This is for all of you that are seeking artists proofs. I was in Rome Georgia on a business trip last week, and as with any obidient Harbour Lights collector, I looked up the local dealers to check them out. One I stopped in, Collectibles, didn't really have anything that lit my fire, but as I was standing looking, the shop owner approached me, and we started talking Harbour Lights. He told me he had several A.P.'s that he had for sale if I was interested. While I have a couple A.P.'s, I don't really collect them, but he does have a pretty rare one. He has the Old Field Point Christmas piece with the pewter tree, instead of the pine tree. Pretty cool I have to say. If your interested in seeing what he has in A.P.'s, go to his web site
www.collectiblesrome.com and check them out. There on the link for Harbour Lights under Secondary lights.

Mike

Mike...the only question I have on this store is, I thought dealers weren't supposed to sell HL's higher than the suggested retail.(Even if they retired)

As for the Old Field AP...they probably got it for free and are now trying to make a nice profit.

That Old Field AP didn't last long!

This is a very desireable piece. One of only about 12-15 with this pewter tree -- all were APs.

After the production pieces arrived in the US, it was found that the trees were fragile and couldn't stand up to being shipped without damage.

Harbour Lights had a replacement evergreen tree cast (based on a previous mold used on another piece, I believe) and brought in their staff to work long hours to remove the pewter trees and replace them with the evergreen.

From the catalog page:

Typically APs sell for 2x to 3x suggested retail in my experience so the price of $295 for this rare one is not out of line at all. The original price was $80.

I believe Collectors World of Eastham MA sold a similar piece in one of their annual auctions of rare HLs, but I don't recall how much it went for.

Harbour Lights does not object to retail dealers selling in the secondary market, but doesn't want dealers to buy wholesale and then sell for above retail.

If a dealer purchases retired pieces back from collectors to sell in the secondary market, then that is OK. [Is there a 'secondary market' today?]

I suspected that these APs came from a Harbour Lights rep company, but the owner said they came from a 'private collector' when I asked this morning.

The way the market is now, it's really hard to sell at retail nevermind above retail, unless it is a real rare piece.

:rolleyes: Bob :rolleyes:

The Collectors on the Forum must have thought the Artist Proofs were a Real Deals. There are only four left.

Geez, only 4 left. I better call that guy and tell him he owes me dinner next time I'm down there for posting his information!

Mike

Of the four that are left it looks like only one of them is an artists proof, the Peggy's cove, two of then have numbered flags and the hatteras on the move has a regular label on the bottom and regular flag, nothing to indicate it's an AP.

He owes you a very NICE dinner.

That 'leafless tree' - a true and accurate representation of the one on property - was the last to be sculpted personally by arbor artiste extraordinaire, Bob Younger. Therein lies its true rarity. Originally designed to be cast in titanium¹ to withstand the rigors of packaging, its production was hampered when a labor strike in the Polish city of Bialystok threatened world-wide manufacturing supplies of a special release compound used to ease the escape of titanium castings from their mold. Faced with the prospect of delay and angered by auditors discovery of loses sustained in going long on Taiwanese titanium futures, this event led Younger & Assoc. secretly to switch to pewter - a base metal and one, had he known of it, that Bob would easily have identified as too fragile for the clutches of aggressive styrofoam. It being his own fault that he did not consult his in-house expert, Bill was doubly irked at having to pay the overtime of replacement cost while also explaining the last minute tree substitution to younger brother Bob.

Herein lies exposure of the 'Bob Younger Memorial Tree' - a so-called 'tribute piece' - as a huge joke played on departed Bob by Bill. The Bob Tree is a common conifer - one whose creation would have posed no challenge to a first-rate tree sculptor. The fitting memorial to Bob would of course been a deciduous titanium model, perhaps a Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) such as Bob truly loved. Even in death, sibling rivalry lived on with yet another arbor swap. That Bob's memory is preserved by way of a smaller replica of the very tree that replaced his Old Field Point masterpiece is a subtle jibe heretofore lost on all but the Bobnoscenti.


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¹ Earlier reports suggested Bob had chosen platinum for the leafless tree, which would have obviated the need for special handling during manfacture. While some believe this is misinformation deliberately spread by you know who, new research, confirmed by his son Birch, now tells us that 'noble titanium' had always been Bob's first choice in metals.


© Selkirk Van Historical Society

Thanks for the in depth research and History of Old Field Point. I bet many of the new collectors don’t know about Bill’s Brother Bob.

I'll bet at least one of the old collectors didn't know about Bob either. ME . Thanks for the info.

Bob

We had almost forgotten about Bob. He was only involved with us for such a short time. He was so quiet that you hardly knew he was around. In the family circle he was referred to as "Bob with one O". Rest in peace, big guy.

Bob

Ahh, the "Selkirk Van Historical Society." Someone on Planet Fresnel must be doing a frame-off restoration of this famous CF vehicle.

Wonder if the PF Zamboni is also now owned by the SVHS? If so, no doubt it will get a 'higher resolution'.

Next project for the SVHS? Perhaps the 'Harbour Lights Yacht' last seen on the rivers and canals near Phoenix NY.

Knew about Bob, but "Birch" was a complete surprise!! Are there any others??