This Estey Eastlake-style organ was made circa 1890 and is of a type generic to the North Eastern U.S. and Canada. While why may be loved, and this isn’t even taking its sound into account, they don’t sell for more than $200.

The next item in this series of Unloved Antiques is the 19th-century “pump” or “reed” organ, or the Estey “Eastlake-style”* organ, to be more precise. The reed organ was once an important domestic instrument, offering a cheap alternative to the ever-popular family piano while, at the same time, providing a suitable instrument for accompanying family hymns on a Sunday. It was the product of a world-wide industry that turned out hundreds of thousands of organs a year at its peak.

According to old catalogs produced by the Estey company, it was founded in 1846—located in Brattleboro, Vt.—and was one of the best-known and longest-lasting of these organ companies, remaining in production until 1960. It was also one of the most prodigious, as in its 114-year existence, Estey produced some 520,000 reed organs. Like piano makers of the time, Estey numbered its products with serial numbers—either stamped on the back of the organ or on an internal sticker—so if you have one of these Esteys, you can get a rough idea about when it was made. For example, an organ from 1850 was stamped “400,” and by 1870, the numbers were up to 24,000. In 1880 it produced its 100,000th organ and in 1890 it turned out No. 221,000.

Demand for reed or pump organs dropped off after the First World War, and most ended up stored in back rooms and barns. Demand for them for is still very modest, and many were often converted into desks or bars by antique dealers looking to make them a more marketable item.

In the current market, values for them in “as is” condition at auction is still very modest and depends on who wants one and how bad. Of the 55 Estey Eastlake organs I’ve seen come up for auction over the last couple of years, 17 failed to even meet their modest reserves, while the remaining 35 sold for less than $200. Only three sold for more than $200.

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*Charles Eastlake was an English Designer who wrote a design book entitled “Hints on Household Taste” in 1868. In this influential book, he rejected the ornate decorations favored in earlier Victorian furniture and espoused a more simple design featuring incised rectangular lines sparingly accented with machined forms and varying wood types for decoration.

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Previous “Unloved Antiques” articles:

• Unloved Antiques: ‘Limited Edition’ Collectors Plates
• Unloved Antiques: Singer Sewing Machines
• Unloved Antiques: Decorator Prints
• Unloved Antiques: Commemorative Whiskey Decanters
• Unloved Antiques: ‘Bronze’ Flatware
• Unloved Antiques: 1847 Rogers Brothers Flatware
• Unloved Antiques: Hummel Knockoffs
• Unloved Antiques: National Geographic Magazines
• Unloved Antiques: Dragonware
• Unloved Antiques: 19th Century Religious Prints
• Unloved Antiques: Depression Glass
• Unloved Antiques: Stradivarius-Style Violins

Mike Wilcox, of Wilcox & Hall Appraisers, is a Worthologist who specializes in Art Nouveau and the Arts and Craft movement.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

A violin with a label stating: “Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno, which was used a part of a marketing strategy, indicating the violin was designed after originals by Antonio Stradivari. It is worth, usually, around $75.

The twelfth item in this series of “Unloved Antiques” is the world-famous “Stradivarius Violins.” Nothing hits the popular-culture’s buttons better than the idea of a found treasure, which shows like “American Pickers, “Storage Wars,” “Auction Hunters” and the venerable “Antiques Roadshow” highlight on a weekly basis. The rarer the item, the more a collector’s heart goes pitapat, and nothing makes it beat faster than finding the name “Stradivarius” on a violin.

If genuine it’s—the rarest of the rare—it’s a ticket to early retirement to the south of France or wherever your fancy may take you.* The name is so ingrained with “treasure” in popular culture that even those who haven’t collected anything but shiny shells on the beach as a child know it means a rare violin of huge value, made by a master craftsman.

The legend of the Stradivarius is an old one regarding an Italian luthier (a maker of stringed instruments), one Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737). While his legendary violins are best known, he also is said to have produced cellos, guitars, violas and harps. In all, it’s been estimated that Antonio Stradivari was responsible for 1,000 to 1,100 instruments, of which some 650 have been identified to have survived. Of this 650, references claim that 450 to 512 of these survivors are violins, of which the whereabouts are well recorded. But this important piece of knowledge is not as common as the stories of their value.

In the course of my career, I’ve probably had dozen “Stradivarius” violins a year lovingly placed in my hands at antique appraisal events, all of them glued inside with the immortal label “Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno” (with the date printed or hand written). These labels were not really meant to deceive the buyer when originally used; it was more of a market strategy to indicate the violin was designed after originals by Antonio Stradivari.

The quality of these bogus “Strads” varies tremendously, from terrible to quite good. Nearly all these examples were made in Germany or Czechoslovakia from the turn of the 19th century through the 1920s. Some, those made before 1891, will have country-of-origin marks, such as “Germany” or “Made In Germany” clearly visible, a practice necessary to comply with America Trade tariff laws. As the American market was the largest one at the time, most musical instrument manufacturers were very quick to comply, producing tens of thousands of these Stradivarius copies during the closing years of the 19th century.

In the current market values for these late 19th to early 20th-century Strads vary, depending on the quality of construction, condition and sound; something that would have to be determined by a specialist who deals with stringed instruments. That said, one often see these German or Czechoslovakian copies selling for less than $75 at auction.

