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About
ten or twelve years ago, a friend of mine, Jerry Director of New
Jersey, who is a big advertising collector saw an example of
this sign on the front cover of a book on root beer
collectibles. He tracked down the owner and made an offer for
it. The guy was a postal worker or something like that, and
though he didn't make lots of money, he didn't want to sell it.
A year or so later the guy called Jerry, and his kid was going
to college or something, and he needed the dough. Jerry bought
it for $4,000.00, and sold it a month later for $12,000.00
Years
ago, before I got a computer, I was an expert at getting on
line. I could have afforded one, but being that I never knew
when I'd find something great I had to have, and might need the
money I figured I'd wait. That's a collector for you! I
was just getting into eBay heavy then, and found ways to get on at almost any hour. There's a 7th Day
Adventist college not far from me. They had a computer room that
stayed open all night. I'd go there and cruise eBay, often till
3 or 4 in the morning , then go home all zonked out.
One
day I was at the local library, and had been cruising eBay. They
were about to close, and I was starting to leave. As I was
walking past one of the computers that you had to stand at, I
checked a few last things. Normally I never punched in
"baseball sign", as there's so many new signs, it's
too much work to plow thru them all. However, for some reason I
did that time. On the first page I saw a listing that said
"Hires baseball sign". I immediately thought of
Jerry's sign, but I knew the chances were millions
to one it could be that sign, and that the listing was probably
for something contemporary. I clicked it on and about fell over.
It was this sign you see above, and it was sitting at $5.00 or
something. It had a week or so left before it closed. As I
recall it was listed poorly, no gallery photo, and not in the
best categories. Beautiful!.
Now
this sign is designed in a three dimensional style. The part
with the kids is separate, but is attached to the back part that
has the guy leaning over the fence with the tray of Hires. The
part with the kids folds out about two inches. I think it may
have been designed to stand against a back wall behind a
counter. Anyway, I got it for I think it was $35.00 or something
ridiculous.
I
had seen a story in the Inside Collector Magazine I think it
was, about a guy in Los Angeles named Chuck Kovasik that
restored signs. I tracked him down and shipped it to him to
repair. He called me and explained I only had part of the
sign....and that he could make the back part and reattach it. He
said he could fix just the part I had for about $425.00, or make
the back part too for $700.00 . I said do it all. Chuck's quite
an artist, as he did a
fantastic job painting the back. I'm pretty picky and was very
satisfied with the art quality. He even fatigued it with a
little staining to match the front
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