Look What I Found!

I was looking for a lens I misplaced some time ago and chanced to look into a small cabinet drawer jammed with old auction lot pages I archive for purchase records. I haven't touched most of that stuff for over ten years, but I could not resist the urge to see what kind of stuff had been in there. I opened up an old folder of lots from a sale by Ivy & Mader in 1996, and look what I found:





That bad boy is a 223-E7b, printed on semi-glazed wove paper and signed by both engravers. It has been lying forgotten in there practically since it was purchased 18 years ago. What's ironic I was working with my small banknotes the other day, and rued the "fact" that I had never purchased a signed one when I had the chance. Ha! It appears I did!


As important to my collecting interest as these things are I can hardly believe it got away like that. But I sure am glad to have found it. Of course, now I need to go through that stuff to see if there are other sleepers in there. Just goes to prove you should never throw anything away (hmmmm my wife is not too keen on that interpretation. She says it's a reminder to pay attention to what you're doing when you handle your stamps. She may be on to something there.

WOW! Congratulations essayk! I would look into that drawer further too but it'd be awful hard to top that one! Great find - literally!

Illustrates the danger of collecting things that don't fit into the little boxes on the album page!

Great find essayk

I don't think that I have any essays in my collection, but, seeing this example can certainly make one understand the lure to collect them.

Chimo

Bujutsu

And it's signed by the engravers! :

Douglas S. Ronaldson (Frame and lettering)
Charles Skinner (Vignette)

Ahhh! I was wondering where I put that!

No? Ok. In that case, WOW lovely find and of course the signatures is a major bonus. Well done.

very nice find!

Essay, I'm sorry, but how many item do you purchase in order to lose track of an item like this? For many of us this would be the piece de resistance.

Beautiful item BTW :)

Beautiful item. I recently realized how beautiful essays can be. Just bought a green 70-E3a and put it on my front page. Love it.

Yes they are risny. Proofs and essays first captured my heart in 1968, from a distance so to speak. But by 1975 there was no turning back for me.

Congrats on getting the 70-E3a, they are very colorful. In many ways I say "thank God for the Schernikows," for they put essays within reach for a lot of people. It's not just about the cost, it's the availability. Many of the Schernikows are more colorful than the originals, and I think they help put the designs in a good light. Enjoy!

@stallzer I'm just as mystified as anyone that I could have done that. I think it happened because I had made a decision to use a pair of unsigned blue versions of this in an exhibit, and this one got sidelined. How it ended up getting filed with the empty pouchettes, I'll never know. Then again, I wish I could say it is an isolated case, but it happens from time to time; usually not for long. Not like this.

My favourite answer to those who dare to criticize my collected items is: "except for duplicates, I only collect what I don't have."

But you can't even mail a letter with it! :-)

@revcollector
LOL you revenue guys get that all the time, I'm sure. Turnabout is fair play. Feels good to be on the other side of that once in a while, doesn't it.

I don't get that so much these days, but 20-30 years ago.......:-)