April 14, 2000
Greetings Accumulators!
Taking time out from hearing about Mini-Miami-Waco-In-The Making to write
to you, and I'm happy to be doing it. Am I the only one who wishes this
bad drama would be over already?
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF A LITTLE COLLECTING HUMOR
A wife and husband had different hobbies. She loved to go to auctions; his
hobby was golf. And they both talked in their sleep.The other night, while they were
asleep, he yelled out "Fore!" His wife yelled back, "Four and a quarter !"
SPORTS MEMORABILIA IN THE TOILET DEPARTMENT
Federal authorities report that they've broken up a ring of autograph
forgers on the west coast. The ring, supposedly a multi-state affair, was
pulling in millions by selling fake autographs of sports stars and other
celebrities, on everything from letters to baseballs. One undercover agent
reports that one of the defendants in the case told him Mickey Mantle
"still has one arm out of the grave doing autographs." What a sensitive
soul! The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the group was based in
Escondido, near San Diego. There were allegedly 26 or more people
involved. You have to give the group credit for aiming high. They are
accused of forging the signatures of Elvis Presley, Ronald Reagan, Walt
Disney and - get this - George Washington. In a bizarre aside, the Feds
mentioned that one of the baseballs was signed with Mother Theresa's
autograph. Evil joke, or informal eye test? You be the judge.
CHOO-CHOO SUE TO-DO!
You can't make this stuff up: A company in Maryland says its plans for new
model trains were stolen by South Korean men. They say the men turned the
plans over to The Lionel Train Co. Mike's Train House of Columbia, MD, is
suing Lionel. They're claiming Lionel's new steam engine model is one
based on plans stolen from them. They are seeking three million dollars in
damages in the suit. Richard N. Maddox, President of Lionel, says he's not
convinced anything improper has taken place, but the plaintiff's attorney,
Charles J. Bloom, says that Lionel's top brass were warned twice that they
were using stolen plans for their new steam engine.So far, Lionel has made a little over
two thousand of the new steam engines, and every one of them was pre-sold before it
was shipped to a retailer. So, the suit goes chugging along. Will this be "the end of the
line" for Lionel? Keep your eye "trained" on the situation.
HOLD THAT TIGER!
Tiger Woods just lost a suit against a painter who has been selling limited
edition prints depicting Woods' Masters Tournament victory. The judge
ruled that the artist had a first amendment right to not just paint Woods,
but to sell the paintings as well. This is a suit being closely watched by
public figures and their legal minions. If a precedent is set preventing
celebs from controlling their own images, you're going to see many more
trademarked names, like Leonardo Di Caprio's. This could change the look
of movie credits forever.
Well, Accumulators, it does seem like today's newsletter was kidnapped by
The Law Review, doesn't it? Sometimes it just happens that way. Tomorrow,
"Treasures In Your Home" will be having a giant Appraisathon at The Kaufman
Studios (34-12 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, NY), from 11AM to 4PM. It's
free, and there will be a drawing for a Web-TV. If you're in the nabe,
stop by and say "hi!" Have a glorious week, Accumulators. Happy hunting!
Best,
Judith
© 2000 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #116
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your comments, as always, are welcome. If you have something to say, write to me.
To subscribe to the free short weekly email newsletter, send a blank email to subscribe-judith@topica.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RETURN TO INDEX OF NEWSLETTERS