*Today, a genuine Stradivarius can sell for enormous sums. One of the most recent and famous of his pieces is a violin he completed in 1721, which is known as “Lady Blunt.” It was named for Lord Byron’s granddaughter, Lady Anne Blunt, who owned it for 30 years. The “Lady Blunt” sold for on July 21, 2011for a sum of $15,932,115.

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Previous “Unloved Antiques” articles:

• Unloved Antiques: ‘Limited Edition’ Collectors Plates
• Unloved Antiques: Singer Sewing Machines
• Unloved Antiques: Decorator Prints
• Unloved Antiques: Commemorative Whiskey Decanters
• Unloved Antiques: ‘Bronze’ Flatware
• Unloved Antiques: 1847 Rogers Brothers Flatware
• Unloved Antiques: Hummel Knockoffs
• Unloved Antiques: National Geographic Magazines
• Unloved Antiques: Dragonware
• Unloved Antiques: 19th Century Religious Prints
• Unloved Antiques: Depression Glass

Mike Wilcox, of Wilcox & Hall Appraisers, is a Worthologist who specializes in Art Nouveau and the Arts and Craft movement.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Follow the exciting action and bid live on Auction Network.

This phenomenal sale includes items that represent more than 70 years of music history from the jazz-age greats to rock-’n’-roll legends. An extensive amount of Rolling Stones and Beatles memorabilia tops the list along with guitars played onstage by David Bowie and Eric Clapton. There are also recording contracts signed by Frank Sinatra and Elton John, and Bob Dylan memorabilia.

Lot 3 hits the auction running with signatures from two highly marketable icons. Madonna and Andy Warhol autographed the 1985 issue of “Interview” magazine in which she was interviewed by actor Harry Dean Stanton. It was big year for the Material Girl. She married Sean Penn and made her acting debut in “Desperately Seeking Susan.” Madonna told Stanton, “I’ve had enough blasphemous photographs. Everyone knows I am a bad girl.” “Interview,” founded in 1969 by Warhol, was dedicated to the cult of personality with celebrities interviewing celebrities. The estimate is a low starter of $800-$1,200.

"Interview" magazine

Lot 4, a Police-signed Fender Stratocaster. This guitar has the signatures of members of the band, Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland. In 2003, Police was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2007, the band celebrated the 30th anniversary of the song, “Roxanne,” which got them their contract with A&M Records. Estimate: $1,000-$2,000.

Fender Stratocaster

Police signatures

Lot 102, an Elvis Presley handwritten speech. With an estimate of $2,000 to $4,000, this rare handwritten document on personalized stationary reads, “And these gentlemen here, these type people, who care. They’re dedicated, you realize they might be building the Kingdom of heaven right here, it’s not hard to believe that.” The letter measures 5 inches by 5 inches” and is in excellent condition.

Lot 101, Guns N’ Roses original cover art. Drawn by Billy White Jr. in 1987, this original pencil-on-paper drawing was used as the album cover image for Guns N’ Roses’ “Appetite For Destruction.” It was the band’s first release and catapulted them into stardom. The album has gone platinum 18 times. Estimate: $2,000-$4,000.

Album cover from pencil drawing

Neil Diamond, voted this Grammys’ person of the year, has donated his 1956 vintage Ford Thunderbird convertible. Lot 87A is a fully loaded gem, which was Ford’s answer to Chevrolet’s Corvette. Included with this mint-condition vehicle is the original license plate, which reads “Eice.” Diamond had considered using Eice Charry as his stage name. This classic car has the not-surprising estimate of $50,000 to $60,000. This one’s going to go through the roof.

– By Christopher Kent, a member of the WorthPoint board of advisers and director of evaluations for WorthPoint. He is also an antiques and collectibles generalist, fine-arts broker and president of CTK Design.

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Collecting has gone global, thanks to the Internet. As a result, antiques and collectibles divide into two groups: (1) those that have a global market and (2) those with only a national or regional market. Beatles memorabilia and Royal Doulton are two examples of collecting categories that have a global market. Ceramic categories such as Hall, Hull, Roseville, Weller, etc., illustrate categories whose marketplace is limited to their country of origin.

America is the mother lode for antiques and collectibles. After World War I, during the Depression and in the two decades following World War II, American collectors and dealers raided the antiques and collectibles treasures of Africa, Asia, Europe, Central and South America, and other parts of the world.

Foreign items returning home

As the economic power of these countries increases, especially through the creation of a viable upper-middle and lower-upper class, private individuals and others are coming to American to buy back their historical heritage. Large quantities of Asian and European objects sold at auction are going back over the east or west horizon.

After World War II, the world was influenced by American movies, music and television. Licensed product associated with these three categories is collected worldwide. While some foreign licensed rights were issued, foreign collectors want the products sold in America, most of which did not appear abroad. A French Coca-Cola collector has far more American than French objects in his collection.

The trend toward investing in antiques and collectibles is increasing, thanks to the current world economic situation. Investors are moving from intangibles, such as bonds and stocks, to tangibles, such as gold and antiques and collectibles. Whereas Japanese investors played a significant role in the 1990s and early-21st-century market, today’s investors are likely to be from Arabic countries or Russia. These investors want the best of the best. They buy it wherever they find it, at home or abroad.

