Throwing in the towel

[71buc]

Have any of you been searching for an elusive piece of memorabilia that you have heard exists but have never actually seen even in photos? I have one such item on my want list. After years of searching I am beginning to question its existence. I’m hoping that its real but without at least photographic evidence I am ready to throw in the towel.

I own a large chalk ware bank that is a bust of Willie Stargell. It is pictured below. It bears the name of sculptor Ivo Zini. The Gettysburg Tour Center website states, “Behind each masterpiece in the Hall of Presidents and First Ladies are the artists that create them. Ivo Zini is the designer and sculptor behind the heads of Lincoln, Kennedy, Eisenhower, and Nixon (among others). Ivo is well known for helping the disabled through prosthesis, designing for the Sports Hall of Fame Museum & the Theater at Three Rivers Stadium, and being on display at the 1964 World Fair and the Presidential Wax Museum in Florida”. Mr. Zini died in 2008.

Although I wouldn’t consider these banks to be rare they are scarce. They are normally found with chips or cracks to the bill of the cap where they had tipped over at some point in time. Due to this they are most often found with amateur attempts at repair. They were created without a plug to remove the money. The only way the money could be removed was to break the bank. I believe these two factors account for its scarcity. Decent versions of the Stargell can be had for between $250.00 - $400.00.

For years I have been told by various collectors that a Roberto Clemente version of this bank exists. Despite years of searching I have yet to view even a photo of one. In 1988 Zini created and released a bronze colored 12"x13" plaster Roberto Clemente bust they are numbered /1000. There is also a poorly rendered color version rumored to be limited to a production run of 40. Although they are stylistically similar they were obviously created much later and are not banks.

Last night I found these images of Willie Stargell in the Carnegie Museum Teenie Harris collection. They are dated after Clemente's death January 1973. The description of the photo is as follows: Evelyn Hill and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball player Willie Stargell, standing over table with ceramic portrait banks of Stargell, in Hillday Statuary Company. Ironically my wife reminded me that I have a 1963 photo of my deceased mother holding me in a similar pose while wearing the exact same coat worn by Ms. Hill. Thanks Mom for the hobby assist from heaven Nonetheless, I have to believe that if a Clemente version exists photos of it would also have been taken by Teenie Harris. These photos have served to convince me that the Clemente banks are essentially a hobby urban myth. I hope I’m mistaken if you have photographic evidence of one please share it with me. Does anyone have a similar story of their search for an elusive item?