This week, the screams are at ‘FRIGHTHOUSE’ SQUARE

Freddy Krueger, get a day job! The REAL nightmare isn’t on Elm Street but on East “D” Street in Tacoma, where the Black Lake Haunted Asylum will scare the giblets out of “patients” three more evenings of this week, through Sat., Oct. 31 (Halloween).

I voluntarily “committed” myself to the Asylum last night, and glad that I had used the toilet earlier, or it would have made for an unpleasant ride home. Of course, I won’t – CAN’T – recount all the high-voltage horror I endured (loving every second of it), but suffice to say that the last time I saw so many crazy people with their mouths open, it was around the buffet at my bar mitzvah.

Now in its second year, the Black Lake Haunted Asylum isn’t your garden-variety amusement-park haunted house: It’s a heightened state of mind – so long as you don’t lose it during the Asylum “tour,” which takes place in the cellar of Tacoma’s century-old Freighthouse Square (a place I wouldn’t want to stroll alone even in the daytime). Again, you can pump me full of Sodium Pentothal and I won’t tell you what I saw – why spoil the fun? – but it’s an experience you’ll be eagerly telling your coworkers, classmates and/or analyst about for days.

Part “Mystery at the Wax Museum,” part Off Broadway play and all Halloween FUN, the Asylum is a collaborative effort of master sculptor/prop fabricator Ben Isitt (www.bensartworks.com) and professional haunted-house creator Clark (so behind-the-scenes that he preferred not to tell me his last name). I didn’t have a chance to meet with Ben, but Clark is a beefy, goodhearted ex-Marine who you’d want on your side if you ever DO wind up in an enclosed space with a lot of homicidal maniacs.

Also integral to the “treatment” in this basement Bedlam are the dozens of volunteers – Clark said at least 36 participate in each show, many of them students at the Tacoma School of the Arts – whose talents make the Asylum come alive, in a manner of speaking. So there’s no need to dread suddenly finding yourself alone in the dark amid lab specimens and experiments gone awry: THEY are always there … although, as Clark casually assured me, “they’re all crazy!”

And before you go, I advise ratcheting up the shock value of your tour by visiting the Asylum Web site at www.blacklakeasylum.com and reading about the institution’s “history” – which seemed so real that I went through four pages of Google search results before I convincing myself that the twisted Dr. West and Crazy Kristen (who scared the pants off me, to the disgust of other visitors) were figments of the Asylum organizers’ twisted imaginations. I think.

Incidentally, being of an inquiring mind, I couldn’t help asking Clark if anyone had suggested that the Asylum is, well, making light of a sensitive subject. (Actually, I asked him if anyone flat-out complained that satirizing a mental institution is in lousy taste.) Yeah, Clark replied, someone asked why he couldn’t stick to standard haunted-house fare: murderous ghosts, butchered corpses, ghouls and zombies with bad personal hygiene and even worse table manners – good, wholesome stuff like that. “Serial murderers are OK, but not an asylum? It’s ENTERTAINMENT,” he pointed out.

Entertainment it is indeed – and you have only three days left to enjoy it. Remaining show times are Thurs., Oct. 29, from 7 to 11 p.m. and Fri. and Sat., Oct. 30 and 31, from 7 p.m. to midnight: Check www.blacklakeasylum.com for details. Admission is $13 per “patient” ($1 off the price of one ticket at the door with military ID). Freighthouse Square is located at 2501 East “D” St., Tacoma. Visit www.freighthousesquare.com for more information and directions.

NOTE: The Black Lake Haunted Asylum actively supports My Sister’s Pantry (www.mysisterspantry.com), a Tacoma food bank that serves hot meals and distributes groceries and clothing to the poor and the homeless. Visitors to the Asylum are encouraged to bring a nonperishable food item for My Sister’s Pantry for which they’ll get $1 off the ticket price at the door.

Images provided by Terry Carpenter of Lugh Waterman Surreal Photography

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All aboard! Railroad Memories auction ends Fri., Nov. 6

You gotta hand it to the great state of Colorado: It produces some REAL SERIOUS collectors of railroad memorabilia.

