The Grateful Dead Exhibit at The New York Historical Society

I am not afraid to admit that I am a Deadhead, so when I heard that The New York Historical Society was hosting an exhibition this summer of artifacts from the forty plus years of The Grateful Dead’s career, I was ecstatic. I decided that the most appropriate time to visit the museum was on August 1st, Jerry Garcia’s birthday. Dressed in my 1970’s Dead shirt, I ventured uptown alone and joined other Deadheads to celebrate. As soon as I entered the building, I received a free scoop of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia, which made the experience even that much more complete.

The exhibition was filled with everything a fan could love from the original skeletons used in their music video Touch of Grey to giant backdrops used on tour to original blueprints of The Wall of Sound (developed by their manager Owsley “Bear” Stanley made up of 89 amplifiers which was the largest live rig at that time). Walking into the exhibition I was immediately impressed with the original Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test posters from the 1960s. The Acid Tests were hosted by writer Ken Kesey in San Francisco. They were a series of parties which introduced acid to the general public (later immitated by Timothy Leary on the east coast). The Grateful Dead, who played under the name The Warlocks, performed for the first time at the second Acid Test party and eventually became the house band.

The Grateful Dead were the first musical group to establish a customer database and newsletter. They developed a mail order ticketing system in which fans would write to the headquarters for tickets so that they could purchase tickets directly from the source rather than from companies like Ticketmaster. Fans would decorated envelopes to get the attention of those fulfilling their ticket orders. The more elaborate designed envelopes are on display at the museum. It really hit me how archaic it sounds to actually write away for concert tickets when today, we wait impatiently in front of our computers fingers crossed hoping for tickets to big name shows hoping they won’t sell out in thirty seconds.

Viewing The Grateful Dead artifacts, I realized how much the music industry has changed with the introduction of the Internet. There was a spot at the exhibit where you could pick up the phone and listen to the original recorded announcement from GD headquarters of upcoming 1993 Grateful Dead summer dates.

The whole GD system just seemed, for lack of a better hippie word, organic. Now don’t’ get me wrong, Jerry Garcia and the gang were about the fans but the exhibition also illustrated how much they focused on merchandising. They were one of the first to turn their band into a brand with ties, stuffed bears, t-shirts, golf balls etc. I walked out of the museum with a poster and a Grateful Dead pillow. I mean, did I really need the pillow? Every time I look at it sitting out of place on my couch, I ask myself this. However, it’s a great conversation piece all the same.

Currently, the exhibition is in it’s last leg. It closes on September 5th. Whether you are a Deadhead, hippie, a music lover, history lover, or whatever lover, you should check it out. The experience won’t be a let down and you can see “what a long strange trip it’s been” for The Grateful Dead.

New York Historical Society, 170 Central Park W, New York, NY 10024. www.nyhistory.com