Statement from Guernsey’s Regarding Pugliese Collection Auction Event

The following statement was released to me from Guernsey’s this morning, in regards to their upcoming event (see list of OPB articles below):

On March 15 & 16, live at the fabulous Palms Casino Resort and online on liveauctioneers.com and ebayliveauctions.com, Guernsey’s will be selling the remarkable Pugliese Collection of items relating to the Pop Culture. The Auction will contain approximately 900 lots – acquired by Mr. Pugliese over the last quarter century – covering the fields of motion pictures, rock & roll and country music, television, President John F. Kennedy and the assassination, other world leaders and Harry Houdini, the great magician. Additionally, 14 items have been consigned by Ginger Alden, fiancee of Elvis Presley at the time of his death. Guernsey’s has produced a substantial auction catalogue picturing and describing the many extraordinary objects in this unprecedented sale. Alternately, the auction lots can be viewed online at either of the two sites listed above. A portion of the proceeds will be given to the Audubon Society. For complete information, please visit guernseys.com or contact the auction house in New York at 212-794-2280 or auctions@guernseys.com.

On Friday afternoon, February 15, Guernsey’s was alerted to the fact that certain items sold by another auction house had been called into question regarding authenticity issues. As this is being written, it appears that a small number of those items (approximately 16, or fewer than 2% of the auction lots) may have entered the Pugliese Collection from that source. Potential bidders should be assured that Guernsey’s is immediately investigating the matter and will take the proper course of action. For those interested, Guernsey’s website will contain the most up-to-date information regarding this matter. Thank you.

More OPB Reports: ”Guernsey’s Auction: “The Pugliese Collection“”, “Guernsey’s Auction: “The Pugliese Collection” – Delayed to Early Next Year“, “Guernsey’s Pugliese Pop Culture Collection Auction: Las Vegas, NV – March 15-16, 2008“, “Guernsey’s Pugliese Pop Culture Collection Auction: Full Catalog Online”

Jason De Bord