By Gary Lambert

From now through July 4th, one of the nation’s great repositories of history will play host to a remarkable and significant collection of cultural treasures: “The Grateful Dead – Now Appearing at the New-York Historical Society” is the first-ever traveling exhibition of materials on loan from the Dead’s own vast archive of art, documents, photographs and memorabilia, which the band donated in 2008 to the University of California at Santa Cruz.

It seems especially appropriate that this fascinating time capsule of Grateful Dead history would make the trek from California to New York City, as the Dead themselves did so many times over the course of a three-decade touring career, making the Big Apple a kind of unofficial second home (and epicenter of the band’s huge fan base in the Northeast).

While the exhibition would be impressive and inspiring in any setting, it is given an added sense of substance and perspective by its appearance at such a respected and venerable (founded in 1804) institution of historical scholarship. At the time of the opening, the Grateful Dead was sharing the N-YHS’ Upper West Side home with exhibits on Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal, Abraham Lincoln in New York and John Brown and the Abolitionist movement. Pretty heady company for a rock ‘n’ roll band whose appeal was once described as “misfit power!”

Although the artifacts on display represent just a tiny fraction of what will eventually be available at the archive’s permanent home in Santa Cruz, the N-YHS exhibition is so carefully and thoughtfully assembled that visitors will get a real sense of the enormous musical, social and historical influence and impact of the Dead (and, of course, the Dead Heads).

Among the highlights of the exhibition are: some of the most unforgettable Grateful Dead artwork, ranging from early concert posters and album covers to some of the beautifully decorated envelopes containing ticket requests and sent to GDTS by hopeful show-goers; samples of the mailings the band sent out to the Dead Heads list with tour announcements and other news; tickets, backstage passes and other concert memorabilia; instruments, including Jerry Garcia’s “Rosebud” and Bob Weir’s “Cowboy Fancy” guitars and a Pigpen harmonica; technical diagrams of the Wall of Sound; and some of the lifesize skeleton marionettes of band members from the 1987 “Touch of Grey” video shoot. Perhaps most touching of all is a bit of aural history: a listening station featuring recordings of Eileen Law giving tour information on the Grateful Dead telephone hotline. It is particularly fitting that Eileen is so represented — not only was she the voice of the band to the fan community via the hotline and keeper of the Dead Heads mailing list, but it was also her loving and diligent preservation and management of the band’s archives that made this exhibit, and the amazing collection soon to be housed at UC Santa Cruz, possible.

For more information on “The Grateful Dead: Now Appearing at the New-York Historical Society,” visit: nyhistory.org

For more on the Grateful Dead Archive at UC Santa Cruz:gratefuldeadarchive.org

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