Lucille Ball Auction photo article

Little ‘splainin’ needed at auction featuring Lucille Ball memorabilia
By Harold McNeil NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: 09/14/07 6:53 AM

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Mark Mulville/Buffalo News
Auctioneer Stephen L. Phillips encourages vigorous bidding on some Lucy memorabilia Thursday evening during an estate auction inside The Lodge Auction House, 212 Cazenovia St. Auctioneer Stephen L. Phillips didn’t have a lot of “splainin” to do when he was commissioned by a local collector of Lucille Ball memorabilia. After all, the South Buffalo businessman last year had already demonstrated his mettle for garnering big bucks for a 1950s era “I Love Lucy” doll, a record $880. Naturally, that made Phillips and his partner, Lisa W. Eoannou, the go-to folks for another collector of Lucy relics whose items were sold Thursday during an estate auction inside The Lodge Auction House, 212 Cazenovia St.
“This is a local person, somebody that knew Lucy was from Jamestown and figured, sooner or later, her stuff is going to go up in value,” Phillips said. The anonymous collector had invested in the items years ago. They included two pairs of Lucy’s earrings, several movie posters featuring the famously funny redhead and even a couple of gowns she had worn. “He probably got it for a song compared to what it’s going to actually sell for now, because they created a huge a collector’s market, especially since she passed away,” Phillip said . But the Lucy memorabilia was just a part of the 350 items that attracted the collectors — many of them regulars — to Thursday’s eclectic auction. There were posters and movie memorabilia featuring other movie stars from the 1940s and ’50s, antique furniture, and ephemera to whet their acquisitive appetites. “We’re going into our fifth year in business, so we have good clientele,” said Eoannou, as she collected $1 from each of the patrons entering the auction and electronically assigned each a number. As for the items Phillips and Eoannou auction off, they come from a variety of sources. “Some stuff we buy outright from people,” Eoannou explained. “They’ll call up on the phone and say: ‘Look, I’ve got stuff in my house. I want to get rid of it. I want you to buy it.’ So, if it’s stuff we think we can auction, we’ll buy it. We also do consignment for a commission, and that’s most of the stuff.”
Phillips, an Illinois native, got his start in the business at age 9, collecting and selling coins. He is not only well practiced at the art of auctioneer, but licensed and insured, as the law in Buffalo requires. "Auctions have come full circle,” Phillips said. “At one time, it was a very negative thing where people lost everything, and they sold [their possessions] to get whatever money they could for what they had left. Now it’s the romance of buying it at a collectible auction,” said Phillips. For Barbara and Paul Maue of Cheektowaga, it’s a bit of romance and commerce that first got them interested in collectibles nine years ago. “We started out collecting for ourselves, but now we buy and sell. We have a booth and cases at the Salamanca mall . . . so we get stuff to try to fill our cases,” said Paul Maue. Meanwhile, Alan Litwin of Kenmore, a self-confessed movie buff and pop culture junkie, was eyeing the plethora of vintage movie posters. “If you’re a film buff, that’s one of the most original things you can collect from old Hollywood. These are original movie posters that once hung in movie theaters that displayed the films that you loved. That’s why I do it,” said Litwin, explaining why he had come to bid on a couple of them.

hmcneil@buffnews.com