Memorabilia in Auctions WEAK

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by mrreality68

+1 agreed. every auction they get great Negro League Memorabilia and other nice and unique items also that I do not usually see at other Auction Houses

For the last several years, they've been parceling out items from perhaps the best negro league collection ever (Richard Merkin) and the best pin collection ever (Paul Muchinsky.) As the prices reflect, much of the material coming out of those collections are the only examples ever seen or at least rare as hell.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

For the last several years, they've been parceling out items from perhaps the best negro league collection ever (Richard Merkin) and the best pin collection ever (Paul Muchinsky.) As the prices reflect, much of the material coming out of those collections are the only examples ever seen or at least rare as hell.

Agreed great stuff. Did not realize it was coming from just a few collectors.
Wish I would have jumped on it years ago when I saw it but never really paid attention to it and now looking at it there are great items and amazing history behind them

[Shoeless Moe]

Are those 2 collectors still alive?

Just curious why they have had these items in their auctions 3-4 times a year for the past 5 years or so. Seems almost never-ending.

Why not have a big one? and what is their tie to Hakes......almost seems like 50-70% of their auctions are from those collections rest of the stuff is filler.

[benjulmag]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

Are those 2 collectors still alive?

Just curious why they have had these items in their auctions 3-4 times a year for the past 5 years or so. Seems almost never-ending.

Why not have a big one? and what is their tie to Hakes......almost seems like 50-70% of their auctions are from those collections rest of the stuff is filler.

Richard Merkin passed some years ago. For those who do not know him, he was a respected avant garde artist, so reknown in fact that he appears on the cover of the Beatles Sgt. Pepper album. There are several collectors/dealers I know who bought his baseball paintings, regarding them not only as significant works of art but also as prudent investments. As has been noted, his collecting interest was Negro league baseball, and he possessed arguably the most significant collection in that field. Richard was a very warm person, intensely loyal to his friends. Among his close friends was Ted Hake, founder of Hakes Auctions.

As to why Hakes has been selling his items slowly over the years, I do not know except to comment that if the Merkin estate did not have need for the funds upfront, given the size of the collection compared to the size of the market, selling it in one or two shots would have probably presented the market with more material than it could absorb, thus preventing the estate from maximizing the amount it could potentially receive.

[Shoeless Moe]

very good info thank you.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by benjulmag

Richard Merkin passed some years ago. For those who do not know him, he was a respected avant garde artist, so reknown in fact that he appears on the cover of the Beatles Sgt. Pepper album. There are several collectors/dealers I know who bought his baseball paintings, regarding them not only as significant works of art but also as prudent investments. As has been noted, his collecting interest was Negro league baseball, and he possessed arguably the most significant collection in that field. Richard was a very warm person, intensely loyal to his friends. Among his close friends was Ted Hake, founder of Hakes Auctions.

Larry Ritter of "The Glory of Their Times" fame was also close to Merkin, and told me he loved to rib him about Richard's beautiful rent-control apartment in which he housed his collection and his art studio and for which he was paying peanuts. Merkin finally lost that apartment, and I think he might have started selling off his collection at that point.

[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

Are those 2 collectors still alive?

Just curious why they have had these items in their auctions 3-4 times a year for the past 5 years or so. Seems almost never-ending.

Why not have a big one? and what is their tie to Hakes......almost seems like 50-70% of their auctions are from those collections rest of the stuff is filler.

Paul passed away several years ago. I’ve talked to his son and widow and the original “plan” (as I was told) was to put all his pins in “trust” for Paul’s then two year old grand daughter. Either the plan changed or the grand daughter still has a bunch of the pins.

[mrreality68]

Love of Games has a lot of variety of Memorabilia from pennants, tickets, scorecards, photos, figurines and so much more.

I am in sensory overload and actually put in alot of initial bids for alot of items

Good Luck all

[Frankish]

With respect to Hake's, selling the Merkin and other collections has also increased their visibility in that market. I had a dozen or so negro league photos to sell and sent them in to be split between the most recent auction and the upcoming one.

Originally Posted by mrreality68

Love of Games has a lot of variety of Memorabilia from pennants, tickets, scorecards, photos, figurines and so much more.

I am in sensory overload and actually put in alot of initial bids for alot of items

While I haven't pulled the trigger yet, there are at least half a dozen lots in that auction I plan to make a play for....

[Topnotchsy]

Originally Posted by Frankish

With respect to Hake's, selling the Merkin and other collections has also increased their visibility in that market. I had a dozen or so negro league photos to sell and sent them in to be split between the most recent auction and the upcoming one.



While I haven't pulled the trigger yet, there are at least half a dozen lots in that auction I plan to make a play for....

I definitely agree that the Merkin collection has made Hake's the place to go for Negro League collectors looking for items. If I ever moved anything of mine, I would definitely consider selling through them for that reason.

And also seeing some nice pieces at LOTG