Wish You Were Here

Having an awesome time so far. Figure I'd give a quick update while the room sales are momentarily quiet. Sales have been good, but not great yet - lots of wanderers and window shoppers. Kinda figures, given the economy.

I've been good so far with my purchases - just a bunch of reference materials, including some hobby stuff from the early 1970s, including a few show ribbons. (One from 1973 listed the judge as "Marney." Just about made me cry!)

And thanks to one of these reference material stashes, I finally solved a mystery we discussed here on the blog: the origin of those mysterious cast iron Breyer doorstops. The company responsible? The Armstrong Supply Company of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The brochure I found in my stash is for their "Western Art Collection," featuring what they call "Genuine Legal Forgeries."

"The Armstrong "A" Series (Prefix "A") is an outstanding collection of museum quality prints which are among the world's finest. These prints are exact reproductions of original masterpieces by famous western artists such as Charles Russell and Frederick Remington.

Published by Aaron Ashley, Inc., of New York, these fine prints are copyrighted reproductions authorized by the museums owning the originals."

Interesting. From the back page:

"We invite you to write for our Armstrong Supply Catalog No. 76 which includes an extensive line of equestrian equipment and tack. Also featured in this catalog, you'll find our delightful collection of Cast Iron and Brass Giftware. These unusual and authentic Early American Antique reproductions include everything from children's toys to Farm and Ranch Bells."

Hmm. More to the story than a simple case of copying, perhaps?