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Heavenly Blues' (Peter Fonda) screen- and photo-matched Angels San Pedro vest from Roger Corman's The Wild Angels autographed by Fonda. Heavenly Blues, the leader of the Angels motorcycle gang, and his fellow Angels wore vests and jackets adorned with the name of their gang throughout the film. Distinctive stitch lines and application points of the patches on this vest screen-match to shots of Heavenly Blues in the film, while additional detailing in the epaulette, the second-from-top button hole, and around the upper left chest pocket photo-match to shots of Fonda in Blues' costume during filming.
The unexpected success of The Wild Angels is often credited with kickstarting the outlaw biker exploitation film era of the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was the first film to associate actor Peter Fonda with the Harley-Davidson motorcycles and 1960s counterculture movement with which he'd quickly become synonymous. During the promotion of 1967's The Trip, Fonda autographed a still image from The Wild Angels of himself and Bruce Dern sharing one motorcycle, the sight of which inspired Fonda's concept for Easy Rider, the landmark film that helped spark the New Hollywood filmmaking era of the 1970s.
This lot consists of one denim vest with large patches on the back reading "Angels M C San Pedro" with a winged devil head logo, and smaller decorations on the front including a striped epaulette with a metal button on the left shoulder, "13" and "1%" patches, a Parteiadler patch, a Totenkopf, and the letters "LSD." The inside of the collar has been signed "Peter Fonda" in black ink. The lot shows evidence of intentional production distressing together with wear consistent with on-set use, handling, and age; including fading to the signature.
Additional Provenance: The signatures on this lot have been verified by Grad Authentication
Estimate: $20,000 - 40,000
View all lots from WILD ANGELS, THE (1966)
This item comes with a Propstore Certificate of Authenticity.