CRANSTON, R.I. – Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers’ Summer Comic, TCG and Toy auction on Saturday, July 10, starting at 10 am Eastern time, is shaping up as the firm’s biggest and best Pop Culture sale to date. In addition to the categories named in the auction’s title, the first 52 lots will be from the collection of Eric Baker, someone who’s very well-known and respected in the community. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
Mr. Baker was the creative lead of props and set dressing for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney World and Disneyland. He was also Nickelodeon’s prop master and fabricator. Several of the props in the auction were fabricated by him during his career with Nickelodeon. Other items are objects he collected.
“I’m honored that we get to handle the collection of Eric Baker, not just because of his unbelievable career but for the fact he’s a longtime friend,” said Travis Landry, a Bruneau & Co. auctioneer and the firm’s Director of Pop Culture. “So cool to think we’re bringing his creations to market, especially when you consider Nickelodeon props are so elusive to collectors today.”
The screen-used Frankenstein operation game from Nickelodeon’s popular Double Dare TV show (1991), used in numerous episodes throughout the show’s run, has an estimate of $1,000-$1,500. The prop retains the heart, saw, wrench, and hammer accessories. Included is an original snapshot of the Frankenstein, taken on-set by Eric Baker.
Two prototype shrunken heads from Universal Studios’ Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park, made circa 2015, will be sold as one lot, with an estimate of $800-$1,200. These were the samples to the production ‘Shrunken Heads’ found in the park’s gift shops. Each has production notes on the bottom, in marker.
Also from the Eric Baker collection, The Upside-Down Compass of Henry Hudson, used on-screen in Nickelodeon’s Legends of the Hidden Temple TV game show, an artifact that was a point of focus in the show’s 90th episode in 1995, is expected to change hands for $300-$500. The compass is a little more than 6 inches in diameter.
The second portion of the catalog will include 321 lots of graded CGC and CBCS comic books, in addition to group lots of Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Modern Age comics. The entirety of the recently graded CGC Silver and Bronze age comics came from an original owner New Jersey collection Bruneau & Co. processed this year – truly a great selection of books. The final portion of the catalog includes 166 lots of Pokemon trading cards.
“The comic sales always bring so much color to the gallery,” said Bruneau & Co. president and owner Kevin Bruneau. “The comics in this sale are phenomenal, especially the high-grade Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, and other Silver Age comics, which all came from the New Jersey collection. It’s great to see them go from cardboard liquor boxes to beautiful CGC slabs.”
A strong candidate for top lot of the auction is the copy of Marvel Comics Avengers #1 (Sept. 1963), graded CGC 8.0 and featuring the origin and first appearance of the Avengers, plus appearances by the Fantastic Four, Loki, and Teen Brigade. It has an estimate of $18,000-$24,000. Mr. Bruneau called it “the finest copy of Avengers #1 we have handled to date.”
Not far behind is a copy of Marvel Comics Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964), graded CGC 9.0 and having a pre-sale estimate of $10,000-$15,000. The comic book features the first appearance of the Green Goblin, as well as the first meeting of the Hulk and Spider-Man. Like with Avengers #1, Mr. Bruneau said this is the finest example of ASM #14 he’s ever handled.
Other comic books will include a copy of Marvel Comics X-Men #1 (Sept. 1963), featuring the origin and first appearance of the X-Men and Magneto, graded CGC 3.0 and estimated at $7,000-$10,000, and a copy of Marvel Comics Avengers #4 (March 1964), featuring the first Silver Age appearance of Captain America, plus Sub-Mariner, graded CGC 8.0 and estimated at $3,000-$5,000.
On to Pokemon, and the ever-popular world of TCG (Trading Card Games). A Wizards of the Coast Pokemon Gym Challenge 1st edition factory sealed booster box from 2000, a true Holy Grail item for Pokemon / TCG collectors, as well as a 1999 French Pokemon base 1st edition Dracaufeu (Charizard) holographic trading card, graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint, will both cross the auction block. The final price is anyone’s guess; each has a pre-sale estimate of $20-$10,000.
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