The Gotta Have Rock & Roll Pop Culture Auction Winter 2021

Lot #19A:

Pablo Escobar Signed & Inscribed “Gaviria en Caricaturas 1983-1991” Book JSA

Pablo Escobar signed and inscribed this copy of his extremely rare self-published collection of political cartoons about Pablo Escobar completed while in prison. The autograph and inscription is made with a blue ballpoint pen. Escobar is quite serious about the value of this work and states in the prologue: "El lengua figurativo de la caricatura representa una opinion, un criterio, un punto de vista personal y es por eso que hemos querido recopilar todos los pensamientos graficos y bajo este tema especifico de narrativa. Porque visualizar un concepto tan abstracto como un modo de pensar, va mas alla de la simple ridiculizacion de un a personaje o la simple expocision de los razgos caracteristicos; es darle vida propia a una imagen abstracta que reposa silenciosa en nuestra mentes." The book opens with a report on the Colombian government importing of cocaine and reprints a series of photographs of Escobar, some with his family and even some in prison. From there, the wide-ranging caricatures satirize everything from politics, the mafia, religion, the United States and even drug use in sport. According to an Escobar family member, most of the copies of the book were burned after Escobar’s escape from the prison, with only a handful of copies surviving the fire. Insanely rare signed, the book itself is worth around $7,000 without the signature and inscription. Fair condition, with some water damage inside. Comes with a James Spence Authentication (JSA) Letter of Authenticity and a Gotta Have Rock & Roll Certificate of Authenticity.