‘Collector’s items’

Catalogs Received

Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers. Catalog 191 includes more than 300 new items. Some of the noteworthy content includes:

• the Northwest Ordinance
• a Confederate broadside
• the first report of George Washington’s death
• a great San Francisco earthquake issue
• a map of America in 1754
• rules for the Continental Army.

Visit www.rarenewspapers.com.

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Recommended

Recently I purchased a couple of watercolors from Alan Barnes Fine Art, a gallery in Santa Fe, NM. It was a very pleasant experience and I am delighted with my new acquisitions. Alan Barnes Fine Art has a very nice selection of 19th- and 20th-century works in different media. If you’re wondering what to buy the art lover on your holiday gift list this year, check out the gallery website: www.alanbarnesfineart.com.

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September’s Priciest

Abebook.com, that indispensible source for anyone who collects books or just wants an out-of-print copy at a great price, just released their list of “Top 10 Most Expensive Sales in September 2011.”

Topping the list is “Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae,” which Abebooks describes as “an eight-volume work cataloging representations of mythology in the plastic arts (i.e., architecture, ceramics, collage, conceptual art, drawing, glass art, land art, metalworking, mosaic, painting, paper art, among others) of antiquity” – although the book itself is hardly an antique: It was published in Zurich in 1981. The set sold for $14,067.

Number 10 on the list is 10. A signed first edition of Ken Kesey’s second novel, “Sometimes a Great Notion” (1964): It sold for $4,500. (Number 3 on the Abebooks list is Kesey’s first novel, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” published in 1962; it sold for $9,000. Take that, Kindle!)

Check out the whole list at www.abebooks.com … and NEVER bid on a book on eBay without looking for a similar copy on Abebooks first: You may well find a cheaper deal there or at least get a better idea of how high to go.

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A call for assistance to our readers

AmeriCollector.com often receives e-mails asking how much an item is worth. Whenever I can, I simply refer the writer to a trustworthy dealer or other person who might offer information on a collectible’s value. However, I thought it would be nice to open this up to our regular visitors.

A reader writes: “Our family has a canceled envelope dated Dec. 7, 1941, from Honolulu, Hawaii, and postmarked 9 a.m. The letter was written from a friend of the family who was on board the USS Arizona and went down with the ship. It was written on a USS Arizona letterhead with a picture of the ship at the top. The items are not in pristine condition, being 75 years old, but the stamp is very legible and the picture of the ship is clear. We were just wondering what the value would be for this type of cover.”

Any input would be much appreciated. Please e-mail us at letscollect (@) americollector (dot) com.

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‘Collector’s items’

Catalogs received

[singlepic id=441 w=200 h=150 float=left]Brian & Maria Green, Inc.: Civil War Autographs, Letters, Documents, Diaries, Currency and Stamps. I’ve purchased a few letters and documents from Brian that have Washington Territorial connections and have always been delighted with the purchases. He’s a fun guy to talk to and, I have found, reasonably priced. Check out his Civil War soldiers’ letters: Many have excellent content and seem to me to be priced quite a bit lower than they would fetch on eBay. If you’re shopping for a Civil War enthusiast this holiday season, visit Brian and his wife, Maria’s, site and let them know what you’re looking for. They’re based in Kennersville, NC. Their Fall 2011 catalog is viewable on BMGCivilWar.com.

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Ten Pound Island Book Company. I’m not only a regular customer of Greg Gibson’s (who was featured in “Collector’s items” on July 27, 2010), I regularly ask his advice on nautical books and documents. He’s the epitome of the “gentleman bookman”: generous with his insights, full of good humor and goodwill, always reasonably priced. His blog is great too. Greg is the author of “Demon of the Waters: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Whaleship ‘Globe’” and other books; he’s based in Gloucester, Mass. View his most recent catalog, Maritime List 205, at TenPound.com.

