Everyone here is still all a-twitter about our world-record-setting prices in the April 16 concert posters auction. I was extra jazzed because it was the first live auction I’d attended in person in Dallas since the pandemic struck two years ago. It was also the first time I’d been enlisted to take live bidding on the phones. So being a bit nervous at first, it was great sitting alongside my peeps, such as my mentor Garry Shrum to the left of me, super-helpful Caitlin Coates working the phones to the right of me, Kay Cross adroitly running the show, and Susan Montoya being a superstar on the phones behind me.
And of course, our auctioneers. First, there was Samantha Robinson, setting world records at a yawn-inducing pace as she trampled all previous prices known to man for so much of the KC Murphy Bindweed Press Collection. And oh my, then she landed the big marlin on the boat:
If you click the little box marked “Video” under the main picture, you’ll get to see the auction as it was called at the podium on this record-setter, with yours truly holding the poster right by Samantha. (I knew I should’ve brought a necktie on this trip.) BTW, $110,000 hammer price meant a world record of $137,500 with all fees (buyer’s premium) included.
That dust hadn’t even started to settle when auctioneer Emily Hartman hammered our unrestored Beatles 1966 Shea Stadium concert poster for an earthquake-inducing $275,000:
That was only $125,000 more than any concert poster had sold for in auction history. And here’s a hidden little secret: in polling the world’s biggest concert-poster dealers and collectors afterward, I happily discovered that it’s also the most that any concert poster has ever sold for, period, either auction or private sale. What a badge of honor for Heritage!
And like the previous Skeleton & Roses, if you click the little “Video” box under the main image in the Shea listing, you’ll see Emily hammer the world record while auctioneer Samantha holds the poster up. You’ll also see cutaways to me and Garry working the phones with two of the final bidders. (That’s MVP utility player Chris Medina in the background between us.)
So, I’m going to leave this month’s column to just those two behemoths and not muddy this up with other super-duper prices we achieved in both the April Signature and May Showcase auctions (even though many posters soared past a thousand bucks in the latter). I just would like to thank our very special customers who bid so fervently, and our beloved consignors who make this all possible in the first place. Thank you very much for your business, which is never taken for granted for even a minute, and I look forward to our next “Poster Party” this summer, on July 9 and August 21.
Cheers,
Pete