by SLOT DYNASTY » Sun Sep 21, 2014 2:58 am
I attribute the low prices, (especially on the Victorian Uprights), to hub-bub that I have been hearing
in the past several months, from people being 'Fed Up' with the way that VCA has been conducting their
auctions. They have been getting progressively worse, with each new venture. Perhaps things will now
change for the better, with the new ownership. The main thing that always irritated me, was when a
well known collector, consigned a great amount of 'High Quality' machines, that were mixed in with all
the Repro & Fake Crap. One example - The Mel Getlan collection. I have known Mel for many years, and
was surprised that he didn't consign elsewhere, like Dan Morphy, Rich Penn, or James Julia. Grant you, I
do see occasional repro's in the other auctions, but the big difference with those, is they are usually noted
as to what they are, and you Don't See the Vegas Butchers Crap in those either.
I will assume that many of the very unusual notes, planted in the Upright descriptions, about the recast,
and broken parts, were due to notes from Dave, who went over most of them pretty thoroughly, before
the auction. There are also many other issues that needed to be addressed, regarding the mechanisms,
that didn't come about, because the keys were not available.
Yes, many of the Victorian Upright prices were rather soft this time around. Some being attributed to
the mish-mosh of broken, switched, and incorrect castings. Some were pretty close to my original estimates,
and others were way off. The biggest shocker to me, was the "Midget Derby". I estimated it to bring between
$100,000.00 to $150,000.00 If I had known it was going for what it did, I would have been there in a flash, as
that is the only piece that had my interest. I first saw that machine, in Harrah's Pony Express Museum, back in
the late 60's, and took pics of it. After the two early Pony Express auctions, it had been stashed in the main
warehouse, where many of his extra cars were, then later moved again, to 'who-knows-where'. I should have
pursued it then, but it had vanished from my memory, (which was much better then, than now)! It eventually
was moved to one of the corporate offices, where it sat, until this collection was reunited for auction. In those
early years, Dick Bueschel, and I were researching all we could, to come up with anything on this machine, to
no avail. No ads, no pics, no maker. At least the machine had a name, but that didn't bring any clues either. The
only guess we had, was that it may be Watling. It is quite possibly a prototype, but who knows. When Dave had
a chance to check the mechanism, he couldn't find any stamped-in, or cast letters or numbers, to indicate a
clue, as to who the builder was. I am hoping that whoever purchased this machine, (and I have a guess, between
two persons), that they contact me with any info, that might show-up, after going completely through it.
Thank you, Bill