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Schubertiade Music LLC. Fall 2011 catalog: everything from classical to hard rock, including a copy of the Bob Dylan album “Bringing It All Back Home” that Jimi Hendrix inscribed “I dig it too” and signed (priced at $12,500): Go for it, Paul Allen! Visit SchubertiadeMusic.com.

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Events

Celebration of Western & Wildlife Art Show & Sale

Fri. to Sun., Oct. 7–9, at The Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center at the Puyallup Fair & Events Center (the Puyallup Fairgrounds) in Puyallup, Wash.

More than 100 of the country’s top Western artists will be showcased. Their work will include paintings, photography, carvings, bronzes, and jewelry, and the show features not only wildlife themes but Western, Victorian, historical and maritime scenes but landscapes, florals and portraits. Special events will include quick draws, a live auction of major pieces, silent auctions and free wine and cheese.

Other highlights: the Rainier 2 Cylinder Tractor Club’s display of tractors and farm equipment; the Rockin’ HW (original cowboy and Western song) with Alan Halvorson and Michael Whitaker; gospel hour Sunday morning with the Kingdon Singers; country music by Donn Allard; and pioneer spinning with Mickey Pederson.

The new CDs on the life and art of acclaimed Western artist Fred Oldfield will also be available! (For more on this Northwest icon, see “Fred Oldfield: Heart of the West” in the Oct. 21, 2009, AmeriCollector.)

Hours are Fri., Oct. 7, from 3 to 10 p.m.; Sat., Oct. 8, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sun., Oct. 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For information, call (253) 752-9708 or 1-866-445-9175 (toll-free) or visit Fred OldfieldCenter.net. For directions and info on the venue, visit TheFair.com.

Download flyer

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2012 Emerald City Comicon tickets now on sale, and special deals have been arranged with local hotels!

March 30–31 and April 1, 2012, at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. ECCC also announced a slew of new convention guests, including:

• Adi Granov, illustrator and designer of “Iron Man: Extremis” and conceptual designer/illustrator on the “Iron Man” films and the upcoming “Avengers” film.

• Christopher Yost, the current writer of “X-Men” and the head writer of “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” cartoon.

• Ryan Sohmer and Lar DeSouza, creators of the Shuster Award–winning online comics “Least I Could Do” and “Looking for Group.”

• David Mack, creator/writer/artist of “Kabuki” and well-known cover artist.

• Michael Avon Oeming, Harvey Award–winning co-creator and artist of “The Mice Templar,” “Powers,” “Rapture” (with Taki Soma; see below) and “God Complex.”

• Taki Soma, co-creator, co-writer and occasional cover artist of the “Dark Horse” comic-book series “Rapture.” She has also illustrated covers to “Path to Armageddon” and interiors for “Silent Forest.”

• Joe Benitez, creator/writer/artist of “Lady Mechanika.”

• Steve Niles, creator of the horror comics “Criminal Macabre,” “30 Days of Night,” “Edge of Doom,” “Doc Macabre” and “City of Dust.”

• Phil Noto, artist of “Wolverine,” “Jubilee,” “The Infinite Horizon,” “Avengers: The Origin,” and “Batman/Doc Savage.”

See the whole roster: Visit Emeraldcitycomicon.com.

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AUCTIONS

Railroad memorabilia (closes Fri., Aug. 26, at 5 p.m. MDT). Auction Catalog 80 features more than 500 individual lots. This is the auction that serious railroad buffs watch for – but gift givers, home decorators and others will find plenty of great stuff too. Full money-back guarantee for authenticity and customer satisfaction. Railroad Memories, Railroadmemories.com

BOOKS, ETC.

