Thursday, December 10, 2009

Create Whimsical Holiday Decorations with Dolls

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Article Title: Create Whimsical Holiday Decorations with Dolls
Author: Stephen Daniels
Category: Collecting, Interior Design
Word Count: 537
Keywords: holiday decorating with dolls, collectible dolls, doll accessories, specialty dolls
Author's Email Address: netbizarticle@gmail.com
Article Source: http://www.contentcrooner.com
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Doll enthusiasts often show their carefully assembled collections with pride in special cases, or leave them packed away for safekeeping... but why not bring out dolls from behind the glass this holiday and show them off? This season is all about magic, and dolls embody the childlike wonder that we all try to recapture at this time of year. It is a wonderful time to display your favorite dolls in new and beautiful ways.

One fun way to get ready for the holidays is dressing your dolls up for the season! There are many doll makers that also make gorgeous costumes and clothing for 18" dolls, and even tiny jewelry and crowns. Choosing rich, vibrant colors paired with gold and silver can turn doll displays into royal holiday celebrations.

Another unique holiday idea could involve special costumes with wings that instantaneously transform dolls into lovely angels or fairies. Placing them on a doll stand amidst a winter floral arrangement can be a perfect centerpiece for a table, or a stunning mantelpiece.

With some patience and creativity, you can create all kinds of holiday scenes using dolls. Using purchased or handmade accessories, you could show dolls participating in your most-loved holiday traditions. Dolls could decorate a doll-sized tree, play in fake snow or make a snowman. They could also light a kinera, a Yule log, a menorah, or even play with a dreidel. How about a doll nativity set? No matter which winter celebrations you take part in, dolls can be a part of your decor.

Many people spend hours elaborately decorating beautiful holiday trees, only to stack presents under them any old way. A special under-the-tree arrangement can set yours apart. Artfully wrapped gifts with large, pretty bows under the tree interspersed with dolls and perhaps other toys, such as teddy bears, can make for a whimsical, old-fashioned display that will add that extra touch to your tree.

You can use smaller arrangements of dolls and toys throughout the room to pull your decor theme together, perhaps tucking a doll and a bear into the corner of an antique chair. Just be sure to place dolls in safe locations where they won't be sat upon or damaged! Remember that your dolls will draw children's attention especially, and they are likely to touch or play with the ones in their reach. Keep this in mind when selecting locations for your treasures.

Decorating with dolls should be fun, and what could be more fun than setting up a scene for a daughter, granddaughter or niece including the doll that will be her present? Having the doll sitting at a tea party, or ready to ride away on the girl's bicycle, could be a scene that will bring a smile to her face when she wakes up and sees it in the morning.

Your unique holiday decor is likely to be a conversation starter, and could serve as a way to get others interested in doll collecting. Children and adults alike will love the whimsy and the beauty of your displays, and appreciate your willingness to share your beautiful dolls in such a wonderful way.

http://www.carpatina.com/ Carpatina offers high-quality fashion and collectible dolls with a stylish, romantic flavor. Dolls come with one full outfit. Carpatina Dolls are available online and at specialty retailers. Powered by http://www.seo-search-engine-optimization.netbiz.com/
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Wednesday, December 9, 2009

First Edition of Harry Potter Book Could Bring $25,000

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Article Title: First Edition of Harry Potter Book Could Bring $25,000
Author: Hector Cantu
Category: Collecting, Books, Movies
Word Count: 324
Keywords: Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, rare book, Heritage Auctions
Author's Email Address: hectorc@HA.com
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By June 1997, J.K. Rowling was beginning anew. After separating from her husband, living on welfare and battling depression, she had completed a novel on an old manual typewriter. The story had been rejected by numerous editors before a small London company took a chance and published "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."

With her characters about to storm the literary world, Rowling worked to publicize the book. Among the first to interview the author was Elisabeth Dunn, working for The Daily Telegraph. It was the first interview of Rowling to be published in a national newspaper.

The interview was conducted in Nicholson's Cafe in Edinburgh, Scotland, a favorite writing spot for Rowling. At the time, Rowling had recently given up smoking, Dunn recalls. "I hadn't, and throughout our meeting, Rowling continually leaned into the smoke to pick up the secondary nicotine."

