Winterland T-Shirt Tags: History and How to Date Them
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Winterland Productions was a San Francisco concert merchandise company founded in 1974 that printed official tour shirts for decades. A Winterland tag or copyright line confirms licensed merchandise and places a shirt in 1974 or later, with later ownership changes helping to narrow it.
Company history
Wikipedia records that concert promoter Bill Graham, Dell Furano, Dave Furano and Donald Hunt co-founded Winterland Productions in 1974, named after the Winterland Ballroom, after the idea of selling T-shirts in the venue lobby. In 1984 it created a retail arm, Rock Express, and in the mid-1980s it was the sole merchandiser for Live Aid and Farm Aid. Graham and Furano sold the company to Irving Azoff and MCA/Universal in 1988. In the early 1990s Winterland grew into contract screen printing for clients such as the Hard Rock Cafe and Disney Stores, and in 1996 MCA sold it to MML Inc.
Label timeline
| Label or clue | Approximate dates | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Winterland Productions | From 1974 | Licensed concert merchandise |
| Rock Express retail | From 1984 | Retail band merchandise |
| MCA ownership | 1988 to 1996 | Later Winterland |
| MML Inc. ownership | From 1996 | Late period |
What it helps date
- Our band tee values and fake vintage band tees guides list Winterland among merchandise tags that date 1980s and 1990s shirts.
- Compare with Brockum and Giant.
Values
Our band tee values guide lists a Grateful Dead Stealie tee on a Winterland tag at about $145 (Cluzy, eBay comps). Prices are estimates as of 2026.
check sold prices for winterland vintage grateful dead shirt on eBay
Sources
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Guides that mention Winterland
- Vintage Band T-Shirt Values: What Old Concert Tees Sell ForRealistic 2026 prices for vintage band and concert tees by genre and band, record sales, condition rules, and how to tell a $20 tee from a $2,000 one.
- How to Spot a Fake Vintage Band T-ShirtCheck stitching, neck tags, copyright lines, print feel and fabric to tell an original 1970s to 1990s band tee from a reprint, bootleg or faked-aged shirt.
Related
- Brockum T-Shirt Tags: History and How to Date ThemDate a Brockum band tee: founded as Krimson in 1974, generic RN 69761 tags under CPI from 1984, silver Brockum tags from 1988, and 1980s tour tee values.
- Giant T-Shirt Tags: History and How to Date ThemGiant band tee tags explained: the 1990 Irving Azoff and Warner joint venture, co-branded Tultex, Anvil and Tee Jays tags, and how they date 1990s shirts.
- Vintage Band T-Shirt Values: What Old Concert Tees Sell ForRealistic 2026 prices for vintage band and concert tees by genre and band, record sales, condition rules, and how to tell a $20 tee from a $2,000 one.
- How to Spot a Fake Vintage Band T-ShirtCheck stitching, neck tags, copyright lines, print feel and fabric to tell an original 1970s to 1990s band tee from a reprint, bootleg or faked-aged shirt.