Fine press books. August sale: 20 percent off. Great books about books. Oak Knoll Books and Press, Oakknoll.com

Newly acquired books. Rare and fine illustrated books and first editions – definitely not for the hospital used-book table crowd. Some incredibly beautiful editions are featured. Check out my personal fave: “The Works of Edgar Allan Poe” (1903), with more than 50 full-page illustrations: 10 volumes limited to 1,000 sets, for $2,750. David Brass Rare Books, Davidbrassrarebooks.com

EVENTS

19th Annual Tacoma Maritime Fest (Sat. and Sun., Aug. 27 and 28, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.): Celebrating Tacoma’s maritime heritage, the Maritime Fest has merged with the Clean Green Boating Festival. At Thea’s Park (535 E. Dock St., Tacoma) and the Foss Waterway Seaport. Free Commencement Bay boat tours aboard the Good Time II, beer garden (must be 21 or older), free Tacoma Rail train rides, street performers, live bands, tours of the tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain, Native arts and crafts, activities for the kiddies and lots more! Free shuttle bus service. Visit Maritimefest.org and Fosswaterwayseaport.org.

2012 Emerald City Comicon (March 30–31 and April 1, 2012) announces next year’s first convention guests:

• Bill Sienkiewicz, Eisner award–winning and Emmy-nominated artist (Marvel Comics’ “Elektra: Assassin,” “Stray Toasters”).
• Tony Moore, artist (“Venom,” “Fear Agent,” “The Walking Dead”).
• Brian Clevinger (writer) and Scott Wegener (artist), co-creators of the Eisner-nominated series “Atomic Robo.”
• Dennis Calero, artist on Marvel Comics’ Noir books (“Luke Cage,” “X-Men,” “Mark of Cain,” “Weapon X,” “Spider-Man Noir,” “Punisher”) as well as “X-Factor,” “The Phantom,” “Doctor Solar: Man of the Atom,” “Dark Tower,” “Elric” and others.

Visit Emeraldcitycomicon.com.

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‘Collector’s items’: Catalogs received

Schubertiade Music LLC

(Winter 2011 catalog; received by e-mail)

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I admit it: I’m tone-deaf, can’t carry a tune, couldn’t even master playing a kazoo, and don’t collect anything music-related, but I always look forward to getting catalogs from Schubertiade Music (www.SchubertiadeMusic.com) because, frankly, I LOVE music, in spite of my lack of aptitude, and Schubertiade Music always has an interesting mix of autographs, photos, books, prints and ephemera. The newest catalog, just received, is no exception.

There are handwritten book reports by an adolescent Leonard Bernstein ($3,600); a business card of Gustav Mahler’s inscribed by him (“Would you please return my songs, which I need for a performance abroad. With friendly greetings”; $3,000); a testy Richard Strauss letter in which he declares, “I am not a factory of musical notes that works with guaranteed delivery” ($1,000); and lots more. If classical music isn’t your thing, there’s a great unsigned photo of Josephine Baker in one of her risqué outfits (or out of it) for $500 and one of her in casual attire, inscribed, for $375; three original photos of John Lennon and Yoko Ono ranging from $500 to $4,000 (the latter by Annie Leibovitz); and, for guitar mavens, a re-issue left-handed Höfner semi-acoustic bass guitar like the one used by Paul McCartney when the Beatles appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” … and this one is actually autographed by Paul in black felt tip on the mother-of-pearl pick guard ($6,500, hard-shell carrying case included).

The multitalented Gabriel Boyers, owner of Allston (Cambridge), Mass.–based Schubertiade Music, is an accomplished violinist and concertmaster with a very impressive musical resume; he’s also a poet who has been published in The Paris Review and Midstream. He’s also a member of the Professional Autograph Dealers Association and the Music Library Association. If you’re a serious music collector and you aren’t on Boyers’ mailing list, you’re missing the beat.

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All images courtesy of Schubertiade Music LLC, www.SchubertiadeMusic.com.