It’s not surprising: Railroads played a huge role in the state’s history, especially during that iconic and conflicted era we call the Wild West. Sure, trains were essential to the development of other, arguably tamer parts of the country: rural New York State, for example, or Ohio, or Missouri. But Coloradans rightly find deeper inspiration in the conquest of their rugged landscape by mortal men – from the financiers and surveyors and engineers to the crews that dynamited and graded, laid down ties, pounded spikes and hauled in and set the tracks (“rust eaters,” the last were called) – than, say, your average New Yorker, who much prefers to grouse about the Long Island Rail Road than reflect on it.

Anyway … I often feel that these blogs focus too much on paper collectibles than objects of daily use, so I’m happy to report that Denver-based Railroad Memories, a buyer, seller and appraiser of railroad memorabilia, is currently holding their 74th auction, which closes on Fri., Nov. 6, 2009, at 5 p.m. MST (mind those time zones, Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore!). Railroad Memories is owned by Sue Knous, with whom I had a very pleasant conversation about railroad collectibles a few months back. While I haven’t yet purchased anything from Sue, I’ve been watching her Web site, with its wide range of railroad artifacts, and planning to get the word out when her next auction was announced.

The thing I love most about railroad collectibles is the huge crossover into other collecting areas, and this Railroad Memories auction doesn’t disappoint: While this isn’t a big, big auction – there are some 468 lots – it runs the gamut from paper ephemera (baggage tags, timetables, passes), to tableware (dining car linens, glasses, silverware, hollowware and china), to personal items (badges, pins, uniforms), to lanterns and lamp globes, to some really great locks and keys, to depot equipment like torch cans, water cans and other cool stuff.

It’s a little hard to find on the Web site, but Railroad Memories issues catalogs to auction subscribers, who pay $45 a year if they live in the U.S., $55 if they’re in Canada and $65 to the folks across the pond. When you subscribe, you receive a bidder number but pay NO BUYER’S PREMIUM if you win something. Non-subscribing winning bidders pay a 10 percent buyer’s premium, which is still pretty darn low. Either way, you should contact Railroad Memories early to get set up to bid.

With the holidays rolling around, this is a great opportunity to get something unique for that special collector in your life. Learn more and view the lots at RailroadMemories.com.

Check out our Events page for more details.

Images courtesy of Railroad Memories, www.railroadmemories.com

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AUCTION ALERT! Signature House auction Sat. and Sun., Oct. 24 and 25!

Last week I stumbled across an auction to be held later this week by Bridgeport, W.V.–based Signature House, www.signaturehouse.net, which specializes in autograph material and which I knew of but never seemed to connect with in time to bid on something I was collecting.

Which underscores the importance of getting yourself on as many dealer and auction house mailing lists and sending out as many want lists as possible – no matter WHAT you happen to collect. You may be surprised and delighted to suddenly receive a direct offer of an item you want, or an announcement for an auction you might have missed that has a lot that you’re dying to bid on.

Anyway, variety is the spice of life, they say, and Signature House’s auction has an interesting range of items – again, mostly autographs, but other stuff, too – in categories like Judeo-Christian antiquities; Colonial American, Civil War and other Americana; science, technology and exploration; art, music and literature; and celebrities, sports and entertainment.

Some observations before I offer my usual selection of interesting auction picks:

• The collectibles market seems to be heating up. Six months ago, on dealer Web sites and in online auctions (including eBay), lots of good stuff seemed to be selling cheaply or not at all – MY perception, anyway. Now collectors are getting competitive again. So this is a great time to bid, before things go nut again.
• The holidays are almost here. Never mind the malls and the crowds: This is a chance to get someone you love something meaningful or interesting – hopefully at a good price – then get it framed for a unique gift.
• The minimum acceptable bid in this Signature House auction is 50 percent of the low estimate or $40 (whichever is greater), and there’s a 17.5 percent buyer’s premium added on to the hammer price. Granted, there may be reserve prices, but still, this all seems very reasonable to me, and bodes well for bidders who are after a special item. My advice: If you are hot on something, give it your best shot by bidding your limit. If you like something but don’t feel you can bid a lot, again, give it your best shot at what you can afford, even if it’s just the 50-percent-of-the-low-estimate/$40 minimum. You may get lucky.
• Check out the lots and REGISTER SOON IF YOU WANT TO BID! As in any auction, you have to apply for a bidding number, so don’t wait till the last minute. Also, absentee bids close Fri., Oct. 23, at 10 p.m. EST. Then there’s live bidding over the weekend. Be on your toes: You snooze, you lose.

