Relix

Robert Hunter was the invisible half of Jerry Garcia — the lyricist behind “Ripple,” “Box of Rain,” “Truckin',” "The Days Between," and so much of the songbook Garcia brought to life and made immortal. When his old friend and lifelong songwriting partner Garcia died, Hunter answered in the deepest way he knew: with words. “An Elegy for Jerry” is his most powerful elegy, a poetic&nbsp;tribute he read aloud at Garcia's funeral and later memorialized in this limited edition broadside mailed out to Dead Heads as a gift from the band to their fans, honoring their fallen comrade and the bond that united them all, just as Hunter honored the one he forged with Garcia. To hold this handbill is to hold the moment the band's own poet said goodbye. Near mint — and quietly one of the most moving artifacts in the sale.

Robert Hunter — “An Elegy for Jerry” Memorial Handbill

"The Days Between," the Hunter/Garcia song that most poignantly evokes the promise the pair felt when they began to imagine the future in the early 1960s together, now means the nine-day stretch from August 1, Garcia's birthday, to August 9, the anniversary of his passing. It's become the Dead Head's high holy days, the community's quiet, sacred time in the Grateful Dead calendar year.Relix presents a curated sale honoring Jerry Garcia, not only as a musician, but as an icon whose image became folk art for a generation. These lots trace Garcia's cultural afterlife through the objects fans made, mailed, wore, and kept, the tributes that commemorate the guitarist who became a legend and trace that remarkable path.Leading the sale is a rare color lithograph of Garcia by noted 1960s photographer Gene Anthony, depicting Garcia in 1967 at the peak of his "Captain Trips" Haight-Ashbury guise. Signed by the artist and mounted on archival board, it is unbelievably rare, a genuine standout for any serious collection. Even more rare is a Lithuanian Olympic basketball jersey bearing "Garcia" on the back. Other standouts include a life-size poster of Garcia's signature axe Rosebud, Robert Hunter's haunting poetic broadside "An Elegy for Jerry," one of the official copies mailed to Dead Heads after Garcia's passing, along with volunteer laminates from the 8/13/95 Golden Gate Park memorial, the Montserrat "Dancing Bear" Memorial Stamp Project sets, and the rare Bill Graham Presents "Jerry Garcia on Broadway" marquee mugs.Nine days. A lifetime of tributes. Bid accordingly.-- as always.

In Garcia's final years his two most-played guitars, “Lightning Bolt” and “Top Hat,” came from an unlikely source: Stephen Cripe, a self-taught Florida woodworker who had never built an electric guitar and reportedly worked from photographs — even repurposing a slab of 19th-century rosewood for one body. That improbable partnership is one of the great deep-cut stories in Dead lore, and this limited edition of just 24 (unnumbered) celebrates it. A true rarity for the collector who already knows the hits and wants the hidden chapters. Mint 24" x 37"

Garcia “Cripe” Guitar — Limited Edition of 24 (Unnumbered)

Photographer Gene Anthony was there for the birth of all of it — the 1967 Human Be-In, the Summer of Love, the Haight-Ashbury streets where the Grateful Dead were still the neighborhood band before they were a national phenomenon. This 1967 color lithograph captures Garcia at that exact hinge in history, when the whole culture was crystallizing around a few blocks of San Francisco. Signed by the artist and mounted on archival board, it is the undisputed centerpiece of this sale: a photograph turned artwork from the instant a movement found its face. Very rare. Mint.

Jerry Garcia, 1967 — Signed Gene Anthony Color Lithograph

When Garcia died on August 9, 1995, grief moved through the Deadhead world like something physical, and fans reached for any way to keep him close. This memorial necklace does exactly that — a metal pendant etched with his face on the front and “Jerry Garcia 1942–1995” on the reverse, strung on a braided cord meant to be worn, not shelved. It's mourning you can carry, devotion made wearable. A quietly powerful piece for anyone who felt that loss. Mint.

Jerry Garcia Memorial Necklace — Etched Portrait, 1942–1995

By the mid-1980s the Jerry Garcia Band was Garcia's other life — looser, funkier, a place to stretch out beyond the machinery of the Dead — and a two-night stand at the Wiltern in Los Angeles was a hot ticket. This patron handbill for the March 13–14, 1987 run was produced by Bill Graham Presents, the promotion empire built by the most legendary impresario in rock history, whose graphic work is fiercely collected in its own right. Premium concert ephemera from a great room on a great night. Very rare. Mint.

Jerry Garcia Band — Wiltern Theatre, LA, Mar 13–14 1987 Patron Handbill

On August 13, 1995, tens of thousands of mourners filled the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park — the same park where the Dead had played for free in the '60s — to say goodbye to Jerry Garcia. This volunteer laminate is a backstage relic of that day, worn by the dozens of volunteers who assisted BGP staff in ferrying the hundreds and hundreds of artifacts, flowers, and gifts that created one of the most remarkable&nbsp;altars ever built for a musician. This badge of service honors the musician, the extraordinary&nbsp;connection he created with his listeners, and the hundreds who offered their service to put the memorial together. It isn't a souvenir; it's a piece of the funeral for an era, from the afternoon a city and a scene grieved out loud together.&nbsp;Mint.

Jerry Garcia Memorial Laminate — Golden Gate Park, 8/13/1995

Conducted by Yale law school professor Charles Reich, noted author of classic bestseller 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. This is the book that immortalized Garcia as the philosopher-king of the Haight-Ashbury and the book that turned Rolling Stone into a serious publisher, not just a music magazine. Finally given the fine book treatment it deserves with an archival, custom&nbsp;clamshell rare book box with an exclusive&nbsp;Garcia handprint foil imprint.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, with some chipping to the lower edges and discoloration on the jacket.

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

The ultimate&nbsp;commemoratives of the final performance of a towering musician, who spent his life giving music to others.Own a piece of music history with this rare Grateful Dead Soldier Field Ticket &amp; Backstage Pass Set from the band’s final performances with Jerry Garcia. This EXTREMELY LIMITED 4-piece set includes one ticket and one backstage pass for each night, July 8 and 9, 1995, when the Dead took the stage at Soldier Field in Chicago for what would become Jerry Garcia's final performances and the last Grateful Dead shows.Opening with The Band, these emotionally charged shows marked the end of an era. Jerry Garcia’s passing one month later, on August 9, 1995, cast these nights in a new light, transforming them from tour stops into a sacred farewell for Deadheads around the world. The Grateful Dead would not perform under that name again until the 2015 “Fare Thee Well” shows, a full 20 years later.The set is preserved in mint condition, with all four items housed in archival-grade sleeves for long-term protection. The unused backstage passes feature vibrant graphics from the era, and the unused tickets remain as issued, never torn, never scanned.This set offers an unparalleled opportunity to own a tangible memory from the Dead’s storied journey. A must-have for fans, archivists, and music historians alike.

Grateful Dead – Final Show Ticket & Backstage Pass Set (Soldier Field, Chicago, IL – July 8–9, 1995)

In the days after Garcia's death, grief in the Deadhead world turned almost instantly into art — hand-drawn, photocopied, and stuck to guitar cases and van bumpers from coast to coast. These fan-made “Thank You Jerry...” stickers come from the August 13, 1995 memorial in Golden Gate Park: three copies of a spontaneous, communal act of mourning. Ephemeral by nature, which is exactly why surviving examples are worth keeping. Mint.

Robert Hunter — “An Elegy for Jerry” Memorial Handbill

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