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Christophe Stickel Autographs

(Auction 180, closes Thurs., Feb. 24, at 9 p.m. PST; received by e-mail)

I’ve bid in several Christophe Stickel Autographs auctions and come away with some real prizes each time. Christophe runs a smaller operation than most auction houses, which and he usually has rare items mixed in with low-rent stuff (think of a Baron Manfred von Richthofen signed portrait alongside one of Larry the Cable Guy). Go figure. This month’s auction features an 8 x 10 black-and-white photo of the Japanese surrender aboard the U.S.S. Missouri at the end of World War II, signed by – get this! – Winston Churchill, Chester Nimitz, Douglas MacArthur and Admiral “Bull” Halsey (est. $5,500); a signed copy of Albert Einstein’s “The World as I see It” (est. $1,850); an inscribed copy of L. Frank Baum’s “The Master Key” (est. $5,000); and a 7 x 10 “Green Hornet” pin-up removed from a booklet and signed by Bruce Lee as Kato and Van Williams as the eponymous insect (est. $2,500) . . . along with a signed cast photo of “Boston Legal” (est. $150) and an autographed 8 x 10 of Ryan Seacrest (est. $45). Needless to say, there’s more: The fun is in the searching.

Christophe Stickel Autographs is based in Pacific Grove, Calif., and is a member of the Professional Autograph Dealers Association. Check out the offerings at www.StickelAutographs.com.

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‘Collector’s items’: Catalogs received

Babylon Revisited Rare Books

(Catalog 72, received by snail mail)

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Babylon Revisited, of East Woodstock, Conn., specializes in books with dust jackets published in the 1920s to 1940s – from modern classics and mysteries to “business fiction” and “sexposés” (see “You CAN judge a book by its cover – or, rather, its dust jacket” in AmeriCollector, July 8, 2010). Many of the books and authors are long forgotten, but oh, those jackets: pure period packaging, especially the ones featuring art deco designs. Cinema buffs will find some great early photoplays as well. Personal faves: the first American edition of Graham Greene’s “Brighton Rock” (1938), priced at $2,000; “Banzai” (1926, $225) by John Paris, about “a young Japanese boy seething with unrest and discontent, who comes to free himself from the shackles that the rigid conventions of Japan forced upon him”; and “Chinatown Inside Out” (1936, $165) by reformer Leong Gor Yun, a Chinese Jacob Riis writing about the seamy side of the city that few non-Asians knew of. Visit www.YesterdaysGallery.com.

Download catalog > We’ve provided a pdf version of the Babylon Revisited Rare Books catalog for your convenience.

Image and catalog courtesy of Babylon Revisited Rare Books.

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Ten Pound Island Book Company

(Maritime List 197, received by e-mail)

There are precious few booksellers who really specialize in maritime material; fewer still who have a varied and ever-changing stock, publish a dynamic and informative blog, issue frequent e-mail catalogs AND – of no small interest – offer great material at prices to match (I know: I’ve compared them). Greg Gibson of Ten Pound Island Book Company in Gloucester, Mass., is such a one; I briefly profiled Greg in “Collector’s items” on July 27, 2010, and want to remind nautical collectors, voyager-wannabes and the holiday gift-givers who shop for them to visit www.TenPound.com for books, documents, broadsides, photographs, trade cards and other paper seafaring memorabilia.

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Mike Brackin Americana & Militaria

(2010 Holiday Mail Catalog 143, received by snail mail)

I had never heard of Mike Brackin American & Militaria until his holiday catalog arrived in the mail earlier this week, probably because he got my name from another dealer’s mailing list. No problem: I love discovering new sources – especially when THEY come to ME. Mike offers a large and diverse selection of Americana – books, documents, photography and relics – from the antebellum period, the Civil War, the Indian Wars and subsequent eras. The price range is broad, with many interesting and affordable items – especially for those with Civil War collectors on their gift lists. (Keep in mind that next year, 2011, marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War!) Personal favorites: a regimentally marked 1868 Springfield trapdoor rifle with “19 CO D” on the stock ($750); a matching knife and fork set from a Civil War mess kit with two-piece bone grips and stamped “Passaic Cutlery Co” ($45); and an unmarried Connecticut woman’s 1771 request for court-ordered financial support for a “child begotten of her body in Fornication by one NW of Groton” ($125). (Note to self: There is nothing new under the sun.) Visit www.MikeBrackin.com.
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‘Collector’s items’

