Gary Gygax's private games collection on auction

[darjr]

http://www.purplepawn.com/2010/12/gary-gygaxs-game-collection-up-for-auction/

From the purple pawn folks.

Gail Gygax, Gary’s widow, and The Collector’s Trove are auctioning off Gary Gygax’s personal game collection. Bids for the first batch of 204 items close Wednesday afternoon (ET). The selection includes games he authored, games he played, and still shrink-wrapped comp copies of various games provided to him as TSR’s founder. Just a few of the highlights:

Chainmail: Rules for Medieval Miniatures (TSR, 1980)
Castles & Crusades Castle Zagyg The Upper Works Set (Troll Lord Games)
Battle of the Five Armies (TSR, 1977)
Classic Warfare: Rules for Ancient Warfare from the Pharaohs to Charlemagne (TSR, 1975)
Metamorphosis Alpha (TSR, 1st Printing, 1976, by Jim Ward)
Snit’s Revenge! (TSR, 3rd Printing, 1980, by Tom Wham)
Divine Right (TSR, 1979)
Gamma World (TSR, 1st Edition, 3rd Printing, 1980)
More games are promised for later.

I think I feel much like the first commenter. These games should be played and loved. But I regret that they are being scattered or even that they need to be sold.

I hope by spreading the news that some of these will get into good homes.

 

[jonesy]

In 2007 I asked him about his collecting habits:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/3593050-post526.html

And here we are.

 

[scruffygrognard]

Very sad indeed! It's a shame that a wealthy geek out there couldn't buy the entire collection in order to keep "The Great Gygaxian Library" intact.

 

[Grimstaff]

Part of me says "Cool, a chance for lots of people to own a piece of Gygax's own collection!"

Another part of me says "Why don't they just prop Gary's skeleton up over a dunk tank and sell tickets?"

Which part of me will win?

 

[Morrus]

Man, I'd love that Chainmail book. I expect it will end up going for a lot more than I can afford, though.

 

[TheYeti1775]

Honestly in that list of 204 things in auction block there is nothing I would really want past the fact it belonged to Gary or was an author's copy.
Now you put up his campaign notes up on the block, I might take few nuns moving into the line.

 

[Almacov]

Very sad indeed! It's a shame that a wealthy geek out there couldn't buy the entire collection in order to keep "The Great Gygaxian Library" intact.

There's at least a part of me that glances past the Indiana Jones game material to the vast spread of other stuff and says "That belongs in a museum!".

Hopefully whoever does wind up with the stuff puts it to good use though!

 

[JohnRTroy]

It's pretty obvious to me that several of these games Gary never actually played (the comps from TSR, for instance). I'm sure some in the collection are but it's likely a very small number--I think a lot of the favorite games were sold already at Gen Con. So I really don't see any need to keep the "entire collection" together.

It's also games he acquired over the years. I see at the end of that eBay auction that Knightmare Chess and Tile Chess are being sold, and those were games I bought for him as a gift in late 2007. I don't think he got a chance to play them.

I know for a fact one of the main reasons Gary wanted authors copies or personal copies was that he personally wanted these items sold for money at some future date, either for himself or his heirs. Honestly, a lot of the "sacredness" we apply to Gary's materials is not something he shared or took as serious as some of the fans. I would rather these be sold, as they will both benefit the buyer (who gets something Gary owned and/or a mint condition product not available elsewhere), and the seller (who received the benefit of income and some extra closet space), rather than preserved (which does little good--especially since we're not talking about manuscripts or the like, but final commercially available products).

 

[Raikun]

Maybe a *slight* bit of a necro post (but not too bad)...

...I managed to win some of the Dwarven Forge stuff that Gary Gygax owned...and definately plan to make good use of it. (I agree the stuff should be played with and loved).

I just kind of geek out a little bit putting the stuff together, and trying to imagine what kind of adventures they'd seen under Gary's reign.