SAN FRANCISCO — The May 8 auction of Grateful Dead memorabilia, including pioneering audio gear collected by Lawrence “Ram Rod” Shurtliff, the band’s longtime road manager, brought in more than $1.1 million for the estate. Of special interest to bidders were speaker boxes and a small speaker from The Wall of Sound in the early 1970s, which fetched a total of $5,400. In addition, a mixed pair of tie-dyed speaker boxes sold for $3,750, and a fabric and suede speaker box sold for $4,750. A mat used on stage as a mic gate during the 1980s and 1990s sold for $360.
Bidders also were interested in a Fender “Twin Reverb” amp, circa 1970s, which sold for $4,250, and a Jerry Garcia Fender "Champ-Amp" amplifier, circa 1960s, sold for $6,000. However, some of the equipment, including consoles and speaker simulator cases, remained unsold.
Miscellaneous items like a tie-dyed speaker cover, circa 1970–1972 (sold for $10,000) and Bob Thomas original paintings for the “Live/Dead” album jacket (sold for $72,500) were also popular with bidders. Jerry Garcia’s leather guitar strap, originally valued at approximately $5,000, sold for $20,400.
As expected, the guitars were the star of the show — Jerry Garcia’s 1975 cream-colored Travis Bean electric guitar sold for $312,000 and Jerry Garcia’s 1971 Doug Irwin custom electric guitar sold for $155,000.
Enthusiastic Deadheads in the packed the Bonhams & Butterfields San Francisco auction room competed with phone and Internet bidders for a chance at the musical gear, guitars, band photos and original album artwork. The competitive bidding started high and went even higher.
