Unique/One-of-a Kind Memorabilia

I have been fortunate enough to run across some truly unique, one-of-a-kind Seattle hockey collectibles over the years.  As a collector I get special enjoyment from these items, knowing that they are original... but what fun is having the only one of something if you don't get to show it to people?  With that in mind, here are my favorite one-of-a-kind items.

1961 Guyle Fielder Night Painted Poster

Please forgive the bad quality of the above image... I couldn't scan it because it was already framed, and getting a good photo was tough.  Anyway, this hand painted poster measures about 14" by 23" and is on thick construction paper.  It advertises the 1961 Guyle Fielder Night at the Ice Arena on Mercer Street.  Fielder was rewarded for his career in Seattle and in the WHL with a number of gifts, including golf clubs, a movie projector, some luggage and cash.  The poster originally hung in Power's Pantry, a watering hole near the Arena which was frequented by many of the players during this time period.

1959 Stu Moldrem Original Artwork

Stu Moldrem drew cartoons for the Seattle P-I newspaper from the 1950's into the 1970's.  Much of his subject matter was political, but he also did a lot of sports drawings, especially baseball.  This pen and ink drawing measures about 10" by 12" and hypes the upcoming Seattle vs. Calgary match-up, the first times the two teams were to meet since the 1959 WHL Finals which were won by Seattle.

Circa late 1960's cable knit sweater

This is one of three sweaters (the other two reside in another collection) which was handmade by a Totems booster for herself, her husband and her son.  This is the wife's sweater, and the name "Bev" appears on the front.  It's wool and very, very heavy - almost like a coat. 

	Monty Sheldon Artpuck
Front		Reverse

Monty Sheldon is a sports artist currently residing in Portland, Oregon. After a seven year stint as an illustrator for Dark Horse Comics, Monty turned his energies towards producing hand painted baseballs for collectors. His success was immediate, and he was getting $225 for each custom ordered "artball". Collectors loved the idea of being able to design a truly one-of-a-kind collectible to commemorate their favorite baseball player, team, or event.

Since beginning this venture in 1997, Monty has produced over 160 unique pieces of art and the price of new orders has increased to $975 per baseball. This increase in price has not slowed down the demand for his brilliant creations, however. Each ball requires about 20 hours of labor from start to finish.

I first met Monty at a card collectors show in Tacoma, Washington, where he had a display set up. I asked him if he had ever considered doing a hockey puck. He had not and the idea intrigued him - he had been asked to do footballs and basketballs in the past, but the size of these items had kept him from doing any work with them. He accepted the challenge, and I mailed him 6 blank practice pucks and a bunch of photos and biographical materials on Seattle Totem great Guyle Fielder.

Working with the new medium proved more difficult than originally anticipated, especially since the rubber did not seem to want to take the primer. After a lot of trail and error, Monty completed the project. The results were better than I expected!

Check out Monty's work and get pricing information at www.montysheldon.com.