Event Calendar

A Secret Vault

The online auction features a selection of intriguing items recently discovered, or rediscovered, by the owners, a couple from Northern California. The 95 lots include autographed letters from famous people, postage stamps from Great Britain, and an assortment of gold coins from the 19th-20th centuries. Auction highlights include signed correspondence by the late Princess Diana from 1994; by abolitionist leader John Brown; and by biologist Charles Darwin, known as the father of evolution. Also of note is the Great Britain 30 pence Comedians Error Stamp from 1998 that featured English entertainer Joyce Grenfell.

The owners are unsure of the exact provenance of the items in the vault, but many come from overseas and/or were passed down from late family members. In fact, most of the stamps and autographed items were acquired some years ago from Stanley Gibbons in London, England, the world’s oldest rare stamp seller and one of the foremost purveyors of such collectibles. (However, despite its prominence and 167-year history, the company has had a recent change of fortune. After its ill-fated purchase in December 2023 of the world’s most expensive stamp, the British Guiana 1c Magenta, Stanley Gibbons has now become part of the Strand Collectibles Group.)

Eventually, the owners’ items were shipped from Europe and were sent to a storage vault in Wyoming. There other items accumulated over time, and they rested for some years -- only to be rediscovered recently when the owners moved to California. And what a marvelous surprise it must have been to revisit the vault! Now the couple has moved the rediscovered items to auction, in hopes that others will enjoy and appreciate in the light of day what has been hidden away for years.

10:30am - 1:30pm

Turner Auctions + Appraisals
461 Littlefield Avenue

So. San Francisco, CA

Illustration Art
Sale #2673

Swann Auction Galleries
104 East 25th Street

New York, NY

Prints & Multiples
Sale #1328

The auction features strong sessions of artworks by Contemporary, and Modern Masters as well as a curated session of Photographs from Muybridge to Salgado. Pop Art is firmly highlighted by the exceedingly rare unique screenprint Action Picture by Andy Warhol, however you will also find works by Roy Lichtenstein, Alex Katz, Ed Ruscha, David Hockney, Frank Stella, Patrick Caulfield and others. Not to be missed, the Modern session features a strong selection of etchings, linocuts and ceramics by Pablo Picasso with other impressive works by Marc Chagall, Joan Miró, and Alexander Calder. The session of American master printmakers is aptly highlighted by Edward Hopper's mysterious and intriguing Night Shadows from 1921. Spanning across over 500 years of art history, there is certainly something for everyone within this Spring's marquee Prints and Multiples auction.

Preview by appointment

Freeman’s / Hindman Auctions
1550 W. Carroll Avenue

Chicago, IL

Autographs
Sale #2674

Swann Auction Galleries
104 East 25th Street

New York, NY

EC, Mad, Pre-Code Horror & R. Crumb
Sale #3034

The auction features over 400 lots of comic books, original art, signed books and limited edition prints. Our focus is on the scandalous horror comics of the 1950s; the early MAD comics of Harvey Kurtzman; and R. Crumb and the Underground comix revolution. A handful of treasures from other categories rounds out the sale.

Comics sold referencing a third-party grading service are sold "as is" without PBA's grading opinion and without any express or implied warranty. No returns of CGC-certified material will be accepted for any reason. Even with careful shipping, CGC holders occasionally incur minor chipping and cracking during shipment; therefore, PBA cannot guarantee the condition of these holders. If they are damaged during transit, PBA will have them reholdered on the buyer's behalf, but will not accept returns due to holder damage that does not affect the grade or condition of the item itself.

11am

PBA Galleries
605 Addison Street

Berkeley, CA