'Antiques Roadshow' seller bursts into tears after expert tells value of her late brother's rock posters
Vases that turn out to be artifacts and heirlooms as well as vintage watches that are almost as valuable as the sentiments attached to them are common on "Antiques Roadshow." But sometimes objects such as playing cards and posters turn out to be worth a surprisingly huge sum. A guest on the show approached experts with a similar poster collection left behind by her deceased brother, and she was both satisfied and overwhelmed after learning its real value. Her brother turned out to be a big rock n’ roll fan who boasted a collection of 47 posters of artists such as Jimi Hendrix and The Grateful Dead.
These posters were collected from 1967 to 1969, the time period during which these artists were at the top of their game. Expert James Supp seemed impressed with the collection and the guest’s brother had passed away 28 years ago as per The Mirror. She did not want his precious collection to spend any more time inside a box and intended to share his gift with the world.
But it was this box that kept the posters in prime condition for decades. One Hendrix poster that featured a flying eyeball was a first edition as per Supp. It was created by Rick Griffin in the late 1960s and is considered to be an iconic item. “The poster number is 105 from 'Bill Graham Presents' and because of its placement under the word 'tickets', you can tell it's a first edition," the expert said. He also said that the particular poster could go for somewhere between $5000 and $7000 given its fantastic condition.
The guest did not expect such a high valuation for the poster and was pleasantly surprised. Another Hendrix poster, also in mint condition, was valued between $3000 and $5000. A Grateful Dead poster of them playing one Cafe au Go Go in Greenwich Village was valued between $2000 and $3000. The total valuation of the poster collection was determined to be in the range of $20000 to $35000. This was enough to move the guest to tears. She had lost her brother almost three decades ago but one of his most valued collections was well appreciated. Mirror also reported what happened to a couple of the posters in the 47-strong collection.
The flying eyeball Hendrix poster was on sale on eBay for a little more than $2500 and the Grateful Dead posters were sold at an auction for just under $1250. While posters of rock artists were all the rage back in the ‘60s and the ‘70s, one rarely sees them being brought on “Antiques Roadshow.” But once, a poster artist brought his creations on the show and was shocked by how much each could be valued. Antique expert Jon Baddely noted two similar yet distinct posters. When asked why that was the case, the artist had an interesting response.
"Well, it was a Blues show. I did this artwork of a complete - Blues musicians at the top, a street scene with people dancing. But Bill Graham, who ran the Fillmore Auditorium, had had lots of trouble with the police, and he thought that would be provocative,” he said as he referred to the dancing policeman at the bottom as per MSN.
When asked about how much these posters might be valued, what Baddely said reportedly came as a shock to the guest. "So they're gonna be worth £200, £300, £400, £500 - maybe even up to £1,000. But the great value is the one at the end because that is one of one - it's the only one known in the world - so that could be worth £2,000 or £3,000."
