene. Copies of this first chapbook are rare; copies of the first printing are unheard of. This is one of the equally scarce second printings, which the Grateful Dead sponsored as a tribute to their old friend.SIGNED BY AUTHOR, ROBERT M. PETERSON. Chapbook. Softbound. Octavo, 31 pp., unnumbered. 2nd printing. Privately published, financed by Grateful Dead Productions. Signed by Petersen on the front flyleaf; fine condition; some spotting to front flyleaves, as is common.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.

Far Away Radios, Signed | Robert M. Petersen | 2nd Printing, Grateful Dead Productions

Octavo, 161 pp. Paperbound. Minor edgewear, standard perfect-bound spine crease (from the cover being opened), else near fine.Best known as the lyricist of "Passenger," Peter "Monk" Zimmels was a member of the Dead's larger literary circle who was a close friend of Phil Lesh's. In addition to his lyrics, he wrote poetry, which his family assembled into this volume at his death. Given to friends and family, this is one of the rarest of all Grateful Dead books. Readers will be fascinated to see the original draft of the lyrics for "Equinox" here, an outtake from the Terrapin Station sessions finally released on the 2006 CD reissue of the album. There are other treasures throughout, such as "Homegrown," dedicated to M.G., or Carolyn Garcia, Jerry's wife, who also wrote the book Primo Plant, one of the earliest how-to guides to growing marijuana. Monk officiated at Garcia's marriage to M.G.Domestic (United States) shipping is included in the purchase price. International shipments will be subject to additional shipping costs, to be invoiced after the completion of the auction.

Peter Monk: Collected Poems | Peter "Monk" Zimmels | Lyricist of "Passenger," Grateful Dead Literary Circle

A fascinating poetic exercise that grew into a full-length work, Idiot's Delight" was printed in Beat poet Raymond Foye's Hanuman Press series of pocket-sized works. Hunter played with the page's small size to superb effect, with a wide-ranging meditation on appetite and a host of other themes that will resonate with readers who know his lyrics. Funny, insightful, and moving, this is one of his rarest works.Small 16mo., 137 pp. Softbound (wrappers) in jacket. Very good condition. Some visible damage to outer 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.

Idiot's Delight | Robert Hunter | Hanuman Press

Long before the internet connected Deadheads across the globe, Blair Jackson and Regan McMahon did it the old-fashioned way — with ink and paper. Launched in 1984, The Golden Road was a labor of love: a quarterly magazine that brought serious journalism to the Grateful Dead universe, featuring candid interviews with band members and crew, sharp concert coverage, and an attentive ear to the ever-evolving Dead scene. Over 27 issues spanning nearly a decade, it chronicled one of the band's most transformative periods, ending with its final issue in 1993. For collectors, this is primary source material — a window into a world that was changing faster than anyone knew.Issue no. 1. Fine/near 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.

The Golden Road, Issue No. 1 | Blair Jackson & Regan McMahon | 1984

Starting in 1984, Deadheads could learn about&nbsp;the Grateful Dead&nbsp;through The Golden Road, a beautifully produced quarterly published by veteran journalists Blair Jackson and Regan McMahon. The Golden Road offered insightful interviews with band members and staffers, concert reviews, tour information, and carefully monitored the pulse of the Grateful Dead scene for 27 issues, finally ending in 1993. As a document of the Dead's final era, the magazine offers an unparalleled inside look at the scene as it underwent seismic change. This set has been beautifully library-bound, preserving the magazine and making it a handsome addition to any Deadhead bookshelf. Indispensable.Complete run bound in two archival hardbound library volumes.Domestic (United States) shipping is included in the purchase price. International shipments will be subject to additional shipping costs, to be invoiced after the completion of the auction.

The Golden Road, Nos. 1–27 | Complete Run Blair Jackson & Regan McMahon | 1984–1993 | Two Volumes, Library Bound

The monumental, groundbreaking study of the Dead's performances on tape, exhaustively documented and analyzed by dozens of expert tape collectors and Deadhead writers. The essays on the band's taping practices and the history of fan taping remain invaluable, and the lavishly detailed descriptions of concerts, tapes, and first-person accounts of shows make this a high-water mark in Grateful Dead writing. Dwork was the editor and publisher of Deadhead fanzine Dupree's Diamond News, giving this series a particular cachet. A rare and revealing look at the band's music from the perspective of the Taper's Section, and an incisive look at how fan taping infused and helped to define the Dead's cultural footprint.Henry Holt / PepperTonic, 1998–2001. Paperbound. Quarto, 598 pp; 756 pp.; 711 pp.; 407 pp. Mint condition, as new. This set includes Volume 4, the Addendum, which is rare.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 Deadhead's Taping Compendium, Vols. 1–4 (Complete, with Rare Vol. 4 Addendum) | Michael M. Getz & John R. Dwork, Eds. | Henry Holt / PepperTonic, 1998–2001

Night Cadre | Robert Hunter | Viking, 1991 | First Edition

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