Bomsey Autographs update

[singlepic id=301 w=320 h=240 float=left]Virginia-based autograph dealer Ed Bomsey (‘Collectors items,’ Aug. 11) of Edward N. Bomsey Autographs (www.bomsey-autographs.com) has announced a lot of new stock. What I like about Ed, in addition to the fact that he’s a likable guy who knows a lot, is that he prices his items very reasonably – this, at a time when a lot of other dealers seem to pull crazy prices out of the air. If you want to get an early jump on holiday shopping, check out Ed’s site, which is arranged alphabetically as well as by category.

Image courtesy of Edward M. Bomsey Autographs

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‘Collector’s items’

[singlepic id=290 w=320 h=240 float=left]Great news about writer Nelson Algren: He’ll be inducted into The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame (www.chicagoliteraryhof.org) on Nov. 20 in a ceremony at Northeastern University along with five other American originals: Saul Bellow, Richard Wright, Gwendolyn Brooks, Studs Terkel and Lorraine Hansberry (whose 1959 play “A Raisin in the Sun” I read in high school English class many moons ago; it was made into a film starring Sidney Poitier). But that ain’t all: The Hall of Fame people have asked Algren’s friend and photo-chronicler Art Shay (“Focus on Art Shay,” Aug. 24) to accept the award on Algren’s behalf. What’s more, also in November, Chicago’s Thomas Masters Gallery (www.thomasmastersgallery.com) will be opening the newest exhibition of Art’s work. It runs from Fri., Dec. 3 (reception from 6 to 9 p.m.), through Fri., Dec. 24, and will feature 25 to 30 of Art’s photos, “the best of the best,” gallery owner Thomas Masters tells me. The Thomas Masters Gallery is located at 245 W. North Avenue, Chicago, tel. (312) 440-2322.

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Art Shay photo images copyright © Art Shay

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[singlepic id=289 w=320 h=240 float=left]Autograph dealer Ed Bomsey of Edward N. Bomsey Autographs (www.bomsey-autographs.com) in Virginia has sent around an e-mail noting he’s added many new additions to the listings on his site. I made Ed’s acquaintance a couple of months ago: A former lawyer whose collecting interests I plan to feature on AmeriCollector.com’s “What the Experts Collect,” Ed is erudite and friendly; he was the president of the The Manuscript Society (www.manuscript.org) from 2008 and chairman its ethics committee; he’s a former director of the Professional Autograph Dealers Association (www.padaweb.org); and he’s a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (www.abaa.org) and a life member of the Universal Autograph Collectors Club (www.uacc.info).

To me, Ed is an autograph seller of the old school: He has really nice autograph material, has very high professional standard, genuine loves working with collectors and – please note – takes pains to price his items reasonably: As he told me, “I believe that items I get at a reasonable cost can be marketed at a reasonable cost.” He also does appraisals.

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Images courtesy of Edward M. Bomsey Autographs, Inc.,
www.bomsey-autographs.com

I was interested to read about Rick Norsigian, 64, who paints public schools in Fresno, Calif.: He picked up a hoard of glass photographic negatives 10 years ago for $45 (bargaining down from $70) that may possibly be the work of the great Ansel Adams, whose beautiful monochrome images of Yosemite National Park are a staple of Sierra Club calendars. Norsigian has been researching his find – on the Internet, no doubt – and now there’s speculation that these may be Adams plates long believed to be destroyed and lost forever. A possible value of $200 million has been blithely bandied about: That includes reproduction rights, projected print sales, yada yada yada.