Rowling gave a copy of her book to Dunn, who asked that it be signed -- "a novel experience for her at the time," Dunn says. Rowling thought for a moment before writing: "Breathe some more smoke my way! J.K. Rowling".

That paperback book -- the softcover first edition, first printing of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" -- is featured in a rare books auction scheduled for Feb. 11-12, 2010, in Beverly Hills, Calif. The book, offered by Heritage Auctions, could fetch up to $25,000.

"This book is particularly unique because it shows an early Rowling autograph," says James Gannon, director of rare books at Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. "The pronounced appearance of the 'w' and 'n' in Rowling's last name is rare. In subsequent years, her signature evolved into a much more fluid, less detailed configuration."

A hardcover, first printing of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" realized $33,460 in October 2007, while a softcover first printing of the same title with a signed card sold for $19,120 in March 2009. The book was printed in the U.S. under the title "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

Hector Cantu and Joe Fay are contributors to Heritage Magazine (www.HeritageMagazine.com), where this story originally appeared. For a free subscription, visit www.HeritageMagazine.com.
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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Hunting for Rare Books

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Article Title: Hunting for Rare Books
Author: Hector Cantu
Category: Collecting, Books
Word Count: 955
Keywords: Rare books, auction, valuable, collecting, collector, collectible, Harry Potter
Author's Email Address: hectorc@HA.com
Article Source: http://www.contentcrooner.com
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When it comes to rare books, James Gannon has some simple advice:

"Handle your books carefully, with clean hands," says the director of rare books at Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. "Do not over-open a book, do not keep collectible books in direct sunlight, and do not use a book as a coaster for your coffee cup!"

Yes, Gannon says, he has seen coffee stains on rare books. Maybe that's why serious collectors often hire skilled bookbinders to custom-make conservation cases for their rare books. "It's a smart move," Gannon says.

Here's more from Gannon on collecting rare and valuable books.

Q: What's your best advice for beginning rare-book collectors?
A: Collect what you love. Your passion for a subject or genre will help you educate yourself about the foundation books for that area, and about what to look for in collectible copies of books. Find a few specialist dealers in the area you want to collect and begin a relationship with them. Ask questions about books they are offering, or ask their advice about books you find elsewhere. It is good also to find like-minded collectors to interact with, and follow rare-book blogs or listserves. It is also important to get and read bookseller or auction catalogs, especially those covering books in your field of interest.

Q: What's the one thing you have to look for when buying rare books?
A: You want to find books in the original bindings if possible and in the best condition that you can afford. Each collecting category might have its own standards. For instance, fine press collectors typically want books in pristine condition, and with modern literature a dust jacket in very good or fine condition will represent maybe 80 percent to 90 percent of the value of the book.

Q: Is there anything you are specifically looking for right now?
A: The type of books that excite me are books that are the most important in the history of printing, which might include Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica, generally considered the most important book in the history of science, or Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. In economics it might be Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. In medicine, Andreas Vesalius' De humani corporis fabrica from 1543, or works by the Greek physician Galen or Sir William Osler. We are really looking for foundation books in all fields, but classics of literature are a very popular collecting area. We have been especially strong with science fiction and genre literature fields such as fantasy, horror and mystery and detective fiction.

Q: Are there any time periods you are looking for?
A: There are so many great early printed books that essentially encompass all the great thoughts, ideas, movements, discoveries and theories. Virtually every important thing known to man has its early representation in a printed book, even if it occurred prior to printing, such as the editio princeps of Homer or Plato, as well as famous works by Copernicus, Galileo and Albert Einstein, among others. I like seeing significant books from the first 50 years of printing, i.e. before 1500.

Q: What about recent literature?
A: I'm always looking for first or special editions of classics such as Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises or Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. And let's not forget works by the Bronte sisters, William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Cormac McCarthy is especially hot now.

Q: Anything buyers should be especially wary of when buying?
A: Inscribed copies of modern literature can be problematic, and it is always best to buy copies where there is a known history or provenance of the book. For example, it is always nice to have a picture of the author signing the book to the original recipient and owner. If that is not possible, try to get authentication from a specialist in the field. They know how to identify fake signatures, and often can even identify the forger.