Online auctions broaden collectibles and antiques markets

Thanks to eBayliveauctions, no longer in business, worldwide collectors, dealers and investors want ready access to the American auction marketplace. Several firms, e.g., Artfact and Proxibid.com, have created platforms to replace eBayliveauctions. The viewing audience for these sites is smaller than for eBayliveauctions. The number will grow. Some sites will fall by the wayside; others merge. What will not change is the appetite of foreign buyers to play an active role in the American auction scene.

Some things sell better in one market than another, the result of personal preference and other considerations. When I visited antiques shops in Germany, I was astonished at the prices asked for pearl-handled fruit-knife sets, double to triple what they bring in the United States. Check out the clock and music box prices in Amsterdam’s antiques row, three to 10 times those for the same pieces in the United States market. Likewise, German collectors have little to no interest in late-19th/early-20th-century inkwells. Buy them in Germany, and sell them in the United States at triple what you paid.

Americans are jingoistic and isolationist when it comes to the antiques and collectibles marketplace. It is time to remove the blinders. The market is global. The next step is to determine the where, when and how.

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Rinker Enterprises and Harry L. Rinker are on the Internet. Check out his Web site.

You can listen and participate in “WHATCHA GOT?,” Harry’s antiques-and-collectibles radio call-in show on Sunday mornings between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Eastern Time. If you cannot find it on a station in your area, WHATCHA GOT?” streams live and is archived on the Internet.

“SELL, KEEP OR TOSS? HOW TO DOWNSIZE A HOME, SETTLE AN ESTATE, AND APPRAISE PERSONAL PROPERTY” (House of Collectibles, an imprint of the Random House Information Group), Harry’s latest book, is available at your favorite bookstore and via Harry’s Web site.

Harry L. Rinker welcomes questions from readers about collectibles, those mass-produced items from the 20th century. Selected letters will be answered on this site. Harry cannot provide personal answers. Photos and other material submitted cannot be returned. Send your questions to: Rinker on Collectibles, 5093 Vera Cruz Road, Emmaus, PA 18049. You also can e-mail your questions to harrylrinker [at] aol [dot] com. Only e-mails containing a full name and mailing address will be considered. Please indicate that these are questions for WorthPoint.

Meet Harry Rinker in person at the 8th Annual Northeastern Pennsylvania Home & Garden Show, Jan. 23-25, in Wilkes-Barre. He will also be appearing at the 8th Annual Southeast Pennsylvania Home & Garden Show, March 13-15, in Reading.

WorthPoint—Get the Most from Your Antiques & Collectibles

The original “Monster Mash” single spent two weeks at the top of the charts in October 1962, providing a whimsical respite to America’s anxiety over the Cuban Missile Crisis. Reissued twice, the single reached Number 91 in 1970 and Number 10 in 1972. All are desirable collectibles, but the original 45, with its ghoulish sleeve, is the most sought after and can be found for less than $20 online.

The top 20 “Monster Mash” album, also from 1962, is the holy grail of dual Halloween/vinyl collectibles. The mono and stereo versions currently book at $150 and $250, respectively, in the Goldmine catalog of American records, although high-grade copies can usually be found online for considerably less. The rare LP contains the title cut and fifteen other tracks, all in the same party-hearty vein

“Monster Mash” was the brainchild of Bobby Pickett and Lenny Capizzi, fellow members of the Cordials, a singing group that gigged around Los Angeles in the early 1960s. A horror-movie aficionado and aspiring actor, Pickett had long since perfected his spot-on impression of actor Boris Karloff’s distinctive, debonair-but-spooky baritone and used it to show-stopping effect in the monologue portion of the Cordials’ performance of “Little Darlin’.”

Determined to fully exploit Pickett’s talent, the friends spent just two hours concocting the story of an impromptu monster party in a mad scientist’s castle and setting it to a simple, four-chord melody. Their demo caught the fancy of producer/arranger Gary Paxton, who recruited an all-star band (including the Ventures’ Mel Taylor on drums and legend-to-be Leon Russell on piano) to back up Pickett’s Karloffian homage. Legend has it the Crypt-Kickers, as the band was dubbed, recorded the song in one take.

Four major labels slammed the door in Paxton’s face. Undaunted, he pressed a thousand copies of “Monster Mash” (the title capitalized on the then-current Mashed Potato dance craze) on his own label, Garpax, and hand delivered them to deejays along the California coast. The song’s witty lyrics, boss sound effects and surf-rock vibe caught on in a flash, propelling the song to number one in eight weeks (with a little help from a contract with London Records) and making Bobby “Boris” Pickett a household name.

Song’s fans range from Boris Karloff to Bob Dylan

Over the years, artists as diverse as TV horror-flick host Zacherley, the Beach Boys and Mannheim Steamroller have covered “Monster Mash,” but Pickett’s version remains the Halloween mainstay. Boris Karloff paid Pickett the ultimate tribute when he performed the song on the Halloween eve segment of TV’s “Shindig” in 1965. Other famous fans include novelty-song maven Dr. Demento and Bob Dylan, who has played it on his XM Satellite Radio show. The song’s appeal was apparently lost on Elvis Presley, however, who reportedly dissed it as “stupid.”

“Monster’s Holiday,” a Christmas sequel to “Monster Mash” that reached #30 in 1962, was Pickett’s only other major chart appearance. Pickett toured tirelessly in oldies shows, introducing performances with the quip, “I’d like to perform a medley of my hit.” He died from leukemia in 2007 at the age of 69.