Having given you the benefit of some of my more unfortunate collecting experiences (wait till you read my forthcoming blog about rare books), here are some cool lots I noticed in this auction in different estimated price ranges:

• Leaf from a French Book of Hours. From a late-medieval manuscript prayer book, “The Use of Paris” (“Heures à l’usage de Paris”), circa 1450–1475, with 17 lines of text, ruled in red and written in Latin in Gothic script on vellum, with large initials illuminated in gold on blue and red ground with white tracery. The large gold initial “I” begins Psalm 7: “Incline Domine aurem tuam …” (Incline thy ear, O Lord, and hear me …). Text on reverse as well, in window mat to reveal both sides. Est. $180–$350.
• Charles M. Schulz (1922–2000). From the iconic creator of “Peanuts” an original sketch of Snoopy sitting atop his doghouse, drawn in blue felt tip on artist’s paper, 8.5”x11”. Fine, and boldly signed in full at bottom. Est. $200–$450.
• Jefferson Davis (1808–1889). President of Confederate States of America; secretary of war appointed by President Franklin Pierce (1853–57); U.S. senator from Mississippi. Autograph letter signed, 2 pages on single leaf, 5”x8”, Beauvoir, Miss., Aug. 12, 1885. To Archibald Glenn, responding to an inquiry regarding Davis’ command in the Mexican War. In part: “The supposition that Dr. Jno. W. Glenn was a member of my staff in Mexico is erroneous. The loss of my papers when my library in Misi. was pillaged by some of Genl. Sherman’s troops, leaves me no record of the 1st Misi. Riflemen to which reference might be made … D. M. Hollingworth of New Orleans was with that Regt. and he may be able to answer your inquiry about your Father. Archibald and David Glenn were dear and esteemed friends of my earlier days and are gratefully remembered for many deeds of kindness to me, both political and persona l …” Darkly penned and signed. Mailing folds, minor soiling, occasional toning, otherwise very good/fine. Est. $1,800–$2,500.
• Harlan Sanders (1890–1980). Colonel Sanders (an honorary title given him in 1936 by the governor of Kentucky) of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. Signed/dated autograph on the cover of his booklet “Twenty Favorite Recipes of Col. Harland Sanders,” 20 ages, 5.5”x3.5”. Light edge wear, toning. Est. $60–$120.
• Harry Houdini (professional name of Ehrich Weiss, 1874–1926). The world’s most famous magician, escape artist and illusionist, credited with exposing fraudulent spiritualist-mediums, whose life was depicted in the film “Houdini” starring Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. Brief typed letter signed and dated New York, July 10, 1912, to fellow magician and magic collector George Schulte 1887–1967). In full: “Many thanks for clipping re the Strait Jacket, it interested me very much. Enclosed you will find an article regarding my latest exploit [not present] …” Pristine signature darkly penned in black ink; stamped at bottom right border “George Schulte Collection.” Beautifully double matted between half-length signed portrait of Schulte in black ink with good contrast and a promotional brochure for Schulte with facsimile signature across image. Archivally custom framed. Great association item! Est. $1,400–$2,400.
• Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). Sixteenth president of the United States who led the nation through the Civil War. Autograph letter signed “A. Lincoln,” 1 page, 5”x7.5”, Washington, D.C., April 10, 1861. Written from the “Executive Mansion” to Attorney General Edward Bates two days before the bombardment of Fort Sumter: “Hon. John F. Potter, now present, informs me that the entire Wisconsin delegation in Congress, except Senator Howe, have agreed upon John B. D. Coggswell for District Attorney and D. C. Jackson for Marshal in that state. Therefore please send me commissions accordingly …” Darkly penned and signed on lightly lined paper. Docketed on verso. Framed with vintage engraved quarter-length portrait vignette. When Lincoln wrote this letter, a seagoing convoy with supplies and ammunition to reprovision Fort Sumter was en route under Navy escort, but before they arrived, the Confederates started shelling the fort, starting the Civil War. Est. $18,000–$25,000.
• Amelia Earhart (1898–1937). The first woman to make a transatlantic flight, later the first person to fly the Atlantic alone, establishing a new time record in the process. Her 1937 disappearance during a flight around the world remains a mystery. A signed commemorative airmail cover with stamped cachet for the New York Aircraft Salon at Madison Square Garden, postmarked New York, May 5, 1930, and darkly signed in ink across cachet stamp. Signed also by a William C. Patterson and addressed in another hand. Light general toning; minor soiling, otherwise fine. Est. $400–$700.
• George Armstrong Custer (1839–1876). Union brigadier general who fought in nearly every battle of the Army of the Potomac, including Gettysburg, later to be killed and his troops annihilated by Sioux and Cheyenne warriors led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse at Little Bighorn. Identified as a Remington-Beals Navy Conversion revolver, with “Patent Sept. 14, 1858” on top of the barrel and serial no. 4416 under the left grip strap. Manufactured during the 1860s, it belonged to Custer and is accompanied by three letters of authenticity and a newspaper article referencing the gun, with an image. In very good condition. The underside of the barrel is crudely stamped “Gen. Geo A Custer 1869.” See the auction listing for details of its provenance. Est. $100,000–$150,000!