Now, I can be as gullible as the next guy, but when I first heard about the airhead newscaster on “Headline News” say, with an earnest face, $200 million – more than the GNP of a lot of Third World countries – for a bunch of glass negatives, I said something that Stephanie Irwin, who designs this site, advised me not to write down in case kids are reading this. An article in the July 28 Wall Street Journal made me feel justified in reacting as I did: Photography experts pointed out that (1) about twelve gazillion visitors to Yosemite in the 1920s were photographing El Capitán and anything else in sight, so there’s no proof yet that these plates were made by Ansel Adams, and (2) even if they WERE made by Adams, the value is in the PRINTS made from the plates, not in the plates themselves. So it’s not like the happy owner just won the California State Lottery’s MEGA Millions.

This news item reminded me of an “Antiques Roadshow” appraisal in which the expert noted that Adams signed the prints he made himself – which are the most valuable – while those made by his trusted assistant he only initialed and are therefore less valuable.

Personally, I hope the plates that Norsigian picked up ARE proven to be by Ansel Adams and that he can cash them in for enough to retire very comfortably and even have a Ferrari to drive in his dotage – never having to pick up a paint roller again. I especially admire him for taking the chance and for doing the research: That’s the beauty of the Internet Age, spammers and phishers and identity thieves aside: You can do a lot of the checking yourself. This is a lesson for all of us collectors: Be cynical, but don’t give up!

 

• One bookseller in Portland described a book as having been signed TWICE by the author. I knew for a fact that the book in question has a preface with a printed signature, so I asked her to conform that the book was signed twice; she confirmed this. When I received the book – which was not in as good a condition as described – and discovered that in fact it was signed only ONCE and the other signature was printed she got huffy, saying the book was still a good deal and she wouldn’t accept the return.
• Another bookseller sold me an 1883 book whose original title page had been removed and replaced with a glued-in photocopy. The photocopy was on new, heavier stock, not the cheap-o stuff they sometimes give you for free at Office Max in return for used LaserJet cartridges. Again, this was curiously absent from the description. Was this a deliberate attempt to deceive? Did the seller think I wouldn’t NOTICE? I’m waiting for an answer to my e-mail.
• A bookseller in Falls Church, Va., sold me an 1857 map of Western Washington, describing it as “V.G–. Light browning at one fold. Nice map.” One teensy-weensy problem: A rectangular chunk – almost half the border on one of the long sides – had been cut away. The map can’t be framed and is useless as a collectible. The seller was at least nice about, noting, “The map was issued and inserted in the Serial volume as you see it. Nevertheless I should have mentioned it in the description.” He offered me a partial refund if I want to keep it or a full refund if I want to keep it. (It’s going back.)
• A bookseller in Texas listed a book as “inscribed by the author.” Because the autograph of the author in question is rare, and the book was priced cheaply at relatively at $300, I asked to see a scan: The inscription was NOT in the author’s handwriting; what’s more, it was signed with initials, and the initials were not the author’s! I pointed out this small detail: The seller insisted that the inscription was the author’s and still has it listed.

I mentioned these disappointments to a bookseller in Georgia who is extremely conscientious about his descriptions. He replied: “Some (booksellers) are lazy and some are just incompetent.” Word to the wise: Request scans whenever possible. In lieu of a scan, don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions: Ask for a very detailed description of the item, including condition issues, the exact wording of any inscription, the presence or lack of a dust jacket, whether it is a true first or a later book club copy (check the back cover near the spine: There’s usually a pressed-in letter or design to indicate this) and what the seller’s return policy is.

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‘Collector’s items’

[singlepic id=260 w=320 h=240 float=left]If Great-Granddad was a ship captain – or just an armchair adventurer with a real nice library – and you have old nautical books, logs or charts that you want to sell, Greg Gibson of Ten Pound Island Book Company (www.tenpound.com) of Gloucester, Mass., may be the man to contact: He’s looking to purchase good, rare maritime material. I recently sold a few things to Greg and found him straightforward and easy to deal with. He also has a great blog and very fine items at very reasonable prices, so you might check out his site the next time you get fed up with the rat race and, like Herman Melville’s Ishmael, “account it high time to get to sea”: If your family, your job, your mortgage and your dog prevent you from signing on for a long sea voyage, Ten Pound Island is the next best thing.

