A University of Texas laminated student identification card issued to Velvet Underground guitarist Sterling Morrison, under his legal name, Holmes Sterling Morrison, Jr.

After the Velvet Underground broke up, Morrison moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas, where he taught and earned a PHD in medieval literature.  Wikipedia notes Morrison began to work on Houston tugboats as a deckhand to supplement his income in the mid-1970s; when he was forced to relinquish his teaching assistantship some years later, he was licensed as a master mariner and became the captain of a Houston tugboat, a vocation he pursued throughout the 1980s.  After leaving the Velvet Underground, Morrison’s musical career was primarily limited to informal sessions for personal enjoyment, though he played in a few bands around Austin, Texas, most notably the Bizarros.  Morrison’s tenure in the capital of Texas made him a well-loved and admired member of the local music community as well as an influential voice. During John Cale’s renaissance in the late 1970s, Morrison occasionally sat in with his former bandmate. From the mid-1980s on, he occasionally recorded or performed with Cale, Reed, and particularly Tucker [and was part of the Velvet Underground reunion of 1993.]

The laminated University of Texas Student ID has Morrison’s photograph, and is dated 1977-1978 and has his name and ID number embossed over his photo, similar to the embossing on a credit card–because this is three dimensional, it looks distorted on the scan here, but not in person.  There are a number of shaped punch-out holes which would be recognized by a card-reading machine.

In 1993 the Velvet Underground reunited with Morrison, and toured Europe to great acclaim; in 1994 Morrison was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which claimed his life in August 1995.

We acquired this identification card from Sterling Morrison’s widow, Martha Morrison; her letter of authenticity is included, as is Recordmecca’s written lifetime guarantee of authenticity.  A unique Velvet Underground collectible from Sterling Morrison’s wallet!  3 1/4″ x 2 1/4″.