One of the finest Civil War collections ever offered, Nov. 20-21, by Heritage in Gettysburg One of the finest Civil War collections ever offered, Nov. 20-21, in Gettysburg
News-Antique.com - Nov 18,2008 - World famous collection of broadcaster John Henry Kurtz includes rare flags, important uniforms from The War Between The States.
> DALLAS, TX – Most collectors are identified by what they collect.
> Every once in a while, though, a collector comes along that transcends
> their hobby and changes the arrangement, making it instead that the
> hobby itself is identified by the collector themselves. John Henry
> Kurtz was such a man, and his unparalleled, massive collection of
> Civil War artifacts has long been considered one of the most important
> groupings in the category. When Kurtz, a well-known actor and the
> voice of the /NBC Nightly News/, passed away in March of this year, he
> left behind not only a legacy of being an impeccable gentleman, but
> also one of the most passionate and knowledgeable collectors the genre
> has ever known.
>
> This Nov. 20-21, Heritage Auction Galleries will have the distinct and
> sincere honor of auctioning off the Kurtz Collection of Civil War
> Memorabilia as part of its Signature Civil War Auction, taking place
> at the Eisenhower Hotel & Resort in Gettysburg, PA, the site of the
> most famous, and decisive, Civil War battle of them all.
>
> “The American Civil War was clearly the defining moment in this
> nation’s history,” said Dennis Lowe, Director of Civil War Auctions
> for Heritage. “The cataclysmic blood-letting it represented finally
> forged the individual states into one nation. This was the last war in
> American history that interwove the horror and tragedy of the
> battlefield with an aura of romance, chivalry and bravado. The Kurtz
> Collection has gathered the very essence of the conflict together,
> making it one of the finest Civil War collections extant.”
>
> Kurtz, or John Henry as he was known to most everyone, was a fiercely
> dedicated collector for more than 40 years. He used his success over
> the last 20 years to combine a degree of affluence with his superior
> knowledge and superb taste to form his unrivaled collection. His
> interest lay primarily in the arms, uniforms, equipment and
> photographs of Union combat infantrymen. As a result, the grouping of
> uniforms in the collection is the most comprehensive and important
> ever offered to historical collectors.
>
> “The highlights of this auction are myriad, with the Kurtz collection
> representing the most important presentation of Civil War artifacts in
> modern history,” said Lowe. “It will be many years in the future
> before a commensurate presentation is again seen in the market place.”
>
> The massive, detailed full-color glossy catalog for the auction is
> already being hailed as a watermark in the genre and will remain an
> important and frequently referenced resource for collectors and
> scholars alike for some time to come.
>
> The general Civil War session includes the personal battle flag of
