Rare Kail statues highlight ITPC Spring Auction

Whether it's that rare statue needed to complete a set run, a vintage porcelain bank or that hard-to-find bobber, the latest Inside the Park Collectibles auction should provide something for everyone.

ITPC's Spring Auction is currently underway and runs through March 23. In all, the auction will feature 150 quality lots of vintage sports memorabilia and is open to both online bidders as well as phone bidders.

As with all of ITPC's auctions, this sale will feature a wide array of figural and display type items. The auction highlights begin with a number of banks and statues. One of the top items is an early Fred Kail Cincinnati Reds baseball player statue which carries a $750 minimum bid.

"In the 20-plus years that we've been in the hobby, this is only the third Kail baseball player that we've ever seen," said co-partner John Trincellito. "Over the last decade, we have found out more and more about the artistry of Mr. Kail and his following as these fantastic pieces continue to grow."

Along with the Reds player, there are several other rare lots of Kail football statues in this auction, including an original Kail statue ($750) made especially for former Baltimore coach Weeb Ewbank following the Colts' 1958 Championship season.

The auction continues with some spectacular porcelain banks from companies such as Stanford Pottery and Gibbs-Conner. A very rare Detroit Tigers bank from Stanford Pottery features a superb mascot head. Other Stanford Pottery offerings include banks of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Braves.

ITPC's Gibbs-Conner estate find has been well-documented and this auction offers a number of pieces from that collection. Highlight items include baseball banks of both the St. Louis Browns and the Boston Braves ($500 minimum bid). Also up for auction is a great collection of NFL mascot banks from Gibbs-Conner. The NFL selection features an extremely rare Washington Redskins bank that portrays their mascot in full headdress.

There will also be a wide range of other figural items from such companies as Hartland Plastics, Carter-Hoffman and Rittgers. Hartland statues include several from the "Original 18" baseball series, as well as the hard-to-find boxed examples of Bob Feller ($1,500 minimum bid) and Ty Cobb. The latter two were produced in very limited numbers in 1990 and are sought-after by collectors.

There is also a nice selection of the increasingly popular Carter-Hoffman college mascot figurines. These statues were hand carved in the early '50s and were masterfully done. There will be four standard-sized mascots, including the UConn Huskie, Stanford Indian, Brown Bear and the Yale Bulldog. There's also a wide selection of Rittgers statue sets available. Rittgers is known for its comical chalkware statues, many of which depict sport scenes. These statue sets are the perfect complement to any figural collection.

It clearly wouldn't be an ITPC auction without a wide assortment of vintage bobbing head dolls and this auction will not disappoint even the most advanced collectors. The auction features 50 vintage dolls, many of which will come in their original picture boxes.

Baseball dolls include the sought-after Roberto Clemente ($1,000) and an almost impossible-to-find variation of the Mickey Mantle doll. There are several dolls from the "Black Face" series and some hard-to-find variations from the White, Green and Gold Base series as well. Football will not take a back seat to the baseball dolls in this auction. Rare dolls of both the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants highlight this selection.

And for those who prefer non-sport items, the auction will feature rare dolls of Mao Tse Tung ($750), Maynard G. Krebbs and Dobie Gillis. "We are trying to branch out into other genres of sports memorabilia," said Trincellito. "We are offering a number of rarer pennants in this auction, including a 1920s New York Football Giants piece that we've never seen before."

There will also be several vintage Brooklyn Dodgers pennants, as well as a 1968 World Series scroll pennant of the Detroit Tigers. Other auction offerings include a 1920-30s Chicago Cubs paperweight, college mascot banks, decanters, 1950s Big League Stars, Dairy Queen, Robert Gould statues, football helmet plaques and more.

"We are also very excited to be offering 50 additional bonus lots to our online customers" said Trincellito. "These lots will not appear in our catalog or any advertisement. It is our way of saying thanks for their patience during the refinement of our website. We have tried to make the site user friendly and easy to navigate. We hope that everyone who visits will have an enjoyable experience."

To view the entire auction, visit ITPC's website at: www.insidetheparkcollectibles.com. Look for ITPC's ad in the March 23 issue of SCD. Any questions or for those who would like to receive a free catalog, call 516-747-7932 or e-mail at sharlou28@aol.com.