Collins display at 1876 Centennial and 1976 Bicentennial

https://ibb.co/jMQANT Here is proof I’m not full of $-hit. The way I got the collection is exactly how most people get theirs. A bucket of money when someone is ready to sell or tired of their collection. This isn’t baseball cards it heavy metal, wood etc..,
 
junkenstien said:
Be a shame to break it up,hope you try to sell it whole first
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It was broken up years ago into major portions. If you read D.E. Henry’s book it will shed some light and The Canton Museum has a very nice display of some items from the exhibit along with a great picture of the original display. I would really like to hear about items that other people have. I can’t be the only one.
 
Miller '72 said:
When did you acquire the centennial exhibit?
Did you obtain it complete, minus the cases?

As I understand you are now looking for buyers to sell off the pieces of that collection/exhibit you no longer want to keep?

I like all axes, hatchets, traditional hand tools.
I do have a collecting bug for CT made connie patterns, Collins and Roger's of course, but New England made and other CT made axes (Connie's always) are as high on my list.
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I will look through my list of items. Remember Collins didn’t always call axes by name they also used numbers. Some look identical to others and are hard to tell apart.
 
junkenstien said:
Be a shame to break it up,hope you try to sell it whole first
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Do you know someone that would be willing to spend over 25k on Axes etc That’s the problem if you sell it as one. I think it’s better that many people get to add to their collection and get the provenance to back it up.
 
A lot of the value of the provenance is lost when something like this is broken up and sold piece by piece. Please consider contacting the Early American Industries Association (E.A.I.A.). They can put you in touch with the people who might be able to buy the complete collection. Another way to sell it together is through antique tool auction houses. Again, contact the E.A.I.A. for a list of these dealers.
I know that a time comes when you must sell. I sold some of my axes, adzes, etc. a few years ago and now need to soon sell some more.
But, you have a very important piece of American history. I implore you to make an attempt to sell this collection intact.
Bernie Weisgerber
 
Bernie, Thank you for the information. It’s not getting chopped up yet. Lol I’m going to look into the options you mentioned first and find out if the organization has the ability and resources to acquire the collection...if so that’s where it will go. Like I said in earlier posts I’m more into Collins machetes, knives and swords.
 
The E.A.I.A. itself does not have the resources to purchase direct from you. But what I hope they will do is put you in touch with the people who do or give you the tool auction houses that have buyers that do.
Thank you for this consideration.
 
C&Co. Legitimus said:
Bernie, Thank you for the information. It’s not getting chopped up yet. Lol I’m going to look into the options you mentioned first and find out if the organization has the ability and resources to acquire the collection...if so that’s where it will go. Like I said in earlier posts I’m more into Collins machetes, knives and swords.
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I am pleased to hear you will make the effort to sell as the complete collection. I agree with Mr. Weisgerber of the historical significance.
I have been to the Cantom Museum and what is there, breathtaking...it would be great if the collection can find a home there or somewhere similar for more to view and appreciate.

Please let us know how this story progresses.
 
Miller '72 said:
...I have been to the Cantom Museum and what is there, breathtaking...it would be great if the collection can find a home there or somewhere similar for more to view and appreciate..
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Just a reminder that donations to museums are usually tax-deductible for the appraised value, which could be a win-win for everyone. [Consult a tax advisor for more information.]

I recall that @300Six found a rare axe head from the 1860s and it was donated to a museum in Canada that happens to be located only a couple blocks away from where the axe was made.
 
Dont know how to do the what you said earlier thing,guess it would depend on how many axes it is.Know a couple fellas with more money than sense,i agree with old axeman that if it is broken up its value is diminished.Never know till you try,put up a number and what you got.
 
Provenance is a strange thing sometimes. For example, historic log cabins. If you try and save a historic log cabin by moving it, intact, to a new location you just took away a lot of it's provenance. If you disassemble the logs and reuse them in another structure you no longer have any provenance with the original logs. But, if you restore the cabin, leaving as much original fabric as possible, in its original location, you have just saved history. The provenance is 100%.
When I did training sessions I would bring some of my historic axes, I called this the "Axe Show". I would always say that the Smithsonian had the axe that George Washington used to chop down the cherry tree (they actually do not have his axe), over the years of use the head was replaced once and the helve six times, but, it was George's axe.
 