Q: What are your thoughts on collecting rare books as investments?
A: I do my best not to give specific investment advice with regard to how rare books will perform in the future. Of course some collectors think along these lines, and no one wants to buy a collectible that they think might lose value down the road. So my best advice is to look at the recent price history of a specific title, edition, author or category. Empirical evidence shows that rare books have retained or appreciated in value very well. There have been price adjustments depending on trends in technology, or in taste (some authors who used to be popular are no longer in vogue and their prices have fallen, such as John Galsworthy or Walter de la Mere). Generally, the best performers in the future will be those in demand. For instance, literature collectors might ask themselves: "Which of the currently available books will people still be reading for fun 50 years from now or 100 years from now?" Homer has stood the test of time, as has Shakespeare and many others, but what about Joyce, Tolkien, Rand, Salinger, Capote, Morrison, Pynchon, Kerouac and others? Each collector will have to answer this question for themselves.

Q: Most people have houses full of books published over the past decade or two. Is there an example of a recent book that's climbed in value?
A: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the true first edition of the first Harry Potter book, is by far the best example of a recently published book attaining a very rapid rise in value in the marketplace. The publisher made very few of them. Supposedly only about 500 hardcover copies were printed. Almost all were purchased by British libraries. So collectible copies in fine condition and without library markings are rare, with prices ranging from $20,000 to $40,000.

Hector Cantu is editorial director at Heritage Magazine (www.HeritageMagazine.com), where this story originally appeared. For a free subscription, visit www.HeritageMagazine.com.
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Friday, December 4, 2009

John Dillinger Belongings Head to Auction Block

Hector Cantu offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: John Dillinger Belongings Head to Auction Block
Author: Hector Cantu
Category: Collecting, Hunting, Movies
Word Count: 371
Keywords: John Dillinger, Johnny Depp, hunting suit, Rod Serling
Author's Email Address: hectorc@HA.com
Article Source: http://www.contentcrooner.com
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Mike Thompson vividly remembers the knock. It was 1971 and he was a teenager.

"I opened the door and standing there was Rod Serling from 'The Twilight Zone' and another gentleman," Thompson says. "They were working on a documentary and they wanted to interview my mom. I invited them in. It was surreal."

Thompson's mother was Frances Dillinger, the younger stepsister of notorious bank robber John Dillinger. Thompson telephoned his mom, but she was working and said she might not be able to break away. "Serling waited for a while, but they had to leave," Thompson says. "They couldn't wait."

His mom's reaction was not too surprising, Thompson says. "She always kept quiet about John. We never thought too much about it."

But since Dillinger's death in 1934, the legendary status of the infamous gangster has only grown. He robbed at least 20 banks during the Great Depression, escaped from jail twice and was idolized by many as a modern-day Robin Hood. He's the subject of numerous books, with his life of crime most recently told by Johnny Depp in the movie "Public Enemies."

Since shortly after Dillinger's death at the hands of federal agents outside Chicago's Biograph Theater, his family has held several items belonging to Dillinger, including a pocketwatch, hunting suit, rifles, a shotgun, and the wooden gun the family says Dillinger used in a daring jail escape. Also up for auction is the dollar bill removed from Dillinger's body on the day he was shot.

One of the more personal items is a note Dillinger sent to his father, letting him know that his life of crime was not his father's fault. "Dad," Dillinger says in the handwritten letter dated Sept. 29, 1933, "most of the blame lies with me."

The items belonging to the Frances Dillinger family are being auctioned by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions on Dec. 12, 2009.

More than 70 years after Dillinger's death, the family continues living under the legacy of their famous relative. Thompson's son works for a federal law enforcement agency.

"When they did his background check, they saw that his great uncle was John Dillinger -- public enemy No. 1. But my son is doing something good, something he likes. I'm glad he went this route," Thompson concludes with a smile.

