Beatles Shea Stadium Poster Sets World Record to Lead Heritage Auctions’ Entertainment Auction Beyond $1.6 Million
“Winter Dance Party” poster, stage-worn Michael Jackson glove also top $100,000
DALLAS, Texas (April 7, 2020) –A rare 1966 concert poster from The Beatles’ performance at New York’s Shea Stadium set a world record for the most expensive concert poster ever sold at public auction when it brought $137,500 to lead Heritage Auctions’ Entertainment Auction to $1,681,747 in total sales Saturday, April 4, 2020. The sale more than doubled its pre-auction estimate of $816,767 and boasted a sell-through rate of 96.5% by value sold.
The authentic cardboard advertising poster for the Fab Four’s appearance had been owned for the last 54 years by a Boston family who saved it out of pure Beatles fandom. Heritage Auctions previously sold another Beatles Shea Stadium poster for $125,000 in November 2019.
“This sale reinforced that music and entertainment memorabilia is something of a time capsule, mementos that preserve the work of great artists for their biggest fans,” said Pete Howard, concert posters expert at Heritage Auctions. “The Beatles’ Shea Stadium poster is considered one of the hobby’s Holy Grails, so we can’t be too surprised that it set the all-time record for a concert poster … and the demand for this poster is such that the winning bidder still might have gotten a bargain.”
The first Buddy Holly & The Crickets Stunningly Rare 1959 Winter Dance Party Concert Poster ever sold at auction drew bids from 56 collectors before finishing at $125,000. This extremely rare poster promoted a concert on the Winter Dance Party tour in Mankato, Minnesota, Jan. 25, 1959, just eight days before the final performance of the tour. Of the five acts that appeared on that night’s bill – Buddy Holly and the Crickets, the Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, Dion and the Belmonts and Frankie Sardo – the first three were aboard the plane that crashed in what came to be known as “rock-n-roll’s first tragedy.”
One of the most identifiable accessories in music history, a Michael Jackson Personally Owned Crystal-Studded Glove Worn on Stage During the HIStory World Tour (1996/97) obliterated its pre-auction estimate of $4,000 when 28 competitive bidders drove the final price all the way to $106,250. Worn on stage during his “HIStoric 1996-97 HIStory World Tour,” the King of Pop’s signature glove was donated to UNICEF in 1998 to help raise funds for the organization.
A Whitney Houston Stage-Worn Dolce & Gabbana Multi-Colored Fur Coat, 1999 sparked a flurry of competitive bids from 13 collectors until it closed at $42,500, more than 14 times its pre-auction estimate of $3,000+. Designed for the artist by Dolce & Gabbana, this one-of-a-kind black, purple, red and pink frock was worn on stage by Houston during her 1999 “My Love Is Your Love” tour. Due to its weight, the coat usually was worn as Houston made her entrance to the stage, either at the beginning of the show or after an intermission or wardrobe change.
A “TCB” Necklace given by Elvis Presley to George Klein prompted bids from 27 collectors before it ultimately drew $18,750. The King and his friends and employees adopted the initials “TCB” (for “Taking Care of Business), going so far as to name his and the TCB Band and to have the tail of his private jet painted with the logo. He gave away TCB necklaces to special people in his life, including this one, which he gave to the Memphis DJ who was Presley’s lifelong friend.
Other top lots included, but were not limited to:
$17,500: Grateful Dead 1966 “Skeleton & Roses” Concert Poster FD-26 Signed by Mouse & Kelley
$16,250: Grateful Dead 1969 Hawaiian Aoxomoxoa Concert Poster by Rick Griffin (AOR-3.116)
$15,000: Stevie Ray Vaughan Signed Fender Stratocaster 50s Reissue SN #V021378
$15,000: Grateful Dead 1965 Can You Pass the Acid Test? Rare Poster CGC-Graded 9.4 (AOR 2.4)
$15,000: Jimi Hendrix Owned and Worn Tan-Colored Suede Vest With Embroidery and Fur Trim
$15,000: Rolling Stones Debut LP US Promotional Poster (1964)
$15,000: The Rolling Stones Signed Fender Squier Telecaster Copy Electric Guitar
$12,343.75: The Beatles Unused Concert Ticket For First US Concert at Washington Coliseum With Newspaper Clipping (1964)
$12,500: Whitney Houston Herve Leger Dress Worn on the Cover of her Final Album I Look to You, 2009
Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam and Hong Kong.
The Internet’s most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has over 1,250,000 registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of five million past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit.
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