COMPLIMENTARY COPY TM
The Most Widely Read Collector's Newspaper In The East Published Weekly By Joel Sater Publications www.antiquesandauctionnews.net
VOL. 45, NO. 28 FRIDAY JULY 11, 2014
Powerful Lineup Of Pop Culture Memorabilia And Americana In Hake’s July 15-17 Auction P
op culture has become the fine art of the boomer through millennial generations. Never before has competition been so intense to own topnotch examples of entertainment memorabilia, comic book art or other collectibles that document the last hundred years of American life. Hake’s, the company that launched the concept of pop-culture auctions in 1967, has long had the inside track on what collectors want. Their next big offering is Auction #212, a fantastic 2,600-lot selection of quality Americana and collectibles. Session one will close its bidding on July 15, Session two on July 17. All bidding will take place online t h r o u g h Hakes.com or by phone/ absentee bidding. As Hake’s followers would know, the company has been entrusted with
auctioning Disney character toys and collectibles from the estate of Maurice Sendak (19282012), the beloved children’s book author and illustrator best known for “Where The Wild Things Are.” Auction #212 includes Hake’s third selection of items from the Sendak estate, including three very rare Mickey Mouse club buttons made expressly for movie theaters to give to children. Ironically, those very same buttons passed through company-founder Ted Hake’s hands once before. “Maurice was a good friend, and we had many dealings over the years,” said Hake. “An illustration he created for me in the late 1960s showing two of my favorite ‘Wild Things’ was part of a trade in which he received those three Mickey Mouse buttons. Now the buttons have come back to Hake’s, which we will pass on to a new generation of collectors.” Each has an estimate of $400-$1,000. This 1988-89 Two extremely rare German MTV “Moonman” Video Music Award was presented tinplate Mickey Mouse toys with to Art of Noise for their “Kiss” direct Sendak provenance are feavideo featuring Tom Jones. tured in the auction. A nine-inch wind-up of a five-fingered Mickey, made around 1930 by Saalheimer & Strauss for the British market, includes a builtin key. When the key is wound, the toy waddles side to side and the chara c t e r ’s mouth widens to flash a toothy smile. One of very few An Anna known examples, its Pottery (Illinois) value is estimated at $20,000stoneware pig flask incised with detailed railroad map. $35,000.
This is Maurice Sendak’s (American, 1928-2012), original watercolor art created for 1982 TV adaptation of Prokofiev’s opera “The Love For Three Oranges,” measuring 26-by-31 inches (framed). The provenance is the Ted Hake collection.
A similar price is expected for Sendak’s Double Slate Dancers crank toy made by Wilhelm Krauss. The toy depicts a pair of smiling five-fingered Mickeys with loosely riveted arms and legs that render the illusion of dancing when the toy is activated. “Only two Double Slate Dancers are known to exist, and The Saalheimer & Strauss (made in Germany for British market) Mickey Mouse with Moving Mouth, tin, circa 1930, one of few known examples is from the Maurice Sendak collection.
this marks the first time in our 47 years that Hake’s has ever been able to offer this elusive toy in one of our auctions,” said Hake. An artist of immense talent and versatility, Maurice Sendak also realized the importance of perpetuating his body of work for future generations. Having suffered a heart attack at the age of 37, he
This is Wilhelm Krauss’s (German) Mickey Mouse Double Slate Dancers, made of tin, one of two known. The provenance is the Maurice Sendak collection.
realized the value of time, and his own mortality, early on. In the 1960s, he made arrangements for all of his future original book art to be conveyed to the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia. As a result, very little of his original art ever reached private hands, Hake said. One highly important exception is a 26-by-31inch (framed) watercolor that Sendak created for the 1982 TV adaptation of P r o k o f i e v ’s opera “The Love For Three Oranges.” A true masterpiece, the painting depicts a mountaintop castle likely inspired by Mad King Ludwig II’s breathtaking Bavarian castle Neuschwanstein. Guarding the entrance to the castle kitchen of witch Creonte is a monster cook in tall chef’s hat. Surrounding the castle are lofty mountain peaks, picturesque riverside valleys, and alpine trees and shrubbery executed in classic Sendak colors. The painting is actually seen in a DVD that was produced about the opera, and it has been part of Hake’s personal collection since 1985, when Hake acquired the work directly from Sendak. Because large Sendak works have not been publicly available, there are no close comparable examples against which a current auction value can be established. “One clue,” Hake explained, “resides in a long, thin watercolor, also an opera backdrop, that included one ‘Wild Thing’ image. Sendak donated the art to a charity auction about a decade ago. It realized $9,000 and later, in 2009, it was consigned to a national auction house where it brought $74,000. That is as close a guidepost as we have
for a Sendak artwork this large,” said Hake. In the comic art section, a top lot is the original Jack “King” Kirby (American, 1917-1994) comic book page art for the June 1963 issue of Marvel Comics’ “Strange Tales” #109. Human Torch appears in all seven panels, while Thing is seen in six. Also, all members of the Fantastic Four are seen on the page, with the entire foursome visible Here is a rare 1920 jugate button depicting young VP candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt with presidential candidate Ohio Governor James M. Cox, 7/8-inch in diameter. The provenance is the estate of Donald and Mildred A. Wright.
in two of the panels. Drawn by a comic book legend and packed with popular characters, this artwork is estimated at $20,000$35,000. If there’s one jugate missing from most presidential memorabilia collections, it’s the 1920 button depicting a young Franklin Delano Roosevelt as the vice presidential candidate with presidential running mate Ohio Governor James M. Cox. Almost certainly a manufacturer’s sample, the glossy 7/8-inch button is in outstanding condition and comes from the estate of Donald and Mildred A. Wright. The Wrights were a politically active couple from Seattle, Wash., who amassed rare political memorabilia for more than half a century. Their (Continued on page 2)
A Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent puppet, screen-used on 1950s children’s TV series “Time For Beany,” with COA from creator Bob Clampett’s daughter, Ruth Clampett, will be offered.
A 1966 Grateful Dead first-printing poster advertising the band’s appearance at San Francisco’s A page signed by Walt Disney and wife, Lillian “Lilly” Disney, (right) from Avalon Ballroom on Sept. 16-17 of a guestbook (cover shown at left) commemorating the May 30, 1966, grand opening of Disneyland attraction “It’s A Small World.” that year will be offered.