MIKE: Hey, you want one of these things?
ROBBIE: What do you got, your finger in your mouth?
MIKE: No, I got this.
ROBBIE: What the hell's that?
MIKE: It's one of those, you know, what do they call it,
the flossing thing.
ROBBIE: I don't need that damn thing, man.
MIKE: Oral health is connected to your overall health.
ROBBIE: Dude, I brush my teeth.
MIKE: I know, but if you don't floss...
ROBBIE: Yeah?
MIKE: Then how are you going to take care of your gums?
ROBBIE: Dude, if you press hard enough, and you're bleeding,
you know they're clean.
MIKE: You're a yuck mouth.
ROBBIE: I'm not a yuck mouth.
MIKE: If you don't do the flossing,
you don't scrape your tongue, then you're a yuck mouth.
ROBBIE: Tongue...
MIKE: Scrape your tongue.
ROBBIE: ...scraper.
MIKE: Scrape your tongue.
ROBBIE: I don't think I need to scrape my tongue.
My gums are fine.
MIKE: Yeah, you're always flapping your gums.
ROBBIE: Yeah, I know.
MIKE: Well, start thinking about taking care of them.
ROBBIE: Alright.
♪ ♪ ♪
[phone ringing]
ROBBIE: Dani D, what's up?
DANIELLE: Good morning, guys, how are you doing today?
ROBBIE: I don't know,
I'm getting a third grade education here.
MIKE: Do you floss?
DANIELLE: Do I floss? Of course.
MIKE: Okay, so end of story.
DANIELLE: [chuckles]
MIKE: What's going on? What do you got?
ROBBIE: Agh.
DANIELLE: Okay, I got you a lead.
I'm going to send you to meet Rick.
So Rick is a transplant from California.
But he moved back to Wisconsin after
his Uncle Butch passed away.
Rick and his Uncle Butch were super close,
and Butch was a big collector - petroliana, gas pumps,
vintage signs - he's got the works.
MIKE: So is he a collector too?
DANIELLE: So I've been talking to his girlfriend,
and apparently, the longer that man stays, the more he loves it.
MIKE: So he is interested in selling, maybe.
DANIELLE: Oh I mean, he's selling as long as
he doesn't love it more than you do.
Mike: [laughs] I get you. Alright, girl.
ROBBIE: Alright.
MIKE: Thank you so much.
ROBBIE: Send us the coordinates.
DANIELLE: It's on its way. Hey Robbie?
ROBBIE: What?
DANIELLE: Just remember, don't be a yuck mouth.
ROBBIE: You guys are friggin' crazy.
MIKE: Haha!
ROBBIE: Whatever.
♪ ♪ ♪
MIKE: This is it right here.
ROBBIE: I think it's right here.
MIKE: I got it.
ROBBIE: Yeah right here.
MIKE: I'm looking, I know, I know.
ROBBIE: Yeah I got it, yeah.
MIKE: I know, settle down.
I know they said petroliana, so you're freaking.
ROBIE: I'm not freaking out.
I'm calm, cool and collective.
MIKE: Yeah... hey, how're you doing?
FELICE: Hello.
MIKE: You Felice?
FELICE: Yes.
MIKE: Hey, I'm Mike.
FELICE: Nice to meet you.
ROBBIE: How're you doing?
MIKE: That's my brother, Robbie.
FELICE: Hi Robbie.
ROBBIE: How are you?
MIKE: Give her the flyer.
ROBBIE: Good to meet you.
FELICE: Hi. Well, you came to the right place.
MIKE: I know, well.
ROBBIE: Yeah?
MIKE: Yeah, Dani said you called.
FELICE: You may not know, but there's a lot
of stuff hidden in these barns, this place.
MIKE: [chuckles]
ROBBIE: Yeah.
MIKE: So you guys moved here from California?
FELICE: Yes.
MIKE: How long have you been here?
FELICE: He passed away 2 years ago.
MIKE: So you've been here 2 years?
FELICE: Yep.
MIKE: Well looks like all the barns got new
roofs on them and stuff.
FELICE: Yeah.
ROBBIE: Yeah.
FELICE: The Amish did that.
MIKE: Nice. Which way are we going?