Hector Cantu is editorial director at Heritage Magazine (www.HeritageMagazine.com), where this story originally appeared. For a free subscription, visit www.HeritageMagazine.com.
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Newly Discovered 1860 Campaign Banner Breaks Auction Record

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Article Title: Newly Discovered 1860 Campaign Banner Breaks Auction Record
Author: Hector Cantu
Category: Collecting, History, Investing
Word Count: 322
Keywords: Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, Heritage Auctions, Booker T. Washington, politics
Author's Email Address: hectorc@HA.com
Article Source: http://www.contentcrooner.com
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A rare political banner issued by the campaign of a Kentucky lawyer who unsuccessfully ran against Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 presidential elections sold for nearly $100,000 at a November auction.

John C. Breckenridge previously had served as President James Buchanan's vice president and was one of three candidates who ran against Lincoln. After his loss, Breckenridge was elected to the U.S. Senate, but was expelled for supporting the rebellion that led to the Civil War.

Breckenridge's 1860 campaign banner was not known to exist until the example put up for auction was discovered in the floorboards of a house. The banner resembles the U.S. flag, with a portrait of Breckenridge in the upper left corner. Over 13 red and white stripes are the words, "For President, John C. Breckenridge, Vice President Gen. Jos. Lane."

Experts at Dallas-based Heritage Auctions called it "perhaps the most important American political textile to appear at auction." It sold for $95,600.

"Collectors stepped forward for this excellent opportunity," said Tom Slater, director of Heritage Auctions' Americana department. "The importance of a find like this cannot be overstated. It is a milestone in the history of political-items collecting, and the sale of this Breckinridge flag easily erased the previous record high for a political flag."

In February 2007, Heritage Auctions sold a campaign portrait flag featuring Abraham Lincoln and running mate Hannibal Hamlin for $83,650.

The auction featured other significant sales, including a 1766 clothing button protesting the Stamp Act that sold for $8,962, and a rare Ronald Reagan pinback 1980 campaign button, which sold for $1,195.

A china mug picturing America's sixth president, James Monroe, with his name spelled "Munroe," sold for $14,340. A paper lantern from 1864 picturing Lincoln opponent George McClellan -- which would have illuminated nighttime political rallies and parades -- sold for $7,170. A turn-of-the century button depicting Theodore Roosevelt entertaining African-American leader Booker T. Washington for a barrier-breaking dinner in the White House sold for $6,871.

Hector Cantu is editorial director at Heritage Magazine (www.HeritageMagazine.com). For a free subscription, visit www.HeritageMagazine.com.
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Thursday, December 3, 2009

Comic Legend Joe Kubert Opens His Vault to Fans

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Article Title: Comic Legend Joe Kubert Opens His Vault to Fans
Author: Hector Cantu
Category: Collecting, Arts and Crafts, History
Word Count: 661
Keywords: World War II, Joe Kubert, war, Sgt. Rock, Heritage Auctions, Tarzan
Author's Email Address: hectorc@HA.com
Article Source: http://www.contentcrooner.com
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One of comics' legendary artists and creators was barely 12 years old when he began a career that would lead to work on some of comics' most popular characters. But ask Joe Kubert about the most fulfilling part of his journey and he won't mention his work on Sgt. Rock, Hawkman, the Flash, Tarzan, Enemy Ace, or Batman.

"The most satisfying work is the work on my table right now," Kubert, 83, says from his studio in New Jersey. "The more I can get into the work I'm doing, the more satisfaction I get from the work."

On cue, Kubert tells how his latest work -- a graphic novel about a Special Forces team fighting in Vietnam -- was born, starting with the soldier he met decades ago while working on the Tales of the Green Berets newspaper comic strip to the true Vietnam war stories that "made the hair on my neck stand up." The book from DC Comics is due in stores in early 2010.

It's the latest accomplishment in a storied career. "It's funny," Kubert says, "but I got into this business thanks to pure, unadulterated luck."

It began with typical classroom drawings. One of Kubert's junior high friends liked the art and said he should show it to a relative who worked at MLJ Publications, a pulp and comic book house whose most successful title would be Archie.

"It was an entirely different world and business at that time," Kubert says. "Comics were 10 cents apiece with 64 pages of material. They needed a lot of stuff coming through, and that gave guys like me an opportunity. I made some drawings, pencil sketches, and took the subway into New York went up to MLJ. They were very kind. They gave me some real art paper to work on and said, 'Come back again and we'll take another look.' After a year or so, I got my first work. It was a six-page story that paid me $5 a page, which was a heck of a lot! It was more than my father made!"