Don’t let the Custer gun put you off: There are more than 1,100 lots, with something for everyone, whatever your budget is! Check them out at www.signaturehouse.net.

Check out our Events page for more details.

Images courtesy of Signature House, www.signaturehouse.net.

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Autographs, stock certificates, other collectibles

Recently I’ve had some very pleasant dealings with Scott Winslow of Scott J. Winslow, Associates, Americana. Scott has a really nice Web site but also sells and auctions via eBay and LiveAuctioneers.com – where his current auction ends Sat., Oct. 31. And he doesn’t sell just autographs but also antique stock certificates and bonds, maps, prints, posters and broadsides, photographs, lottery tickets, coins and currency, cigar labels and other great stuff.

Scott has been selling historical documents and autographs full-time since the mid-1980s and is executive vice president and ethics committee chairman of the Professional Autograph Dealers Association (PADA), which is pretty much the gold standard of autograph dealers’ professional groups. I’m looking forward to interviewing him for this blog: Keep an eye peeled!

Scott is a very personable guy and an attentive seller of fine material who invites collectors to send him want lists and will contact them when he gets something they may want (for some reason a lot of dealers don’t – or they just never have what I’m collecting). Scott tells me that only about 10 percent of his stock is online, so do yourself a favor: Visit his site, then drop him an e-mail and let him know what you’re looking for. He’s at www.scottwinslow.com.

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Fred Oldfield: Heart of the West

In Japan, they have what they call “Living National Treasures”: master swordsmiths, Kabuki actors, potters and other artists and craftsmen honored for preserving the cultural traditions of the Japanese people.

I wish we had that designation here: I and many others here in Washington state would jump to nominate Washington’s own living treasure, Fred Oldfield.

Construction worker, boxer, soldier, cowboy – Fred has seen a lot, and the paintings, drawings and other works by this celebrated and much-loved artist and son of Washington state reveal much: about land desolate and beautiful and about the hard-bitten people who herd on or scratch their living from it.

Fred’s work – along with wagons, a pioneer cabin, Native American baskets and other artifacts of the West – can be seen and enjoyed at The Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center, located at the Puyallup Fairgrounds in Puyallup, Wash.

Born in Alfalfa, Wash., in 1918, Fred is living Americana. He grew up riding and doing a variety of jobs, from ranching (cattle, hogs, turkeys) to placer mining for gold to prizefighting, He found himself stranded and broke in an Alaskan inn after being evacuated from a construction site in Sitka at the start of World War II; with nothing else to do, he started painting scenes of mountains, cabins and fishing boats on discarded linoleum tiles, which his landlady sold for $10 apiece. (“Somebody said she was my first agent,” he quipped.) While in the Army, he painted the backs of bomber crews’ flight jackets, remarking that “the leather was good and it took the paint well.”

After the war, Fred attended art classes on the G.I. Bill, painted murals in Seattle and began selling his work at sidewalk shows. “That kind of took off: People started buying my paintings,” he recalled. “Of course, I was born and raised on the Yakima Indian reservation, I’d rode all my life and worked on cattle ranches and stuff, so I started doing Western art.”

Fred depicts, not only stark and majestic landscapes familiar to many in the Northwest, but human images – Indians, cowhands, prospectors – whom he has known over his nearly nine decades. He pointed out one painting of three men on a trail drive warming themselves by a campfire; painted from memory, they are real people, one of whom has passed away. When the deceased man’s daughter visited The Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center, “I said, ‘You want to pick which one of those guys was your dad?’ ” Fred recounted. “And she said, ‘That’s him,’ ” correctly identifying her father.