C&Co. Legitimus said:
It was broken up years ago into major portions...
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Four months ago, somebody located in Florida sold this at the big auction site:

vintage 1876 Collins & Co Axe Head That hung in the Smithsoinan.
This is part of a 145 piece collection that was displayed at the 1876 International Exhibition and hung in the Smithsonian, The marks on the back is where they hung it. 6lbs. Along with the piece you will get a copy of the letter from the Smithsonian and a copy of the photo from the 1876 International Exhibition.

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This letter was provided to "prove" the authenticity of the item:

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T.M. Perry, mentioned in the letter, is Thomas M. Perry who purchased the Collins plant and property in 1967, after Collins closed in 1966. So he presumably loaned the display pieces to the Smithsonian for the 1976 Bicentennial exhibition, within 10 years of buying the Collins property.

The Collins display was still at the Smithsonian when Thomas Perry died in 1987. The above letter was sent to Mr. Perry in 1991, and his wife Barbara Perry was in charge of the Collins property at the time. She is the one who signed the letter extending the loan to the Smithsonian until the end of 1993.

Sometime after 1993, the Collins collection was presumably returned to Barbara Perry.


Reference:
History of The Collins Company and Collinsville document available here:
http://visitcollinsville.com/download/i/mark_dl/u/1640468/12294972/BriefHistoryCollinsCo.pdf

"The Collins Company closed its doors in 1966... In 1967, Thomas M. Perry, a renowned physicist and resident of Canton since 1946, purchased the former manufacturing plant, main office building and miscellaneous real estate holdings that The Collins Company retained in the area. He formed “The Collinsville Company” and moved his business, The T. M. Perry Company, into the complex. He leased space to small promising businesses by providing incubator space at reasonable rates. After Mr. Perry’s death in 1987, his wife, Barbara Perry, continued to run The Collinsville Company and to lease space to small businesses, antique retailers, artists, consultants, and light industrial users. In June of 2002, James “Rusty” Tilney purchased the property from Mrs. Perry and formed @COLLINSVILLE LLC with the purpose of updating and renovating the buildings to encourage new office, retail and restaurant tenants..."
 
Steve, I see your addiction to Collins information is as bad as mine. The collection was broken up years ago way before I started collecting. My interest into all things Collins began with family tree research. I was focusing on the period between 1920-1965 but the more research I did the closer I got to being a Collins addict. It’s feels like I jumped off the Collinsville bridge into collecting. I soon found out how popular it was with everyone in the area and the reasons why. I started reading everything I could possibly get my hands on and noticed there is an believable amount of information but it kind of stops at 1965. My hope is to find out where everything ended up after the company closed. I’d like to see where the museum quality items ended up, the journey they took, who now has them and how the Collins Co. continues to live on in today’s culture. This is something you never really hear about and when you do is a single paragraph in an auction description. Think of it as the Six Degrees of Collins Co. (Kevin Bacon) There is a very interesting story to be told on how I acquired what I and others have. I can tell you this much so far...the information you posted is absolutely part of the 1876 collection and as you can see in the photos the clips used to hang some of the items are as described in D.E. Henry’s book. I am also considering the information Old Axeman provided and will be passing it on to the others who own some of the 1876 collection. I do know the person who owns what you posted. I wish the Canton Museum was interested in acquiring all of it so that it could stay in Collinsville.
 
Steve are you the person that took up blacksmithing nearby? It’s cool that info is coming out of the woodwork. I was in DC for 4 years but I wasn’t into doing research on the collection. I was so stuck on the subject of John Browns Pike and trying to find one that it never dawned on me to look at other Collins information. I might have a few friends that would be willing to gather info if pointed in the right direction so not to waste to much of their time on something they have no interest in. It’s just pieces of metal to them. Need more help on this picture posting. I tried to sign up on two different hosting sites but was only available to post the first pic and the other sight never sent me a link to confirm and then post. I’m a little worried that they will end up owning my pics? Is that what we agree to when we use hosting sites? Or is that old school and I retain all rights to my pics?
 
Did anyone just watch the Collins Gallo Cockhead knife go for $455 on feebay? Wow finally some really nice money being seen for rear items. They were locally sold which make you think where have they been all this time? What is your best Collins item? Anyone have a R. King Canton Axe for sale or have any pics of one. I’m very interested in them. And obtaining another John Brown Pike.
 
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