Over the decades, Kubert would work for DC Comics, EC, Harvey and Timely, drawing, writing, editing, inking and coloring some of the biggest characters in comics. In 1976, he founded the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. He completed the acclaimed graphic novels "Abraham Stone," "Fax From Sarajevo," "Jew Gangster," and "Yossel: April 19, 1943." He was inducted into the Harvey Awards' Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1997, and the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1998.

"Anyone who was a kid from the 1940s through the 1980s will recognize Kubert's distinctive style at a glance," says Jared Green, vice president of business development at Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. "He drew almost every Sgt. Rock story for decades and the cover to almost every DC war comic. Not only is he a favorite among fans, but when other comic book artists talk about their influences and whom they admire, his name is invariably mentioned."

Pieces of original Kubert art from his personal collection are featured in Heritage Auctions' comics and comic art auction scheduled for Feb. 25-26, 2010. Among the items for sale is Kubert's original cover art for Star Spangled War Stories #157, published by DC Comics in 1971. It has a pre-auction estimate of $4,000 to $6,000. His cover art for The Unknown Soldier #247, from 1981, also is expected to fetch between $4,000 and $6,000.

For Kubert, it's a way to share his art with fans. After all, he says, he's an artist, a writer, an editor, a teacher -- though not necessarily a collector. "I would be doing what I'm doing even if I wasn't getting paid," Kubert says. "It's something I have to do. I have two sons in the business now, Adam and Andy, and they are doing very well. To have them feel the same way about their work ... it's a miracle. It's the cherry on top of the whip cream."

Hector Cantu is editorial director at Heritage Magazine (www.HeritageMagazine.com), where this story originally appeared. For a free subscription, visit www.HeritageMagazine.com.
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Hulk Comic Book Sells for $125,000

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Article Title: Hulk Comic Book Sells for $125,000
Author: Hector Cantu
Category: Collecting, Movies, Men's Issues
Word Count: 415
Keywords: Hulk, Heritage Auctions, Marvel Comics, Stan Lee, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four
Author's Email Address: hectorc@HA.com
Article Source: http://www.contentcrooner.com
------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------

A near-mint edition of The Incredible Hulk #1, considered one of the most difficult Silver Age Marvel comics to find in high grade, has sold for $125,475.

Barry Sandoval, director of comics operations at Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, said the auction Nov. 19-21 showed that the vintage comic market remains "quite strong."

"Collectors took full advantage of great prices on a broad and striking array of superb books and vintage art and our consignors fared just as well," Sandoval said. "We had seven consignors bring in more than $100,000 and four of those surpassed $200,000."

The Hulk was Marvel's second Silver Age superhero series, with his first issue dated May 1962. It was preceded by the Fantastic Four. Spider-Man and Thor followed before the end of 1962.

Unlike the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man, the green giant was not an overnight success and the book was canceled after six issues. "It's probably why so few copies of the first issue survive," Sandoval said. "Those that did were mostly in poor condition, as the midnight blue cover background ruthlessly exposed even the smallest imperfection in any given copy."

The Hulk issue sold at Heritage Auctions' November sale was CGC graded near mint 9.2.

At the same auction, a CGC near mint 9.4 unrestored copy of Human Torch #2 sold for $92,612. "This comic, which comes from the Gary Keller Collection, was purchased by Keller in 2006 for $74,750," said Sandoval. "In just three years, the book gained almost $18,000 in value. The fact that it went for more now shows what a savvy collector he is and also that the market is still strong."

A CGC-certified very fine/near mint 9.0 copy of Showcase #22 Green Lantern, one of the two highest graded copies known, sold for $59,750. Keller's collecting savvy showed once again as this comic, also bought by Keller in 2006, more than tripled in value over what he paid for it, Sandoval said.

Original Peanuts comic strip artwork also performed well at the Heritage auction, led by a June 25, 1961, Sunday strip featuring Snoopy. It sold for $53,775.

Heritage Auctions set a record for original fanzine illustration art with Steve Ditko's Comic Crusader #4 Mr. A "Debaters" splash page, from 1968. It sold for $38,837 against a pre-auction estimate of $5,000-plus.