FELICE: We're going to sneak away,
we're going to go over here.
Here, there he is, he's out here, mowing.
ROBBIE: He's got a good tractor to mow with.
MIKE: I love the fact that Rick has embraced his new lifestyle.
A guy coming from California, into Wisconsin,
he's got a brand new John Deere,
and he's already working the land.
FELICE: Hi.
MIKE: Hey-hey!
My name is Mike, this is my brother, Robbie.
ROBBIE: How're you doing?
MIKE: You guys called Dani.
RICK: Nice to meet you guys.
ROBBIE: How're you doing? Nice to meet you.
MIKE: Nice to meet you.
RICK: Yeah.
MIKE: Yeah.
So she was just telling me you hadn't experienced
a Wisconsin winter yet.
Felice: [laughs]
RICK: No, we haven't.
MIKE: No.
RICK: We've been out here a couple of years,
we've been going back home to California.
FELICE: We sneak away.
MIKE: Oh you sneak back, okay I gotcha.
ROBBIE: Ah yeah...
FELICE: Yeah, we sneak away.
MIKE: This is like Green Acres, man.
RICK: Yeah, I love it.
RICK: Butch was my uncle.
He was a hard working guy, just a, you know, regular guy.
He painted cars, and this is his farm.
He passed away last year.
And I ended up coming out to help the family.
MIKE: So you guys are just up kind of...
maintaining everything.
FELICE: Yeah, yeah.
RICK: Yeah, we working into how we could possibly put up
a house, a new house out here.
MIKE: Okay.
FELICE: Yeah.
RICK: And that's what he wanted to do.
RICK: We knew for sure he wanted to put up a house,
keep the property in the family's hands,
and build something out here and let the future generatins
have a place to come and visit.
FELICE: There's almost 10 acres,
so you've got lots of space.
MIKE: No kidding, so he talked to you about that?
RICK: Yeah, and I also house hunted.
MIKE: I think it's great that they want to honor
his uncle's dream to build a house on the property.
When you inherit a collector's space,
you also inherit their projects,
things that they were working on.
If you really want to get to know the person,
then you try to finish these things for them.
MIKE: This is awesome, man, what a beautiful place.
FELICE: Well, have fun... in there.
MIKE: Alright, come check on us later.
FELICE: Take a pie, maybe.
MIKE: Alright. ROBBIE: Take a pie.
FELICE: Yeah. ROBBIE: Thank you.
FELICE: Right. MIKE: Okay.
RICK: Sure. ROBBIE: Alright.
FELICE: Okay. [laughs] MIKE: Thanks, man.
RICK: Butch was intensely private.
So I didnt know how much stuff he had accumulated till I came
out here a couple of years ago, and I was like, whoa!
RICK: This is Butch's shop when I was a little guy.
He'd have me come out here with him,
he worked out here all the times.
RICK: He left a cloud of mystery around himself
that created an intrigue.
Even with the people in town here.
There's a lot of people that just don't know
exactly what he had.
RICK: And even had a peephole on this door.
I guess if he didn't want-
Mike: [laughs]
ROBBIE: Oh right there?
RICK: -to let you know he was in there, yeah.
MIKE: Did he really?
RICK: He- he'd lock it and then peephole it.
RICK: He wasn't insane, by any means.
I thought he was cool as hell.
ROBBIE: Wow.
MIKE: Nice.
RICK: My great-uncle bought this place
for Butch in his early 20s,
because he had gotten in a little trouble in Fond du Lac.
RICK: My great-uncle didn't like that so much.
So he put him out here just to- to give him a little something
to do and just keep him out of trouble, basically I think.
[laughs]
RICK: He was working on this Cushman here.
MIKE: Yeah.
RICK: And I think it's one of the last things
he was getting ready to do...
MIKE: He was wrenching on.
RICK: ...'cause I found all the Cushman books.
MIKE & ROBBIE: Yeah.
RICK: By his chair inside.
RICK: Butch started out as an auto body man very early.
He trained a little bit at a local dealership here in
Fond du Lac, got some experience, and then once
he got the farm out here, he just transferred what
he learned and he started doing it for himself.
