Buk Auction
 

Checking in on the live auction http://www.liveauctioneers.com/, it seems that there must be relatively few TV collectors attending the Buk auction today. Either that or TV values are down more than I had realized.

A lot of two Dumont Doghouses went for only $125!

That is unreal. Even decades ago you couldn't find that deal. I was so sure the final bids on all those great TV's at that auction be would astronmical! You never can be too sure.

Let's see what the pre-war GE HM171 brings later today.

where do you guys see the ending prices? am I missing something.

I've been jotting them down while watch the live auctions. I'll post the results later.

Don't forget that there is an almost 30% buyer premium on top of hammer price.

I wonder what the CT-100 will end at? If it didn't end already.

It's up tomorrow. This auction lasts four days.

The GE pre-war is the one that has me the most curious. I can't remember the last time I saw one of these pre-war television "attachments" come up for sale. It needs a lot of TLC including all the original knobs and CRT mask, but it can be forgiven on this rare historical set. Years ago I would expect it to be in the 10K area. Anyone who gets it under 5K is stealing it.

The HM171 sets actually do come up for sale occasionally. This one is also missing the CRT shield, and it looks like the chassis has been hacked to add a HV transformer on the left side.

Cast iron seal presses (?) on the other hand, http://bit.ly/12nXQuw appear to be far more valuable the our precious TVs. Who knew?

Heck, the pre-sale estimate on the CT-100 starts at only a thousand dollars. If it goes for a half or two thirds of that as some of this stuff has done, I'LL buy it!

Those 621s seemed like they might have been a bargain.

Lot number 288 (INCLUDING THE ICONOSCOPE!) sold for a hundred dollars!

HM171 went for $5,000.

$6,335 after buyers premium. It went to some one present at the auction so they saved 3% over an internet bid. Well over my bid :smoke:.

GE 803 - $200
Pilot TV-37 - $200
RCA 621TS - $475
RCA 621TS - $425
Predicta Pedestal - $300
Predicta Blonde Tandem - $350
Zenith porthole tabletop - $125
Hallicrafters T-54 - $25
Crosley bakelite - $150
Sentinel 7" portable X3 - $250
Dumont doghouse X2 - $125
Emerson 628 - $175
Admiral 20X122, 22X12, 19A12 - $100
GE HM171 - $5,000
Philco Safari - $150
Fisher TV28 - $275
Motorola 7VT2, VT71 X2 - $50
Firestone 13G4, Garrod - $250
Predicta blonde Holiday, red Princess - $150
Andrea - $550

Bob, did you get the 3 motorolas?

Yeah, I was the big spender today ;) I figure they're good for parts if nothing else. Also easy for my buddy to pick up and transport.

Grouping two or three TVs in a lot
 

This was my first time watching a live auction. It was interesting and the selling prices seemed low (in most cases).
I was wondering why many lots today included two or three TV sets -- given the added cost of the Buyer Premium, sales tax, packing/shipping costs for one or two sets in the lot that a bidder is not interested in.

Made no sense to me either. Especially pairing up two Dumont doghouses :dunno:

Thanks for the list Bob! It looks like I'm seeing prices from when I first seriously started collecting in the early '90's!
The Pilot for $20 was a give-away. It needed TLC, but even if just the CRT was good!
The Andrea TV was well worth the price. That set is very rare.
The GE 803 is another rarity. Well worth the price even though it needed a complete refinish.
The GE HM-171 was pricey, but you'll never get a chance at another classic pre-war TV at that price! An awesome piece of TV history even just as-is.
What about the Dumont "Clifton" console? That is very rare set too.

Oops - I missed a zero. The Pilot went for $200. There are still three days left in the auction with lot of sets yet to come. Many in lots of 2 or 3.

More lots to come
 

Yes, some interesting lots tomorrow - including #1089 with the Viewtone and RCA 621 paired in one lot.

Not to mention both Cliftons and a CT-100. A Clifton is on my all-time crave list, but shipping across the USA seems dumb, and I don't like buying anything based on a couple of photos.

Phil Nelson

DuMont Cliftons
 

I've never seen a DuMont Clifton for sale (anywhere).
They look like they must weigh 250 pounds.
How much should one sale for in good condition these days?

Apparently someone got one in Philadelphia for $495 about 6 months ago. http://mail.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=256512

The set could, and should, be in the $1500 range. It's as rare as a pre-war and looks a lot like one. It's a set that would look very impressive in any collection!

Ugh. So many microscopes on auction today :drool: Did anyone catch what the Gray sequential monitor went for ? The assortment of TV magnifiers went for $750!

$3,000 hammer price.

Large collections
 

As I watch today’s auction items waiting for the TV auctions to begin, I am wondering (and I mean this in a nice way) whether collecting and hoarding are related?

How did Elli Buk amass so much stuff, where did he keep it, and how did he know what he had?

He and Andy Warhol must have cornered the market (in their different fields) on collectibles.

I visited Elli years ago at his place in Lower Manhattan, where much of his TV stuff was stored. The sets were stacked floor to ceiling, with aisles about 2 feet wide. It was hard to see what he had, but he knew where everything was, and I suspect he knew every item he owned.

The first Clifton just went for $3,250 and not to me :(

Only $900 for the CT-100.

Both Viewtones sold really cheap. The one in identified cabinet $900 and other in factory cabinet $450 with the Sparton mirror in lid.

That Viewtone for $900 came with a nice looking RCA 621TS :)

I can remember a Viewtone going for $4k on eBayin the last couple of years. There are only about 8 sets totalout there spread across 4 cabinet combinations.

I see all this stuff and it doesn't make me feel bad when I trip over a few things at home. The way I see it, the world needs some hoarders to warehouse the past. Warehousing is expensive and time consuming, but just imagine how much is lost to wars, natural disaster, and the disposable society. The disposable society is not just a thing of the present.

Did anyone happen to catch what the Rochester's sold for?

Well, I'll be! I must have turned two pages at once, cause I never saw it.

Was that one of the three known ones, or a newly found monitor?

James

Here is a Buk anecdote about his beliefs on preserving technical history.

Years ago Elli posted somewhere (I think on the old ETF classified page) that he was looking to communicate with any Dumont Clifton owners. I wrote to him that I had one that I found on the curb about 20 years ago but unfortunately it was missing the power supply. We traded several e-mails. He thought the Clifton was the merging of an important historical cabinet design and a technical milestone. He wrote at the time that he had 3 Cliftons in his collection. I wrote that someday I would restore mine and he responded emphatically that historical artifacts should be left in their original state with all original parts intact and wanted to know if I wanted to sell mine so he could save it. I responded that since he was not going to restore his would he consider selling me a power supply so I could restore mine. That was the last I heard from him :)

(Still looking for a power supply)

Ah, the ole "don't fix that thing, give it to me"