SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Turner Auctions + Appraisals is pleased to present the auction of The Jim Haas Native American Art Library and a Collection of Southwest Jewelry on Saturday, October 8, 2022, at 10:30 am PDT. The Haas library section of the sale features over 100 lots consisting of more than 900 books, catalogs, and other publications on various Native American and Canadian First Peoples art styles and artifacts from the personal collection of Jim Haas; this noted, long-time specialist in Native American and Ethnographic Arts retired several years ago as Director from Bonhams after 32 years with the company and its predecessor. In addition, over 30 lots of Southwestern bracelets, rings, and necklaces are offered from various collectors and estates. Many of these are “Old Pawn” pieces, that is, old Indian jewelry that was traded for credit or goods, often Navajo-made. Rounding out the sale are several publications on other ethnic arts, including Pre-Columbian, Mexican, and tribal.

Turner Auctions + Appraisals begins its online auction on Saturday, October 8, 2022, at 10:30 am PDT; sale items are available for preview and bidding now. The auction will be featured live on multiple platforms: LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable, Bidsquare, iCollector, and Turner Auctions + Appraisals’ free mobile app, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Apps ("Turner Auctions"). All are easily accessed through ‘Upcoming Auctions’ at the company’s website.

Reflecting Jim Haas’s 30+ years as a professional appraiser and expert in the arts, his printed collection is a working library of art reference books and auction catalogs. With a focus on the Native American books used in his profession, his collection is a sizeable reference library in many areas that would be difficult to put together today.

Haas’s library features collectible volumes that are sources of knowledge or beauty; many are older, hard to find, out of print, or specialty books from the 1980s and 1990s or earlier. Virtually every style of North American Indian arts is represented – from Western Canada to Florida, including Eskimo, Northwest Coast, California, Plateau, Great Basin, Southwest, Plains, Great Lakes, Eastern Woodlands, and Southeast. Although some books focus on contemporary works, most volumes are general compendia on antique art and artifacts, showcasing good background information, the evolution of the art form, and many visuals. Some books are very specialized, such as those on tomahawks or parfleche, i.e., rawhide bags or containers usually hung in pairs from saddles.

Jim Haas began his long and acclaimed career in the arts through serendipity and chutzpah. A graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison with a master’s degree in Communication Arts and a focus on media production, he came to San Francisco in 1984 and was unable to find a job in that field. Out and about one day, he walked by the Butterfield & Butterfield auction house and saw an Oriental rug auction was underway. He went in, was fascinated, and asked to see Bernard Osher, Butterfield’s owner. Mr. Osher, perhaps thinking he was a member of the prominent San Francisco Haas family (he’s not), granted him an audience. Jim pitched himself with enthusiasm and zeal, resulting in a job first as a preview worker, then at the front desk. Although Jim Haas’s career path was different than he intended, it was not without personal interest: he recalls many weekends as a teenager getting up early to go treasure hunting at a Milwaukee flea market while his boyhood friends slept off the previous night’s escapades.

At Butterfields, his good luck continued when the Ethnographic Department head quit and Jim assumed the position, becoming a specialist and respected expert through the years. During his 32 years at Butterfields, later acquired by Bonhams, Jim spent 20 years as Director of the Ethnographic Art Department, which included Native American, African, Oceanic, Southeast Asian tribal and pre-Columbian art. During the first five years, he also worked simultaneously as Director of the Oriental Rug Department, focused on tribal and rural weaving traditions of village and nomadic people of the east. For his last decade at Bonhams, Jim focused strictly on Native American art. Over the length of his career, he estimates he oversaw about 75 sales that generated some $65-$70 million for the company.

Now, after leaving his long career at Butterfields/Bonhams about five years ago, Jim has happily retired; he and his wife Claudia travel more, and spend half of their time in San Francisco and half in Tequisquiapan, Mexico. Although he still performs appraisals and occasional consultations, he now finds time to practice his blues harmonica; he returned recently from Racine, Wisconsin, where a reunion with his high school band included a gig at a local bar, which invited them back “anytime” since they packed the place. Now, as he seeks to make more space in his life, Jim has decided to downsize many of the items he’s accumulated over decades, saying “If they’re not appreciated on a daily basis, why own them?” Collectors, scholars, and researchers are sure to benefit from this decision.

Here is information on the upcoming sale (see auction and lot details in the online catalog):

Lot 44: Handbook of Yokuts Indians. LATTA, FRANK F. Santa Cruz: Bear State Books, 1977. 4to. Gilt pictorial cover. Condition: Very Good; from a well-used research library; owner's signature. Estimate $200-$300.

Lot 11: Four References on Plains Ledger Art. 1.) BEDIA, JOSE. Cronicas de guerra, amor y visiones misticas (Dibujos de Kiowas, Arapahoes y Cheyennes de 1882); Chronicles of war, love, and mystic visions (Drawings by Kiowas, Arapahoes and Cheyennes dated 1882). Diego Costa Peuser, 2008. Signed/inscribed. 2.) McCOY, RONALD. Kiowa Memories, Images from Indian Territory, 1880. Santa Fe: Morning Star Gallery, 1987. Tears to dust jacket. 3.) SCHORSCH, DAVID A. The Edwards Ledger Drawings: Folk Art by Arapaho Warriors. New York: David A. Schorsch, 1990. 4.) SZABO, JOYCE M. Howling Wolf And the History of Ledger Art. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1994. Condition: Fair-Very Good; the volumes are from a well-used research library; some light toning; some with owner's signature. Estimate $100-$150.




