Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Gygax Collection Up For Auction

A post over at Beyond the Black Gate alerted me to the fact that, according to another site:
Gail Gygax, Gary’s widow, and The Collector’s Trove are auctioning off Gary Gygax’s personal game collection. Bids for the first batch of 204 items close Wednesday afternoon (ET). The selection includes games he authored, games he played, and still shrink-wrapped comp copies of various games provided to him as TSR’s founder. Just a few of the highlights:
I didn't spend much time scouring all 200+ items up for auction, but my initial pass through them suggests there aren't too many "treasures" amongst them, at least in the historical sense. I mean, yes, it'd be cool to snag a shrinkwrapped first edition of Gamma World, but not at the price it's likely to go for given that it's from Gary's collection. So here's a chance for all you with more money than I to get hold of a gaming product once owned by a founder of our hobby.

16 comments:

  1. These items also come with a Certificate of Authenticity signed by EGG's widow Gail, and stamped with his signature stamp from BITD.

    The bids on many of these are ridiculously high at this point--well beyond what the items would normally go for.

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  2. Interestingly enough, at the end I see the Knightmare Chess and Tile Chess sets I bought as a gift for him in 2007.

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  3. Snit's Revenge! A classic. Those Bolotomi never stood a chance.
    Somehow I'm having a hard time seeing him playing it. But that Tom Wham was a genius with an excellent name.

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  4. I wonder if I can sell my shrink wrapped copy of "Gangbusters" for $205 ?

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  5. It would be nice to see all of the cash these items will bring go to a good charity. Like toys for tots or make a wish found foundation.

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  6. Look for more sales along these lines, I think. This is not the "good stuff." Notably absent are any Avalon Hill games, which I am certain formed at least a portion of Gygax's library. Still, there are a few SPI games I might take a stab at, before the bidding ends tonight.

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  7. Of course it being posted on several blogs now probably means a flood of bids. It will be interesting to see where the bubble is at the end of the auction.

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  8. And people wonder why we chartered a non-profit corporation to keep the Aethervox Gamers' Tekumel collections intact for the future. The same thing happened to Forrest J. Ackerman's equally huge collection of F/SF items dating from the 1920s onwards.

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  9. It would be nice to see all of the cash these items will bring go to a good charity. Like toys for tots or make a wish found foundation.

    Hey, what's wrong with Gail Gygax making some money off of this stuff? I'm sure she and Gary weren't rich!

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  10. I'm with Melissa. Lord knows it's not easy being married to a game designer, even if he happens to be a legend in his field.

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  11. Ditto -- she can do whatever she pleases with that money and it's no one's business. These are a family's personal possessions - not national treasures and relics. I've told my own wife many times "when I die, sell all my crap and go take yourself a trip".

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  12. unshrinkwrapped copies--heavily used and possibly with marginalia--now, those would be interesting. Or old character sheets and drafts of dungeons.

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  13. I wonder if I can sell my shrink wrapped copy of "Gangbusters" for $205 ?

    You'd be surprised the prices stuff like that goes for nowadays. Me, I'd be happy just to get a reasonably intact version of the game.

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  14. What made me uncomfortable was the auctions don't really make it clear whether Gygax even possessed these items before he passed away, or whether they were given to the estate later. Were any of the items donated to Gail more recently? Castle Zagyg wasn't released until August 2008, and Gygax passed away in March 2008. (I also note the auction indicated some wear to the item as if it had been used). I mentioned this on the Acaeum, but P. Stormberg didn't respond despite making other posts in the thread.

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  15. "Me, I'd be happy just to get a reasonably intact version of the game."

    I found my copy, in rather good condition, at a thrift store.

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  16. I'm sure most, if not all, of the items were part of accumulated collection. Having been to his house many a time, I was able to see a lot of things that companies sent to him gratis. Having been in the gaming arena for all those years, he's bound to have "gathered" of few things. I'm sure it's all legit.

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