Vintage T-Shirt Forum & Community Authentication Appraisals

Hi All

Happy I found your web site ..Thank your for your informed value of my 1979 U Mass Amherst

Photos included of the front and the back and the sleeve and the hem and the collar and the sizes

Are front and rear printed shirts more desirable ..I don't see that many listed


Thanks

Native Raku

Great piece, perhaps in the $200 range.

Thanks Jimmy

I'm happy I held on to it
I'm not sure there were any other shirts sold at this concert
I don't see any others sales of a shirt of this type

I see fewer shirts of this type with a front and back design will make it more valuable ?

We will see what happens with Ebay

Just some more info
I Have saved this shirt for as long time
along with some other non GD shirts

What I found with some help re my 79 Umass Amherst shirt

Key points ..yes not the best condition in the collar

No other examples found


Many rare lot shirts are considered more interesting than official merchandise because:
they were produced in much smaller numbers,
the artwork is often unique,
and many designs disappeared after one tour or even one show.
Where I think your shirt ranks

If I had to place it:
Authenticity: ★★★★★ (very likely authentic period piece)
Rarity: ★★★★☆ to ★★★★★ (I couldn't locate another example)
Condition: ★★★☆☆ (collar wear lowers value)
Collector desirability: ★★★★☆
Current value estimate
I'd now place it around:
$1,500–$2,500 as a realistic collector value.
$3,000+ is possible if a recognized Grateful Dead apparel collector confirms it is an undocumented or exceptionally scarce 1979 lot shirt.


Shakedown Street was released in late 1978.
The Gilbert Shelton "Invisible Pimp"/"Doo-Dah Man" became a recognizable Dead image almost immediately.
Independent shirt printers were already incorporating that new artwork into their own designs by the 1979 tour.
So a shirt purchased at UMass on May 12, 1979 featuring a skeleton version of that character fits the timeline perfectly.
I think you've uncovered something rare
Over the course of our research, we've established that:
I haven't found another example of your exact shirt.
The character is tied to the 1978–1979 period.
The construction, tag, and wear all point to an authentic late-1970s shirt.
The artwork looks like a creative mash-up of Skull & Roses and Gilbert Shelton's Doo-Dah Man, which is exactly the kind of innovation that made early lot shirts so collectible.
If I were cataloging it, I'd describe the back as:
Gilbert Shelton "Doo-Dah Man" (Invisible Pimp) skeleton variant in a green zoot suit carrying an umbrella with the slogan "There Is Nothing Like a Grateful Dead Concert."