Todd McFarlane's original 1989 cover art for Amazing Heroes Preview Special #170 sold for $26,000. "In 1989, there was no bigger star in comic art than McFarlane and this cover appeared when he was still the regular artist on Amazing Spider-Man," Sandoval said.

Hector Cantu is editorial director at Heritage Magazine (www.HeritageMagazine.com). For a free subscription, visit www.HeritageMagazine.com.
------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------

Ring Linked to Media Tycoon William Randolph Hearst Up For Auction

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Article Title: Ring Linked to Media Tycoon William Randolph Hearst Up For Auction
Author: Hector Cantu
Category: Collecting, Jewelry, Investing
Word Count: 342
Keywords: William Randoph Hearst, Marion Davies, Heritage Auctions, Gone With the Wind, jewelry
Author's Email Address: hectorc@HA.com
Article Source: http://www.contentcrooner.com
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Kendall Brown was only a teenager, but he already was being mentioned in the national gossip columns of Louella Parsons.

It was the 1950s and Brown kept company with some of America's most famous celebrities. His dad Horace had a small role in "Gone with the Wind," and appeared as a bit player in numerous Hollywood movies. Along the way, the elder Brown befriended media mogul William Randolph Hearst and his companion Marion Davies.

In the months following Hearst's death in August 1951, the relationship between Davies and Brown blossomed and the two were married (Horace's own wife had died 10 years earlier). Visitors to the home included Clark Gable, Dick Powell, Glenn Ford, Mary Pickford and Joe Kennedy.

Ken Brown and his brothers were immediately thrust into the celebrity spotlight. "We were in Life magazine," says Brown, now 77. "One day, [champion boxer] Jack Dempsey's daughter showed up at our home in Beverly Hills to meet us, and we started dating."

The first Christmas after his father married Davies, the actress gave her new husband and stepsons cat's eye rings made from one of her favorite brooches. "I later learned that Hearst had given Marion the brooch on one of their trips to Europe," Brown says. "It was a special gift."

Brown's father, who died in 1972, lost his ring, while the rings given to his brothers are now in private hands. After all these years, Brown has consigned his ring to Heritage Auctions' upcoming jewelry auction, scheduled for Dec. 7-9, 2009, in Dallas. The cat's eye chrysoberyl, gold ring -- inscribed "To Kendall Xmas '51 From Marion" -- is expected to fetch between $10,000 and $15,000.

"People today see Marion Davies as William Randolph Hearst's mistress," Brown says. "In those days living with somebody was taboo. But she was much more than that. She was a smart woman. She was adventurous. She was a pilot and flew her own plane. She was charitable and gave to children's hospitals. Marion was the nicest person I ever meet in my lifetime and we all loved her very much."

Hector Cantu is editorial director at Heritage Magazine (www.HeritageMagazine.com), where this story originally appeared. For a free subscription, visit www.HeritageMagazine.com.
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Movie Poster a Treasure for California Family

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Article Title: Movie Poster a Treasure for California Family
Author: Hector Cantu
Category: Collecting, Movies, Investing
Word Count: 341
Keywords: Sherlock Holmes, Freaks, antiques, movie posters, collecting,
Author's Email Address: hectorc@HA.com
Article Source: http://www.contentcrooner.com
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In 1978, Anne Stafford was shopping for a gift for her husband's birthday.

"He is a B horror movie fan and he loved Dracula and Sherlock Holmes and stuff by Roger Corman," says the California mom.

Stafford ended up in an antiques store, not certain what she was looking for or what she would find when a stack of movie posters caught her eye. She began flipping through the sheets when one in particular stood out. "When I saw it, it was just stunning," Stafford recalls. "I knew I had a terrific hit on my hands.

"It was the perfect gift," she continues. "There were maybe 10 movie posters on that table, but honestly I don't remember what the others were. I just remember the 'Freaks' poster."

Stafford paid $10 for the 14-by-36 inch poster and her husband was delighted with the gift.

When released in 1932, 'Freaks' shocked moviegoers. It was based on a short story about circus performers published in February 1923 in Munsey's Magazine. Rather than using actors in costumes and makeup, director and producer Tod Browning cast real performers as "freaks."

