Grushkin offers a lively commentary on the fan art and also explains the occasionally obscure origins of all of the group’s major iconographic symbols. Grushkin and the author of the endearing and informative foreword, Bill Walton, engagingly lay out the history of the band’s relationship with its fans, from the earliest days to the famous “Dead Freaks Unite!” clarion call in the gatefold of their 1971 “Skull & Roses” album (which started the group’s mailing list) to the formation of GDTS and all that entailed. The author organizes the fan art into 10 main thematic categories, including Skulls & Skeletons, The Stealie, Bears & Terrapins, Dead Head Transportation, ’Shrooms, Tie Dye & Flying Eyeballs, plus a trippy catch-all chapter dubbed “The Second Set” and the aforementioned nod to GDTS TOO. (Additionally, there are splendid envelopes from the post-Garcia era incarnation of the company, GDTS TOO, which has continued the fine work of its predecessor.) The senders of these envelopes hoped that their sometimes very elaborate envelopes would capture the imagination of folks filling the ticket request orders and help them overcome daunting numerical odds for being granted the precious ducats. Dead Letters: The Very Best Grateful Dead Fan Mail (just out from Voyageur Press) serves up hundreds of examples of cool, weird, colorful, funny, deranged and highly psychedelic envelopes that were sent to the Dead’s ticket office-GDTS (Grateful Dead Ticket Sales) between 1983, when the group introduced its mail-order system, and 1995. With his latest book, Grushkin returns to the Grateful Dead for a warm, witty and eye-popping companion to his Book of the Dead Heads. Then there is the more specialized Treasures of the Hard Rock Cafe (with Joel Selvin), Rockin’ Down the Highway: The Cars and People That Made Rock Roll and Art of Classic Rock: The Rob Roth Collection. Grushkin has produced several other exceptional books, too, including his beautiful, gargantuan, definitive volume on concert posters, The Art of Rock: Posters from Presley to Punk, and its striking and impressive sequel, The Art of Modern Rock: The Poster Explosion (with Dennis King). With its hundreds of historical photos, copious examples of Dead-related artwork, revealing and often funny snippets of articles about the Dead and letters to the band, the book is a trip in itself. His first, a collaboration with his photographer brother, Jonas, and designer Cynthia Bassett, was one of the best ever produced about our favorite group - Grateful Dead: The Official Book of the Dead Heads, published in 1983, and still a timeless document of the band and scene. Chances are you’ve encountered some of Paul Grushkin’s remarkable books through the years.
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