RENO, NEV.- Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC will greet the New Year with a special, online-only, two-day Philatelic & Dealer Auction on January 7th and 8th, beginning at 8 am Pacific time both days. The sale will be hosted exclusively on iCollector.com (Holabird’s preferred online bidding platform) and will feature old and new items from important collections.
Over 1,500 lots will come up for bid across the two days with categories that include Civil War, Indian Territory, Kansas and Missouri covers from the Gary Bracken collection, California and Oregon postcards from the Ken Prag collection, general Americana, stocks, philatelic (stamps), books, mining, sports and more, with most lots having even their high estimates lower than $500.
“Welcome, collectors, to a new year of exciting auctions,” said Fred Holabird, the president and owner of Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC, based in Reno. “Our 2023 resolution is to continue to bring fantastic history at auction to collectors, dealers and institutions from around the world. We hope everyone has resolved to keep building their collections and/or inventories.”
Mr. Holabird added, “This is an ‘auto-pilot’ auction, so there won't be a live auctioneer or audio/video feed. But folks will be able to log into an auction console, place live bids and watch the progression of the auction. And, to get the bidding going, we’ve lowered opening prices on every lot in the catalog, which has material that’s perfect for collectors and Americana dealers.”
It is a timed auction, with Session 1, on January 7th, featuring general Americana (to include geographic sort, jewelry and sports), over 100 lots of mining collectibles and nearly 200 lots of general books. Session 2, on January 8th, will contain 480 lots of philatelic (including covers and stamps and postcards), and stocks and bonds (mining, railroad and miscellaneous categories).
One of the star lots of Session 1 is a pair of advertising die cuts for businesses in Colorado from the 1890s, framed (est. $100-$500). They include one for Birks Conforth, Grocer in Denver, featuring a young girl wearing a sun hat surrounded by produce; and one for A.L. Welch & Co., Dry Goods in Denver, with an image of a boy looking at a painting titled The Young Critic.
Leadville, Colorado will take center stage in lot 1490, with two birds-eye views: a stereo view of Guernsey’s Rocky Mountain Views, dated in pencil 1879; and a cabinet card by W.H. Jackson, showing mine dumps and shafts (est. $320-$800); and lot 1099, a group of three Leadville collectibles from the era: a metal plaque for Leadville Light & Power Co., a leather eyeglass case for F.J. Mund, Optician, and a leather wallet from Tompkins-LaSalle Hardware (est. 50-$150).
An official map from Beaverhead County, Montana from 1901, compiled from the latest official records of George R. Metlen, county surveyor, civil and mining engineer in Dillon, Montana, 44 inches by 55 inches, should realize $140-$500; while a Copper Manual, published in 1899 by D. Houston & Co., Metal Brokers (N.Y., Vol. 2, 398 pages), describing copper mines, copper statistics, copper shares and a summary of information on copper, is expected to bring $70-$200.
The jewelry category will be led by a beautiful ocean blue Amazonite pendant set with a diamond halo totaling 0.27 carats for extra sparkle. The must-see necklace carries a pre-sale estimate of $200-$450. Also, a group of four belt buckles made by Art Industries in 1979, for Billings, Mont. (limited edition of 850), Butte, Montana (limited edition of 850), Denver, Colo. (limited edition of 2500) and Rocket Sales Rental, Inc., is expected to command $70-$200.
A book titled The Columbian Gallery A Portfolio of Photographs from the (Chicago) World's Fair, including the chief palaces, interiors, statuary, architectural and scenic groups, characters, typical exhibits and Marvels of the Midway Plaisance (Werner Co., Chicago, 1894), should reach $130-$300. Also, a group of four sports medals (or pinbacks), including a rodeo souvenir, a 1925 basketball medal, wrestling, golf and baseball, has an estimate of $80-$120.
Session 2 philatelic offerings will include a Civil War cover postmarked Clinton, Missouri, with a detailed vignette of a soldier and an American flag and a woman pointing to a Rebel camp and saying, “Take this and strike down your traitorous flag” (est. $500-$300). Also up for bid is a fabulous presentation of a Flint, Cherokee Nation postmark with Maltese cross cancels on Sc 84 and 87 stamps, dated 1881 (est. $50-$150). The post office was operational from 1846 to 1896.
Antique stock certificates are hugely popular at Holabird auctions. A few being sold are these:
• A Brennus Gold & Silver Mining Company (Devil’s Gate Mining District, El Dorado Ledge, Lyon Cty., Nevada) stock certificate with a very early number (7) for five shares issued to T. Forcade, dated Feb. 9, 1863, signed by pres. L. Rowland (est. $300-$600).
• A Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company stock certificate for 100 shares, issued to S.F. Stanton on Aug. 24, 1880, signed by pres. Jay Gould and secretary Clemson (est. $210-$500). Jay Gould (1836-1892) was one of the “robber barons” of the Gilded Age.
• A Buena Vista G&S (Prince Royal District, Humboldt Cty., Nevada Territory) stock certificate #40 for five shares, issued to T.J. Jenkins on Aug. 21, 1863, datelined San Francisco, with a vignette of a miner pushing an ore cart out of a tunnel (est. $200-$500).
• A very rare Fourth of July (Mining) Company (Ruby City, Montana, but listed as Ruby City, Okanogan Cty., Wash.) stock certificate #221 with a Morgan silver dollar vignette, issued to Thomas Donovan on Nov. 25, 1891, datelined Helena, Mont. (est. $110-$500).
Real photo postcards are another big draw at Holabird sales. Ones up for bid will include a rare RPC of buildings in Russell, Gulch, Colorado in 1908 (est. $100-$500); and two nice Cripple Creek, Colorado RPCs, one of The Portland Mine (“Colorado’s Greatest Gold Mine”) and one of the center of the Cripple Creek Mining District, complete with identified mines (est. $100-$500).