Fred is an artist in the tradition of Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. We who may never gaze across the rocky reaches of Washington’s backcountry while on horseback can feel the majesty, distance and stark beauty of Fred’s landscapes, the camaraderie of his campfires and the loneliness his mountain cabins.

Nor is he stingy with his talents: In fact, Fred is deeply involved in teaching children and adults to paint via the art program at The Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center, where more than 10 percent of the kids are on scholarships. At “mural camps,” teams for four children learn to exchange ideas and respect each other as they plan and execute large-scale paintings together.

“Some of our kids are shy and backward, and if we can instill confidence in them, it’s a big plus,” Fred told me. “They get in there and paint and show some ingenuity, and it makes them feel good about themselves.”

John and Mary Catherine Manley, patrons of the The Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center, said of Fred: “He has a unique sense of color, a deft hand with a palette knife, and he eloquently tells a story of the West in his paintings.”

In short, Fred Oldfield has lived the cowboy life and renders it with heart. Small wonder that Washington governor Christine Gregoire declared March 18, 2008 – Fred’s 90th birthday – Fred Oldfield Day in the state (the Washington State Senate had honored him a month earlier).

The Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center is a must-see collection of art and artifacts, especially if you’re anywhere near Puyallup. For information and to see more of Fred’s art, visit FredOldfieldCenter.org.

At The Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center Fiddle and Pickin’ Contest

Fri. and Sat., Nov. 13 and 14, 2009

This year The Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center will again proudly host the Fiddle and Pickin’ Contest!

The two-day event will consist of the contest, workshops and – new this year – the raffling off of a pair of Alaskan Airlines coach tickets to anywhere they have a route.

Visit our events page for more details.

All images courtesy of The Fred Oldfield Western & Art Heritage Center, FredOldfieldCenter.org.

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Collect this experience …It’s a MADHOUSE!

Black Lake Haunted Asylum returns to Tacoma’s Freighthouse Square Oct. 10–31

I freely admit: I’m a horror addict. Growing up in the 1960s and ’70s, I devoured (sometimes literally) horror comic books, like the classic Creepy and Eerie magazines (especially the ones with those iconic Frank Frazetta covers), and the horror-film “fanzine” Famous Monsters of Filmland. I loved the plastic Aurora models of the Wolf Man, Dracula, the Frankenstein monster and other Hollywood bogeymen. And I was deeply influenced – some say screwed up – by hundreds of movies aired on TV in the New York area on shows like “Chiller Theater,” “Creature Features” and “Million Dollar Movie.”

The last is significant: “Million Dollar Movie” (on WOR, channel 9), which didn’t run just horror flicks, actually showed the same film every weeknight for five days straight. Imagine the effect on my impressionable young mind from watching the original 1959 version of “House on Haunted Hill” five times in a row! (I used to go around quoting Elisha Cook Jr.’s ominous closing line, “They’re coming for ME now … and then they’ll come for YOU …” which freaked out a few of my women grade-school teachers.)

Imagine, too, when “House on Haunted Hill” was remade in 1999 and set, not in a manipulative millionaire’s weird faux Mayan/art deco fortress, but in a disused asylum with a nasty history. True, the remake gets a little silly toward the end, but the set design is passing nightmarish: dark, clammy cells, grisly lab specimens, pseudo-scientific antique medical equipment and sadistic restraining devices … (It’s even more unsettling when you figure that the screenwriters didn’t just imagine that stuff: A lot of asylums in the bad old days of unregulated medicine probably weren’t much different from the Bedlam depicted in the movie.)

Mad doctors and maniacs aside, it’s the demons inside our own heads that we “normal” folks love to feed when the night of pumpkin heads rolls around. So it’s with perverse delight that I can report that the Black Lake Haunted Asylum is unbolting its doors for the second Halloween season, from Sat., Oct. 10, to Sat., Oct. 31. Constructed in the basement of Tacoma’s historic Freighthouse Square – a place I’d be loath to spend the night alone, whatever time of year – the Asylum promises to be a hell of a lot more than just your typical un-scary amusement-park haunted house: Featuring the work of extraordinarily talented and equally twisted local artist Ben Isitt (www.bensartworks.com) and an all-new production team of extremely creative professional psychopaths, the Asylum is a huge, 12,000-square-foot interpretation of “a medical research facility gone horribly wrong” (according to the press release) and carries a PG-13 rating. (Parents: This may be your chance to scare your preteen away from drugs!)