Resurrected every Halloween, this monster boogie classic stands alone among offbeat vinyl collectibles.

WorthPoint—Get the Most from Your Antiques & Collectibles

Early Car Makers Desired Hit Song to Boost Sales

By Dave Bausch

In the field of Automobilia, the one subject most collected is advertising. Advertising took many forms: posters, prints, toys, magazine ads, postcards just to name a few. But the one that most of the automobile makers yearned for was to have their specific model of car depicted on sheet music.

If the tune was catchy, and the words embellished the car and the effect the owner/driver had on the young ladies, it would be a sure winner for the automobile manufacturer. Many examples of early songs can still be found at antique paper shows and even at garage sales, and still at an affordable price. The rarer the featured automobile, the more pricey the sheet music.

The most common sheet music would be “In My Merry Oldsmobile,” a tune which was used over and over again for many years. A more scarce piece of music would be “In My Mercer Racing Car,” or “Packard and the Ford,” from 1913 and 1915, respectively.

Condition, like for most collectables, is important. If the featured car in the music is rare enough, though, condition may be less important. But surely the price will certainly be higher for those in better condition.

Graphics on the cover of the sheet music will also contribute greatly to the value. There were more then 100 different song sheets picturing early automobiles. The range for automobile sheet music is anywhere from $5 to $125. You just might be lucky and find a rare copy at a good price. That, after all, is the fun of collecting.

Paris and antiques—can it get any better?

Ah, to be in Paris in September. Ah, to be in Paris any time of the year. For antiques collectors, September has the added appeal of the Biennale des Antiquaires running through September 21 in the Grand Palais.

The New York Times reports that there are 94 exhibitors with an incredible selection of classical furniture. But not necessarily for those of the faint of heart and paltry funds. One dealer has an André-Charles Boulle writing desk from the 1690s. Price? You can have it for $9.1 million.

Other notable antiques up for sale are a Louis XV Rococo commode, what the Times deems as a “fantastic” 17th-century Melchior Baumgartner cabinet, a bronze Chinese water buffalo from the fifth to third century B.C., and much, much more.

Oh, to be in Paris—with a sizable bank account.

Strumming collectibles

On a more affordable note is the upcoming auction of Martin guitars.

The Morning Call of the Lehigh Valley, Pa., writes that Christie’s, New York, will be selling 49 Martin-made guitars as the company is celebrating its 175th anniversary.

There are those, such as Scott Pavloty, who swear by the quality of this manufacturer. “Martins are just really big and booming sounding,” he says. “They’re great for strumming.

Among the instruments being sold at the October 10 auction are Eric Clapton, Woody Guthrie and Graham Nash signature guitars, prototypes and experimental editions.

Proceeds will go to the Martin Guitar Charitable Foundation.

Look, up in the sky. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s a Superman auction.

Brad Meltzer is a writer of novels and comic books who loves, really loves Superman. So much so that two weeks ago, he started an online auction to raise money earmarked to save the home where Jerry Siegel, co-creator of Superman, grew up.

The Cleveland house was, to put it mildly, a wreck. “The house where Google was founded is preserved,” Meltzer wrote on his Web site. “The garage where Hewlett Packard was founded is protected. But the house where Superman was born? I was in shock.”

He set about coming up with $50,000 to repair the roof and exterior. TV station WKYC in Cleveland and Akron reports that to date $53,455 has been raised. And the online auction goes to 11:59 p.m. September 30.

There are a lot of incredible collectibles left. How about the original cover artwork for “Final Crisis: Superman beyond 3-D” Number 2? Or an original Bizarro painting by Felipe Massafera? An original Superman color illustration by Matt Wagner, creator of “Grendel” and “Mage”?

The complete auction list of these collectibles can be found at Ordinary People Change the World.

Some bloomin’ collectibles

An English woman packed away stockings she inherited from her mother. Now 82, Mary Youings decided to put them up for auction with a listing of £150 to £200. (That’s approximately $265 to $350.)

Imagine the former teacher’s surprise and delight when the gavel came down at $14,000. Oh, did we fail to mention her mother wasn’t the first owner of the stockings? That would have been Queen Victoria. The BBC reports that the “auction house believes the quality of the hand stitching, the black and white two-tone silk finish and the fact they include the Royal Crest is evidence that they were worn by the queen in the 1870s.”

Fifty-inch bloomers once worn by the queen brought in $8,000 at the same auction near Derby, England.

Fired-up collectibles

At least Queen Victoria’s collectibles were in good shape.

Rock ’n’ roll legend Jimi Hendrix had a penchant for, well, getting fired up during performances. Hendrix was filmed burning his guitar at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. In the same year, he torched his Fender Stratocaster guitar while performing in England.

Somehow the damaged instrument ended up the garage of the parents of Hendrix’s publicist, Tony Garland. More than 40 years later, Garland came across the guitar and didn’t some hmmming, wondering if it was worth anything.

Try $497,5000 of worth something, according to the Associated Press. Other items sold at the same London auction were the Beatles’ first contract with manager Brian Epstein ($426,000), Elvis Presley’s application to carry a concealed weapon in California and as an added bonus, a set of his fingerprints ($81,740), a bathrobe worn by John Lennon in the 1960s ($7,000) and a silk scarf Margaret Thatcher sported in 1979 ($700).