Of course, with a shop full of histories of seafaring, naval battles royal, pirates, typhoons and other exciting stuff, I couldn’t help asking Greg what he collects himself. He replied: “I have a dealer’s mind-set. By definition this mentality steers away from collecting anything, or only collecting it to ultimately sell it. Thus my two major collections of works by Melville, my world-class local history collection, my collection of works by Gloucester poet Charles Olson – all sold! In my view, you can’t be a good dealer if you are also a collector, because you will always be working against yourself. I want to work WITH myself, FOR my customers, who are, and should be, the true collectors.

“Having said that, there’s one thing I collect: reference books. I’ve been collecting references of all sorts pertaining to maritime history for 35 years. By this time I’ve accumulated an excellent working library, and I take great pride in it.”

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Images courtesy of Ten Pound Books Company | www.tenpound.com  

Print collectors in the Denver area will be interested to know that Christopher Lane, “Antiques Roadshow” appraiser and co-owner of The Philadelphia Print Shop (www.philaprintshop.com) – located, not surprisingly, in the City of Brotherly Love – will soon be spreading the love of prints to the Denver area: “My wife got offered a great job at Denver Children’s Hospital, so off we are going to the Mile High City! My partner (Don Cresswell) and I decided this would be a great opportunity to expand our business, so I am going to open a shop in the Cherry Creek section of Denver. I am moving out in September and the shop should be open sometime in October.” Chris told me that The Philadelphia Print Shop (West) will have carry the same material as the original shop as well as share the same Web site but that the Denver shop will focus on western images. “I will also probably start to pick up some antique shows in the western part of the county and am going to be exhibiting at The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show (www.sffas.org) on Oct. 28–31. A whole new adventure!” he added.

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Images courtesy of the Philadelphia Print Shop | www.philaprintshop.com

See Christopher Lane on “Antiques Roadshow” (Las Vegas) on Mon., Aug. 2, on your local PBS station! And watch for his upcoming “What the Experts Collect” profile here on AmeriCollector.com!

[singlepic id=263 w=320 h=240 float=left]<p>Anyone who doesn’t believe that auction catalogs can be collector’s items themselves should check out Heritage Auctions Galleries’ (www.ha.com) 2010 August Signature Sports Auction catalog with a hologram cover image of one of the auction items: a large 1932 photo of Babe Ruth whispering something to an amused Lou Gehrig and signed by both (current bid at this writing, $25,000; expected to fetch $50,000+)! This is only one of 86 primo items from the world of sports that are being auctioned off in conjunction with the National Sports Collectors Convention (www.nsccshow.com) in Baltimore Aug. 6–8.</p>

Football fans will be drawn to 1960 Don Meredith game-worn Dallas Cowboys rookie helmet (now at $3,000; estimated to get $10,000+). “Any game worn gear from the first Cowboys season would carry tremendous collecting importance,” says Chris Ivey, director of Heritage Auction Galleries’ Sports Collectibles division. “It’s just the icing on the cake that (this helmet) happens to come from the locker of one of the greatest Cowboys of all.”

Some other choice lots that made my mouth water: a “Wahoo” Sam Crawford game-used baseball bat with a 1913 fountain-pen inscription from the Detroit Tigers outfielder to a collector (now at $15,000, estimated to get $50,000+); Ken Norton’s 1973 North American Boxing Federation heavyweight championship belt ,awarded for his victory over Muhammad Ali (now at $11,000; estimated to get $40,000+); and, speaking of The Greatest, a 1960 handwritten letter signed “Your Fighting Friend, Cassius Clay, U.S. Champ” written while the 18-year-old legend-in-the-making was training for the Rome Olympics (the return address on the mailing envelope, which is included and is also handwritten by Clay/Ali, says: “Cassius M. Clay, c/o Special Service, U.S. Olympic Boxing team, Building 5434, Fort Dix, N.J.”; now at $6,000; expected to fetch $10,000+).

