So... about that KOVALOVSKY ESTATE SALE we all missed....sort of...

[Dan Z]

So word is out now, there was an Amazing Kovalovsky Estate sale at Goulds Auction House in Bakersfield in August (2017), and apparently no real tackle or reel collectors heard about it until it was too late. Below is a photo of the reels that were bought by someone who is Not a reel collector. Or was not. I think many of you know now what was/is happening. Its a shame that we missed the sale. I was fortunate enough though to buy many Kovalovsky workshop and machine shop items from this sale after the fact, including tools, reel parts, two of Arthur Kovalovsky's Hollywood shop journals, and other interesting items I will post about later.... but for those who did not see the reels... here they are.... I hope they end up in a good home of someone who loves and shares more intel about them someday... If anyone was able to get any Ephemera from the sale, I'd love to see that too...

[spadej1]

I assume you've seen them on Ebay right now...

[Dan Z]

Well. The listing on eBay now is from another buddy of mine.. who loves reels. That is another story. These reels pictured were listed on eBay Friday for 99k then taken down off eBay .... hmmm

[Bill Muth]

Amazing that no reel collectors heard about this estate auction. I've been to estate auctions with nice reel collections in middle-of-nowhere southern Ohio and saw three dozen reel collecting friends.

[spadej1]

Sorry, I haven't checked since Friday. I thought they were still up.

[m3040c]

I was very surprised to see all this. I had talked with Larry Lauve a few years ago and he told me that the auction would happen as soon as Arleen Kovalovsky passed away, she was 92 at the time (2012) and was in poor health. I was lucky enough to get a few items, mostly photos, one autographed photo of Larry and Oscar Kovalovsky. I did get a letter that was hanging on the wall of Oscar's shop written by Zane Grey to Arthur about a rim controlled big game reel. The letter is shown in the publication, Handmade in Hollywood in the upper left corner of page 45. It is entirely written in purple ink on Zane's personal letterhead stationery. I also had Larry write a provenance letter to me explaining how he got the letter and where it was hanging.
I never expected the auction to be a secret. The work shop was a gold mine of rare reels and should have been auctioned the same way the Martha Henze Egly Estate was done in 2003 or something similar to that. It is a shame, IMHO, that everything seems to have been turned into a profit motivated mechanism. These artifacts belong in a museum, now they will be in the wind.






The small black reel on the left is made by Authur Kovalovsky, the aluminum 9/0 on the right is a Oscar Kovalovsky reel.

I feel sad about this, not that I could have afforded to buy these fantastic pieces; but, I would have liked to have known that a preservation of some kind was in effect.

[Mike N]

Interesting Kovalovsky die stamps listed here...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/282662012061?rm ... noapp=true

[Mike N]

The die stamps sold for $2750. Interesting