Collectibles auction tinged with sadness

Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor was killed in a home invasion last year in Miami. Last weekend, contents of his Washington-area estate were put up for auction with proceeds going into a trust fund for his infant daughter who was reportedly left out of the will.

One attendee told the The Washington Post that he was “tore up” by Taylor’s death and was “getting goose bumps talking about it now.”

There was wide array of items from a couple of bars of Irish Spring soap to a 9-mm German handgun. Interspersed among the fishing poles and Fabreze were only a few true collectibles, a rack of custom Cowboys/Redskins billiard balls for one, a signed Redskins football for another.

Joyce Brooks of Brooks auctions reported that $7,375.50 was raised for the fund. The Brooks commission, she said, is between 30 and 50 percent.

On a relatively mild November day, I stopped by Zero Street Records in Omaha, NE to shop for LPs and visit with Mike Garber, the shop owner and WorthPoint Worthologist (check out his profile by clicking the Worthologists link at the top of the page). As I shop for records, Mike and I swap stories about recent finds, the internet, and what we’d been listening to lately.

This is Mike’s second shop and it’s one of my favorite places to frequent for great deals on records. Today, there is reggae playing on the stereo as I thumb through the new arrival bin. Grading records can be subjective, so it’s a bonus to be able to look at a record in person before you buy it. Mike uses a universal grading scale published in Goldmine magazine, but he also grades very conservatively. When he sells online, buyers are always pleased with their purchase.

I’ve bought many records from Mike and wish I had more time to play them. As I walk around the store, I look on the wall and see a Nick Drake record that I haven’t played in a long time and make a note to play my copy when I get home.

Last night, I met up with Mike Garber, WorthPoint’s vinyl record Worthologist and owner of Zero Street Records in Omaha, NE to see how things were going in the record collecting world. Mike just returned from a buying trip in Colorado and said that he had a good time finding records for the store and for trade.

I asked Mike to pick a few records from his inventory to talk about and he selected three obscure records from Nebraska that are in demand because of their scarcity and sound.

The first record is a 45 released in 1960 for the rockabilly / instrumental group The Shades. The tracks are “Tidal Wave” and “Shady”. This record was never issued with a picture sleeve, but Mike’s copy retains the original dust sleeve with the label (Eyeball Record Company) and address ink stamped on it. Mike said, “What might at first look like a surf record in actuality is a real nice and obscure instro from the rockabilly era”. I naively asked Mike if there were other notable rockabilly bands from Nebraska and he listed artists including Sparkle More, Lou and Red Berry, Carl Cherry, Dennis Volk, and Bobby Lowell. I googled Bobby Lowell and read that he is considered to be Nebraska’s first Rock n’ Roll recording artist.

The next record Mike showed me was a self-titled LP for a band called Heaven. It was released on W/W records in 1969. Mike described Heaven as a horn-rock band influenced by the psychedelic era. The term “horn-rock” made me grimace with thoughts of the band Chicago, but Mike reassured me that this record was nothing like them. He said, “While most horn-rock records are not desirable to psych collectors, the true underground and progressive nature of this record has made it sought after on that scene”. Only 500 copies were pressed, which gets a collector’s blood pumping.

The third record Mike wanted to show me was what he claims to be his “All-time favorite Nebraska record.” It is the 1978 LP release for the band Crap Detectors entitled, “Victims of the Media”. Crap Detectors are special to Mike because they represent the true DIY (do it yourself) artistic creativity from the time period when punk was new. This era quickly faded and Victims of the Media is a time capsule melding early rockabilly with early punk and even electronic. Only 300 were pressed with hand glued, mimeographed covers. The record was reissued in 1999 (along with their first 7”) on the label Brain Transplant. Crap Detectors were also featured on the famous Killed By Death compilations of obscure punk and hardcore bands, making early Crap Detectors releases very sought after by collectors.

Recently, I purchased a collection of vintage jukebox EPs dating from the mid 60′s to early 70′s. These EPs differ from regular 45s, in that they had small spindle holes and played at 33 1/3 rpm. They would contain four to six tracks from any given artist’s album and were not sold to the general public. Instead, they were only available to jukebox distributors for machines that could play this speed.

While they should not to be confused with commercially released EPs that were mildly popular in the late 50′s/early 60′s, their basic construction is the same. One of the most notable differences is the way they were packaged. Jukebox EPs were issued in one of three distinct jackets. Earlier EPs were either thick cardstock “LP style” or tri-fold paper sleeves. Both would reproduce the original albums cover artwork on the front in full color. The cardstock sleeves would have totally blank back covers (a sure sign of a jukebox EP), while the tri-fold sleeves would open into two sheets of title strips. In the late 60s, less colorful paper envelope style sleeves (black print on colored paper) were introduced. Some of these have different (or altered) artwork than the LPs they were sourced from.

It should come as no surprise that the Beatles have some of the most sought after jukebox EPs. Any issued for their Capitol albums are in high demand (cover, vinyl, title strips/inserts all factor in to the total value). All of the Beatles EPs would have had the thicker “LP style” jackets with blank back covers. Some other sought after artists include the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and even Dean Martin.

I think everyone who is a collector has something as part of their colletion that they have no real justifacation for owning. For me, it’s old bootleg albums. I’ve accumulated over 250 of these things in the past few years and god knows why…I never listen to them. Regardless, their history and taboo nature in the record collecting field is pretty facinating.

