Jerry Garcia’s personal acetates of the Grateful Dead’s 1971 self-titled double album, better known as Skull and Roses.  These acetates were sold by Garcia’s widow, Deborah Koons Garcia, at a Bonhams auction of Garcia’s personal property.

Wikipedia notes the album, “Although published without a title, it is generally known by the names Skull and Roses (due to its iconic cover art) and Skull Fuck (the name the band originally wanted to give to the album, which was rejected by the record company). It was the group’s first album to be certified gold by the RIAA and remained their best seller until surpassed by the [greatest hits album] Skeletons From the Closet.

As acetates, these were cut directly from the album’s original master tapes, in this case at Artisan Sound Recorders, a legendary record mastering studio in Hollywood.  Both discs are each in Excellent condition, and sound absolutely extraordinary; there are a few minor ticks here and there, but the fidelity is incredible.  They are housed in their original Audiodiscs sleeves.

With a letter from Bonhams confirming the these were ‘formerly the property of Jerry Garcia’, the original Bonhams exhibition card and tag, a copy of the relevant catalog page, and Recordmecca’s written lifetime guarantee of authenticity [Note: these two discs were part of a lot that included a third duplicate acetate and test pressings of the album, but we are only selling the two acetates pictured here.]

An extraordinary Jerry Garcia/Grateful Dead collectible, from the personal collection of the man himself.

Read Recordmecca owner Jeff Gold’s blog post on collecting artist-owned records here.