Three concert posters have been sold for more than $100,000 each at auction.
In the sale, hosted by American auction house Heritage Auctions, a poster for The Beatles' 1966 concert at Shea Stadium in New York, sold for $150,000. This price equalled the world record for a gig poster, matching the amount paid earlier this year for a poster advertising the two shows country music legend Hank Williams was due to play at the Canton Memorial Auditorium in Ohio on the night he died.
Another copy of the Hank Williams poster was also sold by Heritage this weekend, fetching $137,000, while a third poster also reached six digits, with an original poster for the Grateful Dead's shows at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco in September 1966 going for $109,375.
“It’s a strong testament to the growth of the concert-poster hobby that three posters would all sell for north of $100,000 on the same day,” says Pete Howard, Heritage Auctions’ Director of Concert Posters. “And what’s great is that they’re not all of the same genre: You have British-invasion rock, country music and San Francisco psychedelia. The tide in this hobby is rising, and all genres of concert posters are rising with it.”
The Beatles poster had been with the same family for 55 years, and was only brought to auction when the owners realised its value. The Hank Williams poster, meanwhile, is one of only three copies known to exist.
“It was a race to the finish line today, and The Beatles edged out Hank Williams, who finished ahead of the Grateful Dead,” Howard says. “Talk about something for everybody’s taste!”