The first rock bootleg is believed to be Bob Dylan’s “Great White Wonder”. Released circa 1969 in a no frills hand-stamped white jacket, it contained previously unreleased studio recordings from the early 60s. It caught the attention of the record buying public via underground magazines and hippie distribution circles. What would follow was a flood of live/demo material by just about any and every band of note. Pink Floyd, the Doors, Grateful Dead, Dylan, the Who, Led Zeppelin, and the Beatles were all heavily bootlegged. Anyone with access to the tapes and a pressing plant could produce their own boot.

The sound quality of many bootlegs is mediocre AT BEST. Tape hiss, excessive crowd noise and cheap pressings were not uncommon. I have one Who boot where you can hear the audience’s chitter chatter ten times louder than the band itself (infact, you can’t really hear the band at all!). However, some boots are considered true classics and held in high regard by fans. Many recordings that originally appeared on bootlegs would later turn up on officially released albums and collections. Tracks from Dylan’s “Great White Wonder” were issued in the 70′s as “Basement Tapes” and Frank Zappa did a whole series called “Beat the Boots” where he pretty much bootlegged the bootlegs!

The vinyl bootleg’s heyday was certainly through the 1970s into the 80s. Early bootleggers would commonly travel across the country selling to local headshops, record stores and at concerts out the back of their vans . Many vinyl (and far more CD) bootlegs continued to be produced through the 90s and some are still being released to this day. Recently, I’ve seen Franz Ferdinand and Modest Mouse boolegs on wax. Even with the ease of finding much of this material for free on online download sites, these new boots show how important it is for a lot of collectors to have this material on vinyl.

While bootlegs are of a dubious and not-so-legal status, they’ve accumulated a solid fan base and legitimacy in the collecting world. Some bands have been friendly (or have at least turned a blind eye to) letting others sell bootlegs of their material. Others monitor online auction sites and pull any offending releases. If you have any old boots collecting dust in the basement, I’d recommend doing your research before trying to sell them in a public forum.

Every once in a while, there is a collector-related story that receives major media attention, yet, gets a collective moan from a majority of collectors that it should be most relevant to. Remember that Velvet Underground acetate that “sold” on Ebay for over $150,000? I do. CNN even gave it coverage. However, did you catch any follow up articles on how the winning bidder didn’t even have enough money in his bank account to buy gas for his car? Numerous others had also made exorbitant bids with no intentions of ever paying. Apparently, it’s a strange ego boost to say you briefly had the high bid on one of the rarest records ever made; sad but true.

Recently, you may have caught a story in the media about the personal archive of Paul Mawhinney, owner of Record-Rama in Pittsburgh, PA. With a modest starting bid of only THREE MILLION DOLLARS, you just might have had a shot at his self-proclaimed “Worlds Greatest Music Collection” (over 3 million LPs and 45s along with 300,000 CDs). With a feature photo of Mawhinny holding one of rock’s holy grails (The Rolling Stones 1969 promotional album) and the auction’s claim that he was once offered over $28 million for his collection, one would assume the $3 million starting bid would be a great investment. Hey, that’s less than a buck each, what a steal! However, there was one catch: at Mawhinney’s request, the winning bidder should be a private collector who has no intention of breaking this collection up. Instead, they should be a philanthropist willing to create, or donate to, a museum dedicated to the “World’s Greatest Music Collection”.

Many found the self-imposed importance Mawhinney had given his own collection pretty humorous, especially when he had made minimal effort to say what was actually in his collection. I mean, do thousands of Nat King Cole and Perry Como-esque records qualify as museum quality? Who am I to say?

Paul seems like a passionate, lifelong collector so I won’t criticize the guy’s selling technique. What had my eyes rolling was the press the auction had received.
It amazed me that many in the media would write, as fact, that the collection had SOLD for $3+ million. The AP even reported that the winning bidder was legit and had already made a $300,000 down-payment. Interesting, considering that within a day of the auction’s end the winning bidder was no longer a registered user. I guess it wasn’t a red flag that the only other item this $3 million bidder had won in the last few months was a $7 memory card.

As of this evening, the AP has corrected the story, revealing that the winning bid was indeed fraudulent. The same story reported that Mawhinney has contacted the other bidders in hopes of finding a buyer. He sounded hopeful, quoted as saying “It’s still going to happen.”

I hope so, Paul. Hopefully those other bidders aren’t the same other bidders that took a shot at that Velvet Underground acetate.

Then let’s hope you got thee to GottaHaveIt . Online bids were being accepted through August 6 for a Britney Spears T-shirt with the coveted (by some) signature of Justin Timberlake. Wait, wait, the troubled Ms. Spears is not to your liking? What about the jeans Marilyn Monroe wore in the 1954 “River of No Return”? Or a draft—handwritten, mind you—of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.” Then this is a celebrity auction for you.

From the Never-Give-Up-Hope Department

It was 1976. The home of a wealthy Connecticut woman was invaded, and the robbers made off with some important paintings—Gustav Courbet’s “The Shore of Lake Geneva,” William Hamilton’s “Lady as Shepherdess” and Childe Hassam’s “In the Sun.”

