The Rocket Man took flight at Heritage Auctions during the companys Music Memorabilia and Concert Poster Auction held Dec. 2, 3, and 4. Only days before R.J. Cutler and David Furnishs documentary Elton John: Never Too Late began streaming on Disney+, Heritage Auctions offeredAlan Aldridges original artwork that adorned Johns 1975 Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. The result, as expected, was nothing short of fantastic itself as the dazzling, detailed work realized $212,500. The album, Johns ninth and most autobiographical, has long been a favorite of the singer-songwriters. In a 2006 interview with Cameron Crowe, John said he always thought that Captain Fantasticwas probably my finest album because it wasnt commercial in any way. Captain Fantasticwas written from start to finish in running order, as a kind of story about coming to terms with failure, or trying desperately not to be one. He was also deeply enamored of Aldridges illustration, which The Guardiandescribed in 2017 as the singer and his piano surrounded by a menagerie of extraordinary creatures. Aldridge counted among his legendary credits the album cover of The Whos A Quick One, 1969s The Beatles Illustrated lyricsand the controversial poster for the 1966 Andy Warhol film Chelsea Girls. But Captain Fantasticranks among his most enduring masterworks. Alan delivered a visual package beyond my wildest dreams for Captain Fantastic, John told the paper about the work that reveals something new with each glance. Never have I been so pleased with the artwork for an album. Garry Shrum, Heritages Director of Music Memorabilia, says hes not surprised by the result during an auction that saw nearly 2,400 bidders worldwide compete for several hundred musical treasures. Captain Fantastichas sold millions of copies in every conceivable format, and every last one of them derived their cover art from this one painting by Alan Aldridge, said Shrum. Eltons legend not only endures but continues to grow, and the result for this remarkable artwork serves a tribute to the man, his music and the myth surrounding both. One of the few surviving posters from 1959s Winter Dance Party was no less significant, featuring among its star attractions Buddy Holly and the Crickets, The Big Bopper J.P. Richardson, Ritchie Valens, Dion and the Belmonts and Frankie Sardo. Heritage has only offered examples of this historic cardboard three times before, always with collectors tussling over scant keepsakes from the tour cut short when Holly, Valens and Richardson were killed in the plane crash immortalized as The Day the Music Died. The poster in this auction hailed from the Winter Dance Party stop at the Laramar Ballroom in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Jan. 30, 1959, three days before the crash. It was the first Winter Dance Party poster to surface publicly, thanks to a wanted ad in Goldminemagazine in the 1970s, and remains the only known advertisement for this particular show. This grail, from the eighth stop on the tour, has never been to auction, but it has been seen publicly, having been displayed at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of its Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll exhibition and loaned to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. The poster opened live bidding at $44,000, but a lengthy bidding war ensued, and it finally realized $187,500. The Winter Dance Party poster was among the nearly 100 trophies from the David Swartz Concert Poster Collection, along with only the third poster Heritage offered fromthe Rolling Stones infamous free concert at the Altamont Speedway on Dec. 6, 1969. That poster from the Gimme Sheltershow opened live bidding Tuesday at $18,000 and, after another prolonged bidding war, realized $42,500. Only three other concert posters have ever sold for more than the $187,500 realized by The Winter Dance Party poster sold in this auction, all at Heritage, says Director of Concert Posters Pete Howard. It was so thrilling to have the winning bidder on the phone because he completely hid in the bushes until the last minute and won the poster with one bid. One of the auctions biggest hits was scored by renowned psychedelic poster artist Stanley Mouse, whose legendary Grateful Dead Skeleton & Roses poster has long been a coveted favorite among collectors at Heritage. In 2015, Mouse revisited that poster using acrylics on canvas, his sole recreation of this iconic artwork.Mouses Skeleton & Roses painting realized $62,500. For more information, visit www.HA.com.