Showtime Auction Services April 11-13 sale will be big An important single-owner collection of more than 2,000 advertising, country store and Old West antiques and collectibles will be sold April 11-13 by Showtime Auction Services in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
News-Antique.com - Jan 11,2008 - OUTSTANDING SINGLE-OWNER LIFETIME COLLECTION OF ADVERTISING, COUNTRY
STORE AND OLD WEST ITEMS TO BE SOLD APRIL 11-13 BY SHOWTIME AUCTION SVCS.
(Ann Arbor, Mich.) - An outstanding single-owner collection of advertising, country store and Old West antiques and collectibles will be sold the weekend of April 11-13 by Showtime Auction Services. The sale will comprise the living estate of George Cross, a dedicated collector from Orange, Calif. The auction will be held at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
“This is one of the finest collections of its kind in the United States,” said Mike Eckles of Showtime Auction Services. “Nearly everything Mr. Cross owns is in mint or near mint condition. Many of the items are extremely rare and one-of-a-kinds, or one of a few examples.” Mr. Eckles added all items will be sold without minimums or reserves. “Everything goes, regardless of price,” he said.
Mr. Cross has a personal history as colorful and interesting as his collections. In 1975, he started the Pomona Swap Meet and Car Show in Pomona, Calif., the West Coast equivalent of the Hershey Car Show in Pennsylvania -- only Cross's show was (and is) held eight times a year, vs. just once a year for Hershey. The Pomona event is the second largest cars and parts show in the country.
Between shows, Mr. Cross would often hit the road in search of items for his huge collection, which now totals over 2,000 lots (all will be sold at the April sale). “I don't know of anybody who was as particular about what he collected as Mr. Cross,” Mr. Eckles said. “He wouldn't even look at it unless it was a 9-1/2 or a 10. He only bought top quality merchandise, or he didn't buy it at all.”
Mr. Cross, now in his 70's and retired in California, has been a collector virtually all his life, beginning as a child, when he accumulated hundreds of marbles (even they will be sold in April, in two jars full, neither of which has been picked). Although the Pomona show has to do with cars, very little of what he collected is car-related. The April sale will, however, include some mascots and other items.
Although the auction will feature much in the way of advertising and country store collectibles, the main focus will be on Western memorabilia, Mr. Cross's first passion. But the sale will also include hundreds of items in an array of other categories, including petroliana; coin-op; gambling; coffee grinders; Coca-Cola; occupational mugs; bronzes; banks; straight razors; barber shop items; and more.
The Old West memorabilia will include firearms, ammunition, posters and calendars – all of it rare and mint or near-mint. The posters and calendars are complete with bands (the metal strips used for hanging, which were routinely destroyed over time). One poster expected to generate crowd buzz is a rare, near-mint Winchester firearms poster, the only American version known (est. $30,000-$40,000).
Additional anticipated top lots follow. All are dated sometime
