Holabird Western Americana Collections Will Hold a ‘Fred Holabird’s Grand Finale Auction’ Across 5 Days: Oct. 31 – Nov. 4
Fred Holabird, the president, owner and founder of Holabird Western Americana Collections, is riding off into retirement, but not before holding one more killer auction—a five-day colossus.
RENO, Nev. – It’s the end of an era, folks. After conducting huge, multi-day auctions for over a dozen years, Fred Holabird, the president, owner, and founder of Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC, is officially riding off into retirement, but not before holding one more killer auction, a five-day colossus, October 31st through November 4th, online and live in the Reno gallery.
The auction—officially titled Fred Holabird’s Grand Finale—will start at 8 a.m. Pacific Time each day and is jam-packed with 2,800 lots in collecting categories that include mining, numismatics, stocks, Native Americana, railroadiana, political, and general Americana. Many items are coming to the market for the first time in decades. The gallery is located at 3555 Airway Drive in Reno.
This iteration of the company had its first sale in January 2013. The goal was to offer rare Western collectibles and pocketbooks to collectors of all ages, from those just beginning to advanced lifelong collectors and premier institutions. While many auction houses shied away from selling items under $1,000, Mr. Holabird had his eyes on the future: encouraging beginning collectors would benefit the collecting community as a whole in the long run.
“After a decade of operations under this philosophy, we think we have been proven right,” Holabird remarked. “We’ve watched as the pool of collectors grows auction to auction. We love our worldwide network of collectors, dealers, and consignors that have made our company such a success and helped us rebuild many collecting markets. But it’s time for me to pass the baton.”
Fred Holabird’s Grand Finale auction features several outstanding collections, starting with the Douglas McDonald collection of mining stocks and Nevada history items. The numismatics section includes a superb grouping of Nevada scrip, with ultra-rare advertising notes from the Comstock, Eureka, and more. Gold Rush, Express, and banking items are in multiple sections.
Holabird’s second round of choice Native American jewelry will highlight the Ken and Carolyn Osborne collection. In June 1993, the couple founded 2 Spirits Trading, dedicated to promoting, selling, and educating customers about cowboy, Western, and Native American collectibles. They learned directly from Native American and Western artisans before representing their work.
Day 2 will begin with a choice group of Western paintings from artist Dan Muller, including a piece Mr. Holabird believes may have been the inspiration for the song Riders in the Sky. Five paintings that once hung in the Town House Saloon in Reno in the 1930s will come up for bid. The art section also has Arnold Friberg limited-edition prints and original limited-edition photos of Mt. Whitney from Alabama Hills, Inyo County, taken by Holabird photographer Uwe Nikoley.
The transportation section on Day 5 has a great group of Nevada railroad passes, with early Carson & Colorado RR and Virginia & Truckee RR, plus scarce stage and steamer ephemera. Following this section are rare Wells Fargo and Adams & Co. exchanges, checks, and ephemera, including a September 1862 Virginia City Pony Express cover, sent right at the time Samuel Clemens (better known as Mark Twain) got to Virginia City. Lot 5097 is a painting depicting a race between Wells Fargo and Pacific Union Express in the late 1860s at Virginia City, Nevada.
On Day 2, the large Minerals & Mining section features gold nuggets, gold-in-quartz specimens, Nevada ore specimens, gemstones, minerals, crystals, and fossils. Mining ephemera and artifacts from the Western states, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, and Nevada, follow.
A rare Lundy/Mono County collection is split into five lots: Gold Rush assays from Coloma, the discovery site for the Gold Rush; rare Comstock maps, mining deeds, postcards, and checks; and artifacts, including ingot molds and assay equipment, a drill core kit from Belmont, Nevada, scales, explosives collectibles, and rare mining references.
Day 3 is all numismatics and includes World’s Fair & Expo material; US Mint ephemera; currency and Western scrip; ingots, including a possible Harvey Harris fantasy piece; gold and silver US and foreign coins; choice medals, so-called dollars and badges; and a great group of Western tokens, including Indian Trader, California, Colorado, and Nevada. Lot 3203 is an 1803 Draped Bust Dollar altered to look like an 1804.
In addition to the previously mentioned silver and turquoise jewelry from the Osbourne Collection (and others), the Native Americana section on Day 2 also includes baskets, rugs, pottery, postcards, and ephemera, including a pass for Sitting Bull from the 9th Infantry and original Edward Curtis prints.
The political and militaria section on Day 5 includes Founding Fathers and presidential autographs (Robert Morris, Teddy Roosevelt, John Quincy Adams, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, FDR, Woodrow Wilson, McKinley, and more); rare Mexican-American War, Civil War, and World War collectibles and artifacts; and a large knife and compass section at day’s end.
In addition to the rare Western mining stocks previously mentioned from the McDonald collection, the stocks and bonds section also features railroad stocks, American Express pieces, and mining stocks from Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, Nevada, and more.
The Day 4 General Americana section will feature maps, books, photos, rare documents, a large jewelry section, and more. Lot 4021 is a fabulous panorama photograph of Donner Lake believed taken by the famous photographer WH Jackson. Also sold will be rare California and Colorado books and early guides; early Nevada ephemera related to Mark Twain; and a great group of Harolds Club pin-up posters.
Additional Day 4 highlights will include Lot 4243, original photographs of William T. “Bloody Bill” Anderson; rare Wyoming/Utah fort and Indian Trader ephemera; 19th-century jewelry with ties to the Nevada Brewery in Virginia City, Nevada; bottles and saloon collectibles; fire-related collectibles; and much more.
Bids can be placed in person, over the phone with an agent, or online via iCollector.com, LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com, or AuctionZip.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted.
Actually, Fred Holabird’s Grand Finale auction technically isn’t a grand finale. One final online-only timed auction is scheduled for later in November. It is a “clear the shelves” blow-out sale. The largest part of that auction will be dealer lots of stocks from the Ken Prag Collection, easily a few hundred thousand pieces.
“Our dealers have been asking for years for us to sell this level of quantity, and we listened.” Mr. Holabird said, adding, “It will be a once-in-a-lifetime event, filling dealer inventories for the next decade. And we have not cherrypicked or looked for autographs.”
Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC, may be reached by phone at 1-844-492-2766 or 775-851-1859 or via email at fredholabird@gmail.com. To learn more, please visit www.holabirdamericana.com. Updates are posted frequently.