The Asylum is also more than a seasonal spine-tingler: It’s a community-service event where the “patients” (i.e., the visitors) are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food donation to benefit My Sister’s Pantry Food Bank in Tacoma (www.mysisterspantry.org), which will get them a buck off the price of admission.

There are other strange things afoot at Freighthouse Square while the Black Lake Haunted Asylum is loosening some bowels: 

• “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” enhanced with live performances. On Fri., Oct. 16, and Fri., Oct. 23, at 8 p.m. sharp, the Blue Mouseketeers of Tacoma will perform LIVE during showings of the cult favorite “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” which will be screened in its entirety. Prop bags for moviegoers are $1. Learn about the shows at www.tacomarockyhorror.net. Learn more about the Blue Mouseketeers’ home, The Blue Mouse Theatre in Tacoma’s historic Proctor District: Visit www.bluemousetheatre.com.
• Funky Monkey live broadcast. On Fri., Oct. 23, from 7 to 9 p.m., Funky Monkey (104.9 FM) will broadcast live from Freighthouse Square. Funky Monkey will also be giving away free pairs of tickets to the Asylum on their Web site from Oct. 8 to 17 and have an on-air ticket giveaway from Oct. 19 to 23, with one lucky winner winning the grand prize: An eerie evening for four that includes a chauffeured hearse ride for the evening; a complimentary meal for four at one of Tacoma’s best restaurants; two pairs of tickets to the Asylum and to another haunted house; promotional merchandise; and more. Get the scary details at www.funkymonkey1049.fm.
• Third Annual Pacific Northwest Hearse Rally. Herman Munster would love the Rain City Hearse Club, whose members will show off their classic hearses outside Freighthouse Square on Sat., Oct. 24, from 7 p.m. to midnight. Learn more at www.hauntedhearse.com or www.raincityhearse.org.

The 2009 Black Lake Haunted Asylum at Freighthouse Square is open from 7 p.m. to midnight on 15 evenings between Oct. 10 and Oct. 31: Visit the asylum Web site at www.blacklakeasylum.com for the schedule. Admission is $13 per “patient” ($1 off the price of one ticket at the door with military ID). Tickets can be purchased at the The Giving Place in Freighthouse Square, online through Web site or at the door (cash only; an ATM will be available). Get a $1 discount per ticket by purchasing in advance (Oct. 1–9) at The Giving Place (also cash only).

Freighthouse Square is located at 2501 East “D” St., Tacoma. Visit www.freighthousesquare.com for more information and directions.

And by the way: Black Lake Haunted Asylum is partnering with Pierce County Little Caesars locations to offer customers the Haunted Family Combo Pack (two large Hot-n-Ready pizzas, an order of Crazy Bread and a two-liter Pepsi product) for just $14.50 and get a voucher to get $8 off a four-pack of tickets to the Asylum (offer good while supplies last; cannot be combined with any other promotion). Visit www.pizzapizzanw.com for store locations.

Visit Black Lake Asylum for show times: www.blacklakeasylum.com

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Collector alert: Lincoln bicentennial auction closes Tues., Oct. 6!

It happens from time to time: I go to my mailbox (on Fri., Oct. 2, in this case) and pull out a Priority Mail envelope with a beautiful catalog for an auction being held only days later (Tues., Oct. 6) by an organization I never heard of: The Rail Splitter, who describe themselves on their Web site (www.railsplitter.com where the auction lots can also be viewed) as “a national organization of collectors, dealers and scholars interested in Abraham Lincoln and the material culture of the period.”

They go on to say that “we publish a quarterly journal, host Lincoln and Civil War auctions, sponsor exhibits and tours, and help buy, sell, and appraise historical Americana. We have members all across the country … people interested in everything from vintage photography to autographs, from political campaign memorabilia to stamps and coins, from assassination ephemera to relics – not to mention keepsakes of other personalities of the period.

We track auction results, report on recent finds, picture new discoveries, provide insight on authenticating an item and feature in-depth articles such as: how to determine the authenticity of a broadside; an examination of the Ford’s Theatre playbills and how to judge the different printings; Lincoln in photography – valuing CDVs (cartes de visite, small-size mounted photos) with different imprints; and so forth … We take pride in keeping the quarterly visual, graphic and fun to read.”