It was too much for audiences of the time and MGM quickly pulled the movie from theaters. The studio called it an error in judgment, but decades later, it would become a cult classic at revival houses and on college campuses.

For 30 years, the Staffords had little idea that the poster hanging on their wall was one of the last remaining original posters for the controversial movie. "Movie posters from the original release are virtually unheard of," says Grey Smith, director of vintage movie posters at Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. "It's one of the hobby's greatest rarities."

While researching the poster, at least one dealer offered the Staffords $60,000. But the family decided an auction was the best option for them. In March 2009, an East Coast collector purchased it for $107,550 at a Heritage auction.

"We all like nice things," Stafford says, "but we certainly can't take it with us. We enjoyed it for 30 years. It was fun having it."

Hector Cantu is editorial director at Heritage Magazine (www.HeritageMagazine.com), where this story originally appeared. For a free subscription, visit www.HeritageMagazine.com.
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Mel Ramos Sets Himself Apart from Pin-up Art Legends

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Article Title: Mel Ramos Sets Himself Apart from Pin-up Art Legends
Author: Hector Cantu
Category: Collecting, Men's Issues, Art
Word Count: 499
Keywords: Mel Ramos, Pamela Anderson, Heritage Auctions, Gil Elvgren, pin-ups, pinups
Author's Email Address: hectorc@HA.com
Article Source: http://www.contentcrooner.com
------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------

Many art historians consider Mel Ramos a part of the pop art movement, grouping him with Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Tom Wesselmann, and James Rosenquist.

His nudes first caught the public eye in the 1960s when pin-ups were a popular part of American culture. In recent years, original pin-up art by artists such as Gil Elvgren, Earl Moran and Enoch Bolles have attracted attention from collectors, and auction prices for their images of scantily clad women have shot up.

But Ramos doesn't consider himself a pin-up artist. "No," he says from his California studio. "I'm not part of that group."

Ramos, 74, says his inspiration was another art form. "I was attracted to comics back then, because of the eroticism before the Comics Code was imposed," Ramos says. "After that, comic books got kind of boring. The drawings in those early comics books of Sheena and all those sexy comic queens, that's what attracted me. Originally, I was just doing comic book images the way they appeared and then I decided I wanted to make them look more realistic, so I started adding the faces of celebrities, which I still do."

Superman, Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern all got the Ramos treatment. His Sheena, Queen of the Jungle -- like many of his images -- features vivid colors within sharp contour lines, with the subject's name spelled out in big letters. A private collector recently consigned Ramos' classic Sheena painting to Dallas-based Heritage Auctions.

The New York Times has pointed out that modeling comic-book bodies on those of real women -- movie stars like Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe -- was Ramos' innovation. "So despite their nonrealistic comic style," the Times said, "Mr. Ramos' women had an erotic presence that comic-book women of the day never had."

His later works combined nudes with well-known brands, including images of women, for instance, inside a Baby Ruth candy wrapper or kicking back on a giant roll of Lifesavers. He's also known for his "peek-a-boo" paintings, where women are visible through keyholes. Ramos says he's working on such a painting for actress Pamela Anderson.

Although he owns an original Elvgren painting, Ramos says he's never been particularly inspired by the work of America's great pin-up artists. "The [Spanish painters], Joaquin Sorolla, Diego Velasques, those were the main influences when I was younger," he says. "I aspire to those kind of heights."

As for contemporary artists, Ramos is more likely to identify with his colleagues and friends Tom Wesselmann and Allen Jones. "Most of my career, I have received the brunt of criticism from nudity in my work. It's controversial. I've been the target of feminists over the years. Not so much anymore. But Tom and Allen, we've suffered the same abuse because of the erotic implications of the work.

"When Picasso or Matisse did a painting of an undraped model, a nude model, they were called nudes," Ramos continues. "When I do it, they're called pin-ups. Somebody has a pre-occupation with this. I certainly don't. I consider myself a painter."

Hector Cantu is editorial director at Heritage Magazine (www.HeritageMagazine.com), where this story originally appeared. For a free subscription, visit www.HeritageMagazine.com.
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