June 25, 1999
Greetings Accumulators!
It's officially summer. It's hot and humid here in NYC. Perfect weather
for staying indoors, cranking up the air conditioner and writing to you.
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF NO, I'M NOT READY TO DROP IT YET
Just when you thought everyone had finally exhausted the subject of the
fiberglass cows standing around in downtown Chicago, more news! Actually,
there are two items.
The first item is about who is enjoying the cows and who is not. It seems there are some two dozen carriage horses in Chi-Town who are seriously spooked by the life-size bovines. The carriage business operator, fearing that a horse might bolt upon coming face to face with a cow in a pink evening gown (well, wouldn't you?), complained to the city. The city lent the carriage operator a fiberglass cow - unpainted - and he set it up in the stable. Once the horses seemed to be at home with the cow, the crew started painting it in lots of different colors, and gave it a hat and some blankets to wear. It seems to have helped quite a bit. No word on which streetcorner will be sporting "Carriage Cow".
The second item: the cows now have their own website. Yes, you can go to
Cows on Parade and visit them yourself. There are some pretty interesting
cows at the site. You can choose your favorite and leave a message
proclaiming your love. The URL is http://www.metromix.com/go/cows.
SAY IT AIN'T SO, JOE DEPARTMENT
It seems that Joe DiMaggio, as he lay dying of lung cancer, was asked by
Morris Engleberg, the man who is now executor of his estate, to sign some
68 baseballs. Engelberg then took a treasure trove of DiMaggio-signed
memorabilia, added the baseballs to it, and sold it to a dealer named Ralph
Perullo. Joltin' Joe was hardly in his grave when the deal took place for
somewhere around 3 million dollars. Perullo wasted no time, marketing the
baseballs for $1,200 to $1,500 each at a card show just days after he
acquired them. Why is this important? There's a great deal of DiMaggio
signed material out there, and most of it was signed when Joe D was
healthy. He was very proud of his autograph, which he had carefully
designed and practiced. The newly-signed baseballs are signed in a shaky
script, the handwriting of someone so weak he couldn't even control a pen,
and no one can figure out why he would have agreed to do such a thing.
Word has it that fans are clamoring for even more disturbing DiMaggio
memorabilia. One individual allegedly asked to buy Joe DiMaggio's
deathbed. He was refused.
MORE GRANDMA
A three-parter about my beloved Grandma has been posted on the Twin Brooks
website. It's called "Driving Miss Grandma". To read it, go to
Index Of Articles.
This is a short one, Accumulators. We have much to do this weekend.
Tomorrow, Artie and I will be attending La Grande Dance Recital of Caroline
Trugman, prima five-year-old ballerina and Artie's Goddaughter. On Sunday,
I'll be doing appraisals at The Liberty State Park Collector's Expo in
Jersey City, NJ. If you're in the nabe, stop by and say hi! Have a great
week, Accumulators. Happy hunting!
Best,
Judith
© 1999 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #89
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
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