Rally is a platform for buying & selling equity in high-value assets with historical or cultural significance. This allows investors to purchase shares of assets. It’s similar to the way they would buy a share of a stock in an IPO. They also facilitate a secondary market for those assets through registered broker-dealers within the app. Investing in a rare book or a blue chip sports card on Rally is a way for everyone to get meaningful access to the things they really care about rather than just investing in another ticker symbol.
On Friday, Rally will be offering up a concert poster to potential shareholders. And not just any poster. Undoubtedly the most famous poster from the Family Dog series, as well as the most (or at least one of the most) recognized images ever used by the Grateful Dead - a first printing of the iconic FD-26 Skeleton & Roses poster in a formidable CGC 9.6 grade.
From an excerpt courtesy of Psychedelic Art Exchange, "
"A Skeleton Amid Roses" originally appeared in the 1913 edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. In 1966, it was discovered by artists Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley who immediately thought it was the perfect image to associate with the Grateful Dead. The duo recreated it on a poster advertising the Dead's September 16th, 1966 appearance at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco, and thus, the FD-26 was born. Since then, the poster has gone on to be one of the most sought-after collectible pieces of rock and roll artwork of all time.
Serious poster collectors, regardless of their musical taste, understand this is a must-have item. The artwork alone is immediately recognizable and will endure the test of time."
In an interview with the Washington Post, Stanley Mouse would explain,
"We [Miller and collaborator Alton Kelley] would go to the San Francisco library and peruse the books on poster art. They had a back room full of books you couldn’t take out with great references. We were just going through that and looking for something. And found this thing and thought, “This says Grateful Dead all over it.” I hate to say this, but Kelley cut it out with a pen knife. I always say that we Xeroxed it, but there weren’t Xerox machines then. I finally found it about two years ago, the actual cut-out piece, and I went, “Oh, my God.” It’s from the book of poems “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.” The edition was done by an artist called Edmund Sullivan. And the poem that goes with this illustration is fantastic. It’s short and sweet and had to do with wine, women and song."
The Nuts and Bolts
For this offering, the initial offering share price is $10.00 with a total of 12,500 shares to be sold. This means that the initial offering market cap will be set at $125,000.
Title = Skeleton & Roses
Memorabilia Type = Concert Poster
Band = The Grateful Dead
Date = September 1966
Series = Family Dog
Printing = 1st Printing
Number = FD-26
Venue = Avalon Ballroom
City = San Francisco
Artist(s) = Stanley Mouse & Alton Kelley
Opening Act = Oxford Circle
Will Stern, representing Rally, says;
“We’re always looking for new asset classes to diversify the offerings on our platform. When we launch a new category, we make sure to bring the best-of-the-best to our community. So when we decided to get into the world of concert posters, the Skeleton & Roses poster was a perfect fit.”
When it comes to sales...
“The market for the world’s rarest and most iconic collectibles has long been out of reach for 99% of people who can’t afford to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars for a comic book or video game. Rally’s changed that — making those same blue chip assets available to everyone for around $10.”
-Rally
There are 61 FD-26s registered on the CGC census, 44 of which are Universal labels, and only 9 are graded higher than the 9.6. The last two times a 9.6 hit the auction block, we saw sales of $51,750 (02/28/21) and $137,500 (04/17/2022, Heritage).
Again, from PAE;
"The trajectory of past auction sales of this poster clearly illustrates its potential. When PAE was founded in 2007, strong copies of the FD-26 could be bought for under $10,000. Psychedelic Art Exchange sold the first copy to break the $50,000 mark at auction in 2018. Following that sale, Heritage auctions broke the $100,000 mark for a 9.8 in their auction. In a market that is still considered niche, this is the poster that has paved the way to respectable value. "
Glen Trosch, of PAE, had this to say;
In my opinion, the FD 26 is the perfect poster to illustrate why vintage concert posters as collectibles are in a league of their own. The poster lies at the intersection Music Art & Culture. The poster was created at a magical place in American history, where for a very short time, a collection of passionate young Bohemians created a seemingly utopian community in the Haigh Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco.
Rally will be hosting a panel discussion with two pioneers of the industry on 10/19 at 8PM ET. Submit questions to Glen Trosch and Jeff Meyer here!
To participate in this historic offering, create your account on Rally!
