Pennants, tough bobbin' heads headline ITPC auctio

Inside the Park Collectibles’ Summer Auction held on Aug. 12 was by far the most successful in the company’s history. It was billed as a “Figural Event” and by the response of their customers, it became just that. “The bidding was brisk all night” said partner John Trincellito. “The phone bidding plus the use of our new and improved online bidding system kept us very busy the last few hours.”

Trincellito said there were some phenomenal pieces in the auction, citing specifically the opening four lots of early pennants of the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox pennant (shown above) with the image of owner Charles Comisky was sold for $1,609, the Cubs for $1,770 and the Dodgers and Giants for a little more than $1,000 each. A vintage baseball music box sold for $908 and the always popular 1961 Maris/Mantle radio sold for $1,099.

 As usual, this ITPC auction featured a host of hard-to-find figural items. Stanford Pottery banks led the way with the extremely rare Boston Braves and Philadelphia Athletics banks selling for $8,858 and $4,235 respectively. A never-before-seen 1954 Gibbs-Connor World Series bank (shown above, center) brought almost $1,300. A 1948 Mazzolini Chief Wahoo statue (above right) brought $1,209. The works of Fred Kail were strong in the auction, with a large Minnesota Vikings down lineman ($806) and a rare basketball bank ($550) leading the way.

 ITPC also had its usual assortment of vintage bobbing head dolls. The leading baseball pieces were an extremely rare Houston Colt .45 Black Face (shown above right, $5,636), Roberto Clemente ($2,852) and a Black Face Chicago Cubs for $1,463. A first-year doll of the Boston Red Sox from the Colored Base series was hammered down for $1,679.
 Football dolls were also strong in the auction, with an early AFL Raiders doll selling for $1,429 and a Detroit Lions prototype bringing $1,299. A rare Black Face L.A. Lakers (above left) sold for $941 and a New York Rangers Realistic Face sold for $1,035.

 “The prices realized in this auction bode well for collectors of figural memorabilia” said Trincellito. “It is further proof that this faction of the hobby is now mainstream and continues its upward trend.”

 To view all the prices realized in the auction, go to the Web site at: www.insidetheparkcollectibles.com.