Property of Strider Shurtliff

Gary Gutierrez

The Grateful Dead Movie, vintage poster, ca. 1977 

One sheet (18.5 x 12.7”); a few creases including one long crease at foot. Matted, framed, a🍰nd glazed; not exa✤mined out of frame.

An exceedingly scarce test printing for a The Grateful Dead Movie poster

The blue and black color scheme featured in this test printing is different than all of the following printings. The first printing of the poster was green and black; the second, while also green, featured a more mottled background. Rare.

The Grateful Dead Movie, directed by Jerry Garcia, captured the Dead at a pivotal moment in their career. The movie showcases the band’s five-night run at Winterland in 1974, utilizing their famous Wall of Sound setup—after these performances, the band would take a two-year hiatus. At the time, however, the length of the hiatus was unknown even to them, and the shows were billed as a “farewell” run for the Dead. While they did return to recording and touring, the Wall of Sound did not—while its fidelity was remarkable, it was too costly to tour with and maintain. The combination of what could have been the Dead’s last performances and the last appearance ofꦓ the Wall of Sound, renders the film a remarkable time capsule of a landmark period for the band.