Jerry Garcia's iconic "Wolf" guitar to be auctioned, entire proceeds to Southern Poverty Law Center

[Miles Archer]

One of Jerry Garcia‘s most famous guitars, the custom-made “Wolf,” will be sold at an auction through Gurnsey’s on March 14 at the Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, N.Y. The entire proceeds from the sale will benefit the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that combats hate groups and racism.

***



At some point, Garcia stopped playing Wolf, but he returned to in the late ’80s when he was experimenting with MIDI synthesizers, and he last played it in Oakland on Feb. 23, 1993. Irwin gained possession of the guitar following a lawsuit with the group, and he sold it an an auction. The person who bought the guitar is now selling it

“I’ve been a fan of the [Grateful] Dead since I was a kid, and playing this iconic guitar over the past 15 years has been a privilege,” said the guitar’s owner, whose name was not revealed in the press release we received. “But the time is right for Wolf to do some good. My wife and I have long supported the efforts of the Southern Poverty Law Center, and if ever we needed the SPLC, we sure do need them now.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center was formed in 1971 to fight the last remnants of Jim Crow segregation. It has since gone on to fight white supremacy by tracking the actions of hate groups, teaching diversity and tolerance and expanding its reach to protect children, women, the disabled, low-wage immigrant workers and the LGBTQ community.

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/jerry-garcia-wolf-guitar-auction/

[SHRED]

1. Gorgeous!

[50 Shades Of Blue]

2. K & R

[Brother Buzz]

3. I'd like to view this Wolf guitar like a sack of flour "Carry on Gridley"

Reuel Colt Gridley (January 23, 1829 - November 24, 1870) was an American storekeeper who gained nationwide attention in 1864, when he repeatedly auctioned a plain sack of flour and raised over $250,000 for the United States Sanitary Commission, which provided aid to wounded American Civil War soldiers.

In 1864, Gridley supported the Democratic candidate for mayor in Austin, Nevada, where he operated a grocery store. He made a bet with a Republican friend that the loser would carry a fifty-pound sack of flour through the town. He performed his punishment with the accompaniment of the town band, and at the end someone offered that the sack should be auctioned off to raise money for the Sanitary Fund, a new organization that aided disabled Civil War veterans. After finally selling for $250, the winning bidder did not take the sack, but donated it back to Gridley to be auctioned off again. It was auctioned repeatedly until over $8,000 was raised. When nearby Virginia City, Nevada heard of the event (and where young newspaper editor Mark Twain was working at the time), they invited Gridley to come there, which he did. He then traveled to California where San Franciscans donated $2800 and Sacramento citizens donated $10000, before heading to St. Louis and the major eastern cities. These bidders added around $170,000 to the Sanitary Commission's fund, and within twelve months Gridley had raised $275,000 with his sack of flour.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Twain told the story of the Gridley flour sack in his 1872 book Roughing It

[underpants]

5. Cool story

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. Info like this is what makes DU such an enriching site.

Thank you for this story.

[2naSalit]

12. I was once familiar with

a pair of binoculars that were regular auctioned off for a good cause, the binos sold for at least $300 - $600 each auction and showed up at every auction for years and probably raised about $5K the last time I saw them.

I would like to see this guitar serve the same kind of purpose now. I hope other items surface with similar accolades.

[reggaehead]

13. Not me

I want this donated to the Archive at UCSC so everyone can view it. And then it can be loaned out like "Tiger" was to Warren Haynes

[2naSalit]

14. That would be a good thing for it I guess,

however, this is far more beneficial for every one at large which is why I support it. Elitism needs to go.

[Brother Buzz]

15. Why does that pair of binoculars story tickle the back of my mind?

Do you know the backstory?

In my perfect world, indeed, a bunch of heavy hitters would step up, in concert, and do just that. Owning bragging rights to once owning a genuine Jerry Garcia guitar while making a donation to the Southern Poverty Law Center is totally win-win. Hell, ACLU has been raking in the donations lately, so I'd like to see the SPLC get a little boost. Both outfits will be doing extremely important work for the foreseeable future.

[2naSalit]

17. I do know the back story

but I might sacrifice my identity if I told it. You might know the story of which we speak.

[Brother Buzz]

19. Your secret's secure with me

because I've got a Swiss cheese brain. Who knows, it might pop up in a dream tonight, but you'd still be secure because I can't remember dreams for shit.

I was dreaming I was awake and then I woke up and found myself asleep - Stan Laurel

[2naSalit]

22. Well to

simply tell it... A particular group of nonprofit and some government agencies held conferences surrounding a certain "cause/issue", outdoor related, and during these conferences many of the same people were in attendance probably four conferences a year were held. Auctions were part of the festivities for fundraising, many valuable items were donated to each and the binos were a donated item, not really expensive but a nice, affordable kind. They started showing up at every conference with an auction donated by the last buyer. It quickly became a "family tradition" to auction off and bid for them, it was fun.

[underpants]

4. Wow that's going to draw some top dollar bids

Great news. Posted on Facebook.

I grew up 20 minutes from "the Mothership" Hampton Coliseum

[malaise]

6. Wonderful

Rec

[nolabear]

7. Oh, the hearts those strings made sing.

I hope whomever gets it keeps playing it.

[panader0]

8. What kind of wood is that? It looks heavy.

[Lochloosa]

10. Looks like tiger maple.

[Miles Archer]

11. Here you go

PLAYED BETWEEN 1973-1993
DOUG IRWIN COMMISSION - $1,500

At the end of 1972, Jerry stumbled onto the first guitar Doug Irwin made for Alembic, and bought it on the spot for $850. At the same time he asked Irwin to customize another for him. This was the inception of Wolf. It was made from purpleheart and curly maple with an ebony fingerboard and twenty-four frets. The first version bore a peacock inlay, and later received Irwin’s eagle logo in its place. A bloodthirsty cartoon wolf sticker Jerry placed below the tailpiece served to name the guitar and was later inlaid in the body by Irwin.

http://jerrygarcia.com/guitars/

[klook]

16. SPLC in Montgomery, Alabama

is doing great work. Here's their web site if anybody needs it:
https://www.splcenter.org/

A recent piece by the organization's president: Trump's whisperer-in-chief is treading on dangerous ground

[LuckyLib]

20. This is one of the best ways to fight back against Trump.

Donate to SPLC - they do wonderful work nationwide and are getting in to the challenge of the corrupt Trump pResidency.

[Warren DeMontague]

18. K&R

[GoCubsGo]

21. I hope Wolf goes to a good home.

And. not to some rich Wall St.-type asshole, like Tiger did.

[Cooley Hurd]

23. That is a GORGEOUS guitar!!!

The finish and inlay... SCHWING!