The auction ends Thurs., Aug. 5.

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Images courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries | www.ha.com

Check out the newly updated AmeriCollector.com Collector’s Calendar by clicking on “Calendar” (above), where you’ll find events of interest through December 2010 in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, California, Arizona and Nevada. It’s a work in progress: We’ll be adding more events to these lists as well as events in other states (we’re working our way eastward), plus a slew of online auctions. Keep watching for new listings in the weeks and months ahead!

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‘Collector’s items’

[singlepic id=219 w=320 h=240 float=left]I was saddened to read that artist Frank Frazetta passed away on May 10 at age 82. Frazetta was the guy who gave a face to Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian, and his cover illustrations for horror comics like Creepy and Eerie in the late 1960s and early ’70s had a huge influence on me. I’ve heard that Frazetta was pooh-poohed by the artistic “establishment,” but if art is about stoking emotions and making people dream, then in my lowbrow estimation he was as good as any painter you can name. With his flint-faced, slab-muscled berserkers and buxom Hyborian hotties, Frazetta embodies the genre of heroic fantasy art and has many imitators – some with arguably better technical ability – but these are only anemic amateurs compared to the Brooklyn-born Caravaggio of Cimmerian carnage, our own Goya of Gothic ghastliness. Fare thee well, Frank.

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The Railroad Memories auction ended last Fri., June 18. Owner Susan Knous said there were about 50 Internet bidders: “The participation was great and overall I had some record-breaking prices, so I felt it was a really good sale.” No-bid items went on sale for the price of the minimum bid; most have already sold, but there is still some nice stuff. Go to www.RailroadMemories.com, click on “AUCTION CATALOG 76 CLOSED,” then click on “NO BID ITEMS.” (By the way, I was able to win one of the Denver & Rio Grande stock certificates signed by Otto Mears!)

For Americana collectors, I highly recommend A Glimpse of Americana (www.AGlimpse.com). They have lots of great vintage photos as well as newspapers, ephemera, letters and other great stuff, in subcategories like “Native American,” “Wild West,” “Maritime,” “Circus & Sideshow,” “Wheeled Vehicles,” “Fairs & Expos,” “Police & Firefighting” and many more – and at really good prices, in my opinion. I have purchased a number of items from them over the past couple of years and have always been pleased.

Diner fans who read the post “A blast from the repast” (Sept. 21, 2009) will recall that author Richard Gutman, author of the 1979 classic “American Diners” and now curator and director of the Culinary Arts Museum at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., stirred folks’ nostalgia for diners and helped rescue this icon of American food culture just as it was on the verge of disappearing. Richard is the subject of a June 15 post on Smithsonian.com by Sarah Saffian.

Clay Moyle, author of “Sam Langford: Boxing’s Greatest Uncrowned Champion” (profiled in “Resurrecting Sam Langford” on May 14), reports growing interest in his book about an exceptional fighter who might have been a world heavyweight champion if he hadn’t been the wrong color. I predict a major publisher will pick up and reissue this self-published work. Purchase it from Amazon.com or get a copy signed by Clay by visiting www.PrizefightingBooks.com.

The new season of “History Detectives”   (www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives) started Mon., June 21, on PBS. It’s an excellent show, and a real lesson in how far you can go in researching an item. There’s a new full-time co-host, Eduardo Pagan, a professor at Arizona State University and author of “Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon: Zoot Suits, Race, and Riots in Wartime L.A.” (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003), who specializes in the American Southwest. If you’re a new visitor to this blog, check out our interview with History Detective Elyse Luray (“What the experts collect” on Jan. 26, 2010). And keep an eye peeled for our forthcoming interview with History Detective Tukufu Zuberi here on AmeriCollector.com!

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