NEW YORK CITY — Subculture was very much away from the fringe in Swann Galleries’ February 8 auction, which featured nearly 175 lots of the material culture of Punk, Rock, Psych, Hip Hop, Jazz and more. Leading the sale with a $15,000 result was a rare letterpress 21¾-by-14-inch poster Andy Warhol made for The Velvet Underground and Nico in 1966. According to the catalog notes, Warhol and Paul Morrissey in 1966 rented the space of 23 St Marks Place as a psychedelic performance venue, with Velvet Underground as the house band. Warhol managed the The Velvet Underground from 1965 to 1967, during which time the band performed as part of Warhol’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable multimedia “events.” Estimated at $3/4,000, the poster found a new home with a private collector. Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. More on other highlights from this sale will appear in an upcoming issue.