WOW! Not only do these Rail Splitter folks “get” the educational aspects of collecting – that it’s not base acquisitiveness but the building of a body of knowledge – they know how to make the hobby fun and inclusive!

They have also put together a first-class theme-based auction on the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth (and the first year of the first African-American presidency, I might add) that’s of interest to more than just devotees of Honest Abe, as they indicated. Certainly anyone with an interest in the Civil War is going to be all over this one – re-enactors, genealogists, collectors of individual Union and Confederate personalities, collectors of African-American history (a subject I look forward to writing on), photography enthusiasts, etc., etc.

They have also put together a first-class theme-based auction on the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth (and the first year of the first African-American presidency, I might add) that’s of interest to more than just devotees of Honest Abe, as they indicated. Certainly anyone with an interest in the Civil War is going to be all over this one – re-enactors, genealogists, collectors of individual Union and Confederate personalities, collectors of African-American history (a subject I look forward to writing on), photography enthusiasts, etc., etc.

Apparently, The Rail Splitter got my name and address from another auctioneer’s or autograph dealer’s mailing list. This seemed to be confirmed by The Rail Splitter’s auction go-to guy, the very personable Jonathan Mann, who is also the editor of the organization’s quarterly, “The Rail Splitter: A Journal for the Lincoln Collector” as well as a director of the Abraham Lincoln Institute (www.lincoln-insitute.org). That was apparently why I got my catalog so late: The extras were sent out people who hadn’t actually requested them. So sometimes having your name passed around is a good thing.

As I told Jonathan, I was disappointed: Not having known of them, and only just having received the catalog – and having pressing commitments for the next couple of days – I knew I couldn’t get a blog out fast enough to do much good. (I expect to blog their next auction well in advance: Apparently they hold them annually.)

There are upwards of 1,000 items in the current auction: autographs, Civil War letters and diaries, Lincoln assassination and mourning items, photography, political material, broadsides, ephemera, books, newspapers and artwork. Hammer prices are expected to run from the low hundreds for soldiers’ letters to tens of thousands of dollars for a couple of high-end Lincoln autographs, like a letter to General Lew Wallace (est. $25,000 to $30,000), who would later pen “Ben-Hur” and, as governor of New Mexico Territory, reject Billy the Kid’s appeal for amnesty. (Most signed Lincoln material is expected to sell in the $4,000–$7,000 range). There’s a 15 percent buyer’s premium. Here are a few interesting items in different price ranges that tickled my interest:

• Kentucky Confederate broadside from Lincoln’s birthplace. 10 x 11.5,” from the first month of the war, exhorting young men to enlist in the “great struggle now upon us.” (Est. $3,000–$5,000)
• Civil War regimental drum. From the 5th Maryland U.S. Infantry, carried during the war by Matthias Lowman. The drum made by the Union Drum Manufacturing Co. of Baltimore, with various inscriptions inside. Comes with original torn drumhead and six original leather tensioners. Needs restoration. (Est. $3,000–$5,000). [NOTE: I did my own search on Lowman (1849–1923, buried in Odenton, Md.): He enlisted in Oct. 1861 (at age 12 or 13, like a lot of drummer boys) and presumedly served at the Battle of Antietam and in his regiment’s other operations before being mustered out in Oct. 1864.]
• Carte de visite of a black soldier, autographed by him. Rare CDV of Sgt. George Smith of 2nd U.S. Colored Cavalry with signature on verso. (Est. $1,000–$1,500)
• Civil War playing cards. Full set of 52 “Union Playing Cards” in original box, made by American Playing Cards of New York. The cards, the box states, have “NATIONAL EMBLEMS!!” because “FOREIGN EMBLEMS USED LONG ENOUGH IN U.S.”: Columbia is a queen; Union generals are kings; shields, flags, eagles and stars replace the usual hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs. The cards show only minor signs of use but are in very fine condition. (Est. $1,000–$1,500)
• Letter by a Union Soldier with military, racial and sexual content. From Private Elbridge G. Pond, 2nd Mass. Heavy Artillery, 4pp., Moorehead City, N.C., Feb. 24, 1864, to a friend near his hometown of Monson, MA. In part, with original misspellings: “We have had stiring times since I wrote you last the rebels have attacked newbern and they have had a quite a tussel but have ben driven back … we expect that they would atact us we had about 200 nigers at work falling logs acrost the roads and thoughing in trenchments but they uisley dept away the gunboats would nock hell out of them for they can run up both sides of us we were dept in the fort for one week and slept by our loaded guns … you asked me if i got any skin i tell you the truth when i tell you i have not there is nothing to fuck but black and i would not do that …” With original envelope, stamp removed. (Est. $500–$750)

