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DUNCAN CAMPBELL Collection catalog online!


pconrad02
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Sorry for bringing up an old thread, but I thought it may be of interest to note that a "dodgy" seller parted with wing Number 21 last night on eBay for $569. Researching before hand saved me some grief!

 

Regards

Mike

 

 

READ the two books by Campbell and Morris. ......

In Duncan Campbell's book, it seems that badges 7, 8, 19, 20, and 21, and 22 were badges made from the original dies by Campbell himself. As I have heard the story (and this is only via second or third hand story telling, so feel free to take it with a grain of salt), vintage examples of these wings are very rare and may not actually have been made during WWI. Supposedly, Duncan Campbell would use some soft metal and a mallet and made "copies" on his kitchen table by hitting the metal into the die. He then GLUED the pieces onto a bit of felt covered forms and gave them to some of this friends. Examples of this showed up in the Norm Flayderman auction and were pulled. Campbell never intended these to be sold as originals and apparently only gave a few of these to friends and collectors.

 

In his book, he notes for wings 7 and 8 "are examples of two patterns made by Dan S Dunaham" (page 12), number 19 and 20, "are the two styles made and sold by Dan S. Dunham" (page 14) and number 21 and 22 are "Dunham's designs for junior and reserve military aviator" (Page 14). He does not say that these are vintage pieces nor does he attribute them to any particular person. He simple says that these are examples of the design or style of this companies wings. Perhaps an individual would not feel inclined to so carefully parse Mr. Campbell's words, but it doesn't seem that he actually tried to sell or market these wings. Also, apparently, he also didn't feel the need to mark his reproductions as such. An irony I find vastly amusing. In any case, these wings are not being offered for sale in the auction, best I can tell......

 

Patrick

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Sorry for bringing up an old thread, but I thought it may be of interest to note that a "dodgy" seller parted with wing Number 21 last night on eBay for $569. Researching before hand saved me some grief!

 

Regards

Mike

 

Take a good look at the other reproduction Duncan Campbell made for himself (wing number 24 in his book) which lots-of-good-stuff sold via eBay back on March 26, 2012 for $1277.75.

 

In the ads he ran on eBay for both badges, the seller gave no hint that they might be reproductions. Rather that, he was very careful to only say they were sold through (or by) Butterfield & Butterfield Auction House (actually it was Bonhams & Butterfields Auction House); however, his description was a misleading play on words.

 

Actually, Bonhams & Butterfields had been forewarned by the heirs of Mr. Campbell's estate that the two wings in question were not authentic WW1 originals; therefore, they were never listed in any catalog published by them nor were they auctioned off at the time Mr. Campbell's collection was liquidated.

 

However, after the auction Bonhams & Butterfields may have acted as a broker for anyone who expressed an interest in buying the wings from the heirs of Mr. Campbell's estate. . . provided they did so with full knowledge that the badges were reproductions.

 

Caveat emptor,

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Sorry for bringing up an old thread, but I thought it may be of interest to note that a "dodgy" seller parted with wing Number 21 last night on eBay for $569. Researching before hand saved me some grief!

 

Regards

Mike

 

This example of the Dunham wing recently sold on e-bay was in fact a copy made by Duncan from the original dies. He even went to the extreme to mark each of these wings on the back stating that it was a copy and the date made. He had them struck by a locally by a tool and die maker not on his kitchen table with a hammer. This style of Dunham wing was made during the war however Dunham did not cut between the feathers such as this example in the e-bay auction shows. When Duncan had this struck he had not seen an original example so he assumed that the cuts were made the same as the "Dallas" wings, hence he had the small cuts made between the feathers. I have an original that came directly from the vet Lt. J. Maurice Hoare prior to his passing (see attached), and a small picture of him wearing the wing in 1918. This dealer has a lot of questionable items and in my opinion should be viewed with caution and reasearch done before buying from him.

 

Terry

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This is an old hoary thread from the past! At the time, it so pissed me off, I had to take a sabbatical from the forum before I said something that would have gotten me banned by our ever patient mods. :w00t: :rolleyes:

 

One of the contemporaries of Mr. Campbell, who had been consulted about the auction beforehand, shared some of the email correspondence he had with the auction about those wings I mentioned. That is where I heard the story of them being "made" on Duncan's kitchen table from the original dies. But, whether or not the story was truly accurate, the fact that those wings were identified as not being vintage AND not being offered in the auction is true.

 

What really roasted my oysters in this thread wasn't a discussion that some of the wings may or may not have been purely "vintage", but rather it was the almost cynical tone that some questionable items existed. From everything I heard and saw, this auction seemed to have been done carefully and honorably, with considerable attention given to what wings were sold and what wings weren't. Questionable wings were quietly pulled from the auction and not offered for sale. No salting the collection with fakes or trying to profit off of the "Duncan Campbell" name. Questioning an item is one thing--everyone makes mistakes--but when every effort is made to do things in as good a faith as possible, then you do need more than a "hey, this is questionable". I felt that if someone is going to be cynical as to suggest fakes without evidence, then what is to keep someone else from being equally cynical and think that someone is trying to keep potential bidders away?

 

I saw what happened with some of the items in the "Million dollar collection" that sold a few years back. Lots of games, confusion, and nastiness as items went up for sale. Imagine what could have happened with the Campbell collection if the auction house hadn't have been so careful and if so many people who knew Mr. Campbell weren't around to set the record straight? :think:

 

Patrick

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  • 6 years later...

 

Take a good look at the other reproduction Duncan Campbell made for himself (wing number 24 in his book) which lots-of-good-stuff sold via eBay back on March 26, 2012 for $1277.75.

 

In the ads he ran on eBay for both badges, the seller gave no hint that they might be reproductions. Rather that, he was very careful to only say they were sold through (or by) Butterfield & Butterfield Auction House (actually it was Bonhams & Butterfields Auction House); however, his description was a misleading play on words.

 

Actually, Bonhams & Butterfields had been forewarned by the heirs of Mr. Campbell's estate that the two wings in question were not authentic WW1 originals; therefore, they were never listed in any catalog published by them nor were they auctioned off at the time Mr. Campbell's collection was liquidated.

 

However, after the auction Bonhams & Butterfields may have acted as a broker for anyone who expressed an interest in buying the wings from the heirs of Mr. Campbell's estate. . . provided they did so with full knowledge that the badges were reproductions.

 

Caveat emptor,

[bump] due to:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-WWI-WWII-Air-Corps-AAF-Silver-Pilots-Wing-27/302979999073?hash=item468b03e561:g:W4AAAOSwVP5cAtut

 

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LOL... I remember this thread. Caused a fair amount of heartburn to the mods, as I recall. I think I got a demerit for being obnoxious... I know! Me... The nicest guy on the forum.... Though I thought the "original unedited thread" was pretty entertaining.

Its funny, but a number of Duncan Campbell's wings have gone around various collections more than once or twice. I think the Military Bombardier wing has passed through a few hands, for example. As well as a number of the wings that we were discussion (like this Dunham one).

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