Fast forward to 2003. An antiques dealer needed cash for Christmas inventory. He gets his brother, a well-connected Rhode Island lawyer, to pay $20,000 for three paintings he had bought at auction. After several years of hanging on his living-room wall, the lawyer takes the pieces to be appraised. And much to everyone’s surprise, they are listed on the FBI’ register of stolen art.

After some legal wrangling, heirs of the wealthy Connecticut woman were declared the rightful owners and got the artworks—after 32 years.

Get in on the ground floor

Let’s talk. Don’t you sometimes fantasize that “oh, oui, that scrawny guy at the next table in Paris. Zut. Why didn’t I buy his stuff?” Well, if the scrawny guy was Picasso, you should have bought his “stuff.” If you’re looking for new important artists, you should read The New York Times article on the female artists of China.

Honus Wagner, the greatest all-around player EVER

And holy cow, his cards are out of the park. A Wagner 1909 card recently went for $1.62 million, and that didn’t even come close to the near-mint condition card that brought in $2.8 million. Why Honus Wagner cards are so rare is a subject of controversy. They were a tobacco-company issue. Did Wagner object because he didn’t want to encourage young’uns to smoke, or did the tobacco companies refuse to pay him what he felt what he was due? For those of us who seek baseball-card collectibles, it doesn’t matter. Honus Wagner is at the baseball-card-collectibles pinnacle.

Finding Shakespeare

In December 1998, a rare collection of works by William Shakespeare, along with other literary antiques, was stolen from an exhibition of English literature of the Middle Ages at Durham University in northern England. According to an article in Reuters London, there was no news of the stolen literature or documents until late last month when the first folio edition of the Shakespeare volume, published in 1623 and valued at $29.65 million, showed up at a library in the U.S.

The British Embassy alerted American police that a man brought in a rare Shakespeare volume for appraisal at “a respected library in Washington [D.C.]” The 51-year-old claimed to have bought the book in Cuba when he left it for experts at the library to examine. The FBI and Interpol traced the man to England, where he was arrested and taken in for questioning. An article in The Guardian gave details on the suspect, Ray Scott, whom neighbors described as “slightly eccentric.” The Guardian article includes a detailed description of the rare Shakespeare volume deemed a “national treasure” and “one of the world’s most valuable books.”

Politically Collectible

A private collection of political kitsch “to rival the Smithsonian’s” was the legacy Jordan Wright left behind upon his death in May. According to The New York Times, the 50-year-old political collector was planning a Museum of Democracy to house all of his 1.25 million pieces. Choice souvenirs through the ages include “slogan embossed tobacco tins and chamber pots, racist rag dolls, Gore-Lieberman yarmulkes, John Kerry flip-flop sandals and President W.’s ‘dum gum.’” A sampling of Wright’s collectibles treasure can be viewed at the Museum of the City of New York .

Beatles Drum Skin Brings in Record Price

An item from the Beatles’ album cover of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” fetched a little more than $1 million at Christie’s of London this month. According to Bloomberg News, bidding rose to five times the low estimate for the drum skin that clocked in at the “second-highest ever paid for a piece of Beatles memorabilia.”

Paying Más for Marlene Dumas

Marlene Dumas is the highest-paid living female artist, and she’s having an excellent summer with the combination of recent high sales at Sotheby’s and the first American retrospective of her work. The Huffington Post portrays the South African-born, Dutch painter as “sunny” and “honest” during a lecture on her work at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art last month. The artist’s work has been described as vulgar, controversial and even gruesome. Dumas’ “The Visitor” sold at Sotheby’s this month for more than $6.3 million.

Baseball Fans Converged on FanFest

Manhattan’s Jacob Javits Convention Center was converted into “wall-to-wall baseball” this month before the All-Star game, The New York Times reported. Fans enjoyed shopping for memorabilia, trying their skill in video batting-and-pitching cages and lining up for autographs and collectibles from former All-Stars. Yahoo Sports spoke to Yogi Berra for the legend’s take on the massive event. He said he was impressed by the spectacle the All-Star game has become as he got ready to say goodbye to the old Yankee Stadium in its final series of games. The Times also reported that card dealers flocked to FanFest from all over the country. One, Jim Tripodi, expected to sell “tens of thousands of dollars” worth of collectibles cards.