Lot 137: Navajo Turquoise Rings. Old Pawn Southwest jewelry, consisting of a miscellaneous grouping of 8 silver and turquoise rings. Approximate size: 1 3/4 inches in length largest example. Rings sizes range from approximately: 5, 7, 8 1/2 and 10. Approximate total weight: 88 g. Estimate $200-$300.

Lot 136: Southwest Jewelry. Southwest silver necklace. Necklace size: 17 inches approximate (total length). Pendant/naja size: 3 x 2 1/2 inches approximate. Marked sterling. Total weight: 70 g approximate. Estimate $150-$250.


Lot 107: Fifty-Five Issues of American Indian Art Magazine (2000-2015). Eleven years complete with four seasonal issues. No issues for 2013. The following years/issues missing: 2001 spring; 2010 summer; 2011 winter; 2014 spring and autumn. Condition: Fair-Very Good; these volumes are from a well-used research library. Estimate $550-$750.

Lot 102: Twenty-Seven Sotheby’s American Indian Art Auction Catalogues, Ranging from 1993 to 1999. Condition: Fair-Good; these volumes are from a well-used research library; some light toning; some with owner's signature. Estimate $350-$450.

Lot 118: Navajo Cuff Bracelet. An Old Pawn turquoise, coral, and sterling silver cuff bracelet. Largest example is approximately: 2 inches wide. Approximate size: 6 3/4 inches, which includes the additional wrist gap. Approximate total weight: 178 g. With maker's mark. Estimate $250-$350.

Lot 60: Set of Three Volumes on American Indian Jewelry, with Artist Biographies. SCHAAF, GREGORY. 1.) American Indian Jewelry I: A-L 1,200 Artist Biographies, Santa Fe: CIAC Press, 2013. Stated first edition. Signed by the author. 2.) American Indian Jewelry II: A-L 1,800 Artist Biographies, Santa Fe: CIAC Press, 2012. Stated first edition. Signed/inscribed by the author. Internal splitting at the front; large tear/loss to dust jacket. 3.) American Indian Jewelry III: M-Z 2,100 Artist Biographies, ca. 1800-present, Volume Nine. Santa Fe: CIAC Press, 2013. Stated first edition. Tear/losses to dust jacket. Condition: Fair-Good; the volumes are from a well-used research library; some light toning; one with owner's signature. Estimate $150-$250.

Lot 12: American Indian Tomahawks (revised edition, 1971, hardcover). PETERSON, HAROLD L. American Indian Tomahawks. Vol XIX. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, 1971. Red cloth, 4to. Condition: Very Good; from a well-used research library, with owner's signature. Estimate $200-$300.

Lot 123: Navajo Cuff Bracelet. An old pawn turquoise and silver cuff bracelet. Largest example is approximately: 3 inches wide. Approximate size: 7 inches, which includes the additional wrist gap. Approximate total weight: 133 g. Estimate $200-$400.

Lot 1: Three Important References on Navajo and Pueblo Weaving. 1.) WHEAT, JOE BEN. Blanket Weaving in the Southwest. Tucson: University of Toronto Press, 2003. Owner's signature. 2.) WHITAKER, KATHLEEN. Southwest Textiles, Weavings of the Navajo and Pueblo. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 2002. Signed and inscribed by the author. Owner's signature. 3.) WINTER, MARK. The Master Weavers, Celebrating one hundred years of Navajo Textile Artists from the Toadlena/Two Grey Hills Weaving Region. New Mexico: The Historic Toadlena Trading Post, 2011. Signed by the author. Condition: Good-Very Good; the volumes are from a well-used research library; some small tears/dings to dust jackets. Estimate $150-$250.

Lot 26: Four Books on Northwest Coast Art. 1.) AUGAITIS, DAINA, et al. Raven Travelling, Two Centuries of Haida Art. Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, n.d. 2.) BROWN, STEVEN C. Native Visions, Evolution in Northwest Coast Art from the Eighteenth through the Twentieth Century. Seattle and London: The Seattle Art Museum/University of Washington Press, 1998. 3.) CABELLO, PAZ, et al. Spirits of the Water, Native Art Collected on Expeditions to Alaska and British Columbia, 1774-1910. Seattle: University of Washington Press; Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, 2000. 4.) MacDONALD, GEORGE F. Haida Art. Craftsman House/G+B Arts International, 1996. Condition: Good-Very Good; the volumes are from a well-used research library; some light toning; some with owner's signature. Estimate $100-$150.

Lot 66: The Pottery of Zuni Pueblo. LANMON, DWIGHT P., and FRANCIS H. HARLOW. Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press, 2008. First edition. 4to. Blue cloth. Signed by Lanmon. Condition: Good-Very Good; this volume is from a well-used research library; some light toning; small edge creases/tears to dust jacket, but overall good. Estimate $200-$300.