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Paper trails

Bob Kerstein is a “history detective” – specifically business history, a collecting area that most people probably hadn’t thought much about until the economy tanked over the past year. Not only are we all tied (albeit unwillingly) to Wall Street and the global economy, some people collect “business paper,” or documents and ephemera relating to specific companies, government projects and other enterprises. Or maybe they just collect a brand, like Coca-Cola. Well, Kerstein – a former executive at McCaw Cellular in Seattle and now based in Washington, D.C. – is the CEO of Scripophily.com , a company that sells vintage stock certificates and bonds, each of which has a story.

First National Bank of Seattle ( Became Seafirst Bank, now Bank of America) - Territory of Washington, 1884

Kerstein became interested in antique stock and other certificates after seeing Confederate bonds at a Civil War show some years ago. He remarked on how he likes to envision Gilded Age entrepreneurs traveling the country by rail or stagecoach, hawking beautiful, ornately engraved stock certificates in order to raise funds for their corporate ventures.

“It’s almost like they went to extremes to make the documents professional looking, engraved with nice vignettes” and sometimes marked “payable in gold” to reflect the financial standing of their companies, Kerstein explained. “It gave people a false sense of security (so to speak), because they didn’t have the gold set aside; they’d only convert them to dollars.”

Wells Fargo Mining Company - Virginia District, Story County, Nevada 1879

So, who are Kerstein’s customers? “We sell to everybody,” he says: people in the financial community, of course – for themselves or for friends, colleagues and family members – but also families with a connection to a particular company. “We sold something to a family whose grandfather was a secretary of the company, Pontiac Spring and Wagon Works, and signed it, and the company became a part of General Motors. It made the first Pontiac car; the certificate was dated 1907.”

Stock certificates make excellent conversation pieces for brand-loyal adults, and there are dozens to choose from. Got a Bill Gates wannabe on your gift list? How about a rare specimen share (an unused sample certificate) of Microsoft from 1990, with the engraved signature of then-president Michael R. Hallman, for $169.95? Does Uncle Bud like his Bud? He’ll appreciate a certificate for 10,000 shares in Anheuser-Busch (dated 1980) for $99.95. Want to broaden a youth’s capitalist horizons? A specimen certificate for Reebok ($195) or Nintendo ($149.95), or a single share of Sony ($59.95), will smell like teen spirit. For the woman in your life, how about a share in House of Taylor Jewelry (Elizabeth Taylor’s company, from $79.95), Frederick’s of Hollywood (from $24.95) or Hershey (from $69.95) to go with that diamond ring, lingerie or chocolate bar you were planning to give her? Was Dad a perfect Angel this year? A certificate for shares in Harley-Davidson (from $124.95) would look great in his den or garage? Americana aficionados can find everything from Krispy Kreme, Pepsi and Lionel to Boeing, Ford and Union Pacific. And for those with a bullish sense of humor, there are even certificates for the bad boys of business: companies like AIG, Enron, WorldCom and Lehman Brothers …

A number of factors influence price of a certificate – the pictures, the signatures, the company history – but a search of the Scripophily.com Web site shows many well under $100 and ranging to the thousands. Here in the Pacific Northwest, local trainspotters will like a 1910 Seattle-Tacoma Short Line certificate ($69.95), and baseball fans are bound to covet a 1939 Seattle Rainiers certificate signed by president Emil Sick ($695). And speaking of presidents, how about a 1927 certificate for The Buckeye Steel Castings Company of Columbus, Ohio, hand signed by president Samuel Prescott Bush – George W. Bush’s great-grandfather? “When Bush became president, that thing was hot, but now we can’t give them away,” Kerstein laughs. (Actually, it’s priced at $69.95.)

For those who find an old stock certificate in their attic or among family papers, Kerstein also offers a very popular stock research service to delve into the company’s history and determine if the stock is still active.

Want to give the gift of history? Visit www.scripophily.com.

Westinghouse Air Brake Company Check signed twice by George Westinghouse (Revenue Stamps on Back) - 1872

Images courtesy of Scripophily.com

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