The word band is simply not enough to describe the phenomenon known as Kiss. Their pounding rhythms, soaring guitars, over the top persona and spectacular stage show have built the group a legion of dedicated fans. However, the world has seen and heard a number of successful bands, what sets Kiss apart to a collector is the extensive catalog of memorabilia they have produced over the years. Formed in 1973 New York City, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss adopted comic book like personas to separate their band from the rest of the landscape. Their initial albums sold slowly, but the band crafted a following with their outrageous make-up and larger than life, elaborate stage shows. The band was able to capture the excitement of their live shows on the live recording album Alive! The success came pouring in, and 35 years later Kiss have sold over 80 million albums and garnered 34 gold albums. I myself have never been a fan of the group, my experience with the group is like most, I know their biggest hit “Rock and Roll All Nite” and few of their other songs. Yet I have always marveled at the magnitude of their merchandise, there is practically a Kiss anything. From simple action figures to slippers, board games, coffee, there is even a Kiss casket! To gain further insight I recently spoke with two members of the Kiss Army to find out more about these dedicated collectors and what they love about Kiss. I talked to 47 year old Robert, who grew up with the band. He said the band “sang to him” as a teenager. Their rebellious nature was a mirror image of his own teenage angst, he wanted to emulate his idols so much that he created his own platform boots like Gene wore. Robert told me he had a number of prized personal collectibles such as ticket stubs dating back to the early 80s, his full collection of all original Kiss albums, and never published photographs from a New Orleans press conference in the mid 80s. He also showed me his drumhead from the 1996 Psycho Circus tour and a limited edition signature series Paul Stanley guitar. It was released for only one weekend at a Target, he waited in line for hours, purchased it for two hundred dollars, and that guitar can now be found going for 4 times the price. I also spoke with 36 year old Tammie, whose older brothers infected her with the Kiss bug at the age of six, and the next year she was dressed as Ace Frehley for Halloween. She loved Kiss because they were “different than everyone else” in the music industry. She loved the spectacle of the theatrical stage show. Tammie has attended a few Kiss conventions and recommends those for collectible purchases as opposed to the internet. Her personal favorite collectible is her Kiss watch with the Dynasty album cover on it, originally released in 1979. Kiss’ bravado and imagery have infatuated millions of fans worldwide, 35 years later and the band is still selling out stadiums and stamping their likeness on myriad new merchandise. Kiss collectors have a nearly unlimited arsenal of materials with which to build and enhance their collections.

• Harlowe Powell of Charlottesville, VA is holding a May 16th auction of sporting and leisure collectibles, including a matched trio of McGregor Master 30 Model golf clubs owned by Sam Snead. The club heads are made of solid persimmon with mother-of-pearl inserts, with an estimated value of $2,500- $3,500.

• Julien’s Auctions of West Hollywood is holding a charity auction on May 31st in New York featuring items donated by U2 guitarist The Edge and other rock stars. A highlight is a 1976 Gibson Explorer electric guitar with all original parts and case that was stage-played by Edge and comes with authentication documents by U2′s guitar technician Dallas Schoo. Estimated value: $80,000

• Apple Tree Auctions of Newark, Ohio specializes in vintage Heisey glass (which was manufactured in Newark) as well as Midwestern antique furnishings and others items. Apple Tree has several spring and early summer auctions scheduled including household items on May 15 and 29, antique and decorative arts on June 12-14, Heisey glass on June 17-18 and railroadiana on June 20-21.

• Pook & Pook’s jewelry sale on May 16th in Downington, PA includes an Art Deco diamond and sapphire ring in a platinum setting with 47 diamonds totaling 2.44 carats and 16 sapphires valued up to $6,000.

• Coaches Corner Sports Auction is conducting electronic bidding on a variety of baseball collectibles, including a box of a dozen baseballs signed by many of the sport’s legendary sluggers who hit more than 500 home runs, including Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mike Schmidt, Reggie Jackson and Frank Robinson. All of the signatures are certified and most grade at 8.5 or higher. The current top bid is $1,213.

• Sloan & Kenyon’s Three-Day June Estate Catalogue Auction on June 21-23 in Chevy Chase, MD. The firm also is privately selling an 1848 Bösendorfer grand piano valued as high as $300,000 and a trio of ship models – the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria – crafted entirely in precious metals by Philadelphia master goldsmith Antonio Gonzalez that is expected to sell for more than $1 million.

Harlowe Powell website

Julien’s Auctions website

Julien’s Auctions website

Apple Tree Auctions website

Pook & Pook website

Coaches Corner Sports Auction wesbite

Sloans & Kenyon website

Those lyrics are featured among Renard’s rock and pop collectibles that will be auctioned by Christie’s of London. The lyrics will go on public view in New York on May 7-20 and in London on July 5. They will be auctioned on July 10.

The entire Renard collection is valued at about $600,000. But Lennon collectibles frequently sell for far more than their presale estimates. His handwritten lyrics for “All You Need Is Love” sold for $1,250,000 in 2005, and in 2003 the lyrics for “Nowhere Man” lyrics sold for $455,500.

“Give Peace a Chance” is recognized as one of Lennon’s most influential solo works; a half-million protesters sang the song outside of the White House.

Among collectors, what are known as “working lyrics” are among the most valuable items related to popular artists. That’s because they show the artist’s creative process including notes, re-writes and crossed-out text. Lennon gave Renard the lyrics in 1969 in the midst of his famous eight-day “bed-in” to protest the Vietnam War with his new wife, Yoko Ono.

Now a comedy writer, Renard was a teenage fan who sneaked past security guards at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal and wound up befriending the famous couple. The song was recorded in the hotel room with celebrity friends and later touched up in the studio.

Worthologist Chris Hughes said the question surrounding these lyrics is not their authenticity, but whether the document represents a song-in-progress. As there were many participants in Lennon’s Montreal “Bed-In,” who sang “Give Peace a Chance,” Hughes wonders whether the lyrics could be a copy that Lennon made for his guests.

“Although these lyrics are penned by Lennon, they may have been used along with other duplicates for his guests to sing from,” Hughes said.

In 2007, a lock of Lennon’s hair sold for $48,000. It was collected by his stylist and tucked inside an autographed copy of Lennon’s book “A Spaniard in the Works.”

In 2005, the white suit that Lennon wore on the cover of “Abbey Road,” the Beatles’ final album, sold for $117,000.

For more information about Worthologist Chris Hughes

Christie’s Press Release on the Lennon lyrics auction