‘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.