RICK: When I was younger, that- there used to be 2 cars
in here at a time, that he was either in the
process of sanding and masked up, or...
and then he would paint cars right here.
MIKE: Oh he did everything in here.
ROBBIE: Yeah. RICK: Yes.
ROBBIE: All the body work.
MIKE: He was pulling engines in here, everything.
ROBBIE: Yeah. RICK: Everything.
ROBBIE: Wow. MIKE: Wow.
RICK: There was, he was making money, you know.
MIKE: Oh.
RICK: 'Cause he was self-employed.
RICK: Butch, when I was young, was always out in the shop.
You hardly ever caught him at home, it was only to sleep.
Had a little bit of a Type A personality.
So I think he very much just kept himself going,
all of the time.
MIKE: So when did he stop doing that?
RICK: When his body, I don't think,
physically could do it anymore,
which would have been about his mid-60s.
He died at 75.
And that's...
MIKE: Okay.
ROBBIE: So the last... 10 years of his life.
RICK: That's when he- then he went, you know, onto the pumps.
RICK: My uncle, after he put down working on cars so much,
was going to restore the pumps.
MIKE: This is a great pump. This is a Fry.
This is called a Mae West.
MIKE: When you're a car collector,
you don't just collect cars.
You collect anything related to cars,
whether it's a gas pump, an old sign, an oil can.
It goes on and on and on.
MIKE: This is the original glass, and it's a 5-gallon,
not a 10-gallon, which is more desirable.
MIKE: He could look around at any point
in time in the room and go,
there's my gas pump, you know,
there's my Cushman scooter.
These were all things that he was going to get to some day.
MIKE: Yeah, you can see...
how it was stored, you can see some original paint on the top.
RICK: Uh-huh.
MIKE: And then, and then it's,
and then it doesn't have any paint on the bottom.
MIKE: Now we're looking at them the same way,
with a passionate eye and with the same idea.
MIKE: When we walked in here, I saw 3 pumps.
You got the 2 clock face there, actually 3 clock face there.
And then you've got this Fry.
You know, let's look at those 2 and see kind of...
RICK: Let me see what's over here.
ROBBIE: This is an 850 right here.
RICK: That's the Tokheim 850.
ROBBIE: Yep, that's the Tokheim 850.
RICK: Is this after-market?
ROBBIE: Yep.
RICK: Yeah.
ROBBIE: Yeah.
MIKE: Yeah.
ROBBIE: If that was real?
MIKE: Oh man.
ROBBIE: Yeah.
RICK: 20 grand or something?
MIKE: Crazy.
ROBBIE: These...
yeah, I've only seen a few of those sell.
MIKE: This looks real.
ROBBIE: Yeah, but those don't even bring any,
I mean it's not...
MIKE: No I know, that's a...
that's about a what, a $400 globe?
ROBBIE: Yeah.
RICK: A guy said, he- I think a guy said
he would give me 25 for that, actually.
MIKE: Yeah, that's what I was thinking, was 25.
RICK: Yeah.
MIKE: And then I was thinking...
you know like uh...
RICK: Mae West, what does she mean to you?
MIKE: Like 20- 28 for that one.
So that would be what, 53?
RICK: 40, 53, yeah.
MIKE: 5,300.
RICK: Why don't we do it?
MIKE: You want to do it?
RICK: That seems like a lot to me.
MIKE: Let's do it.
RICK: I just didn't see that we needed that many here.
MIKE: I know my brother's going to ask about that Case sign.
ROBBIE: Yeah.
RICK: Yeah?
ROBBIE: You know, we're from Iowa,
so we're down in that area, that region.
ROBBIE: We live in an area that is farm driven.
We had John Deere, we had J. I. Case,
and we had International Harvester.
All the Big 3 were right in our town.
So when you find advertising pieces like this,
you've got to bring them home.
ROBBIE: Yeah, look at the bottom of that thing.
Yeah, it's not in the greatest shape.
But it's got the eagle on it, it's embossed.
ROBBIE: Case advertising was all about the eagle.
The eagle sitting on the world.
What's it got?
It's got everything.
ROBBIE: This looks, it's about a 1952,
should have '52 marked down in there.
RICK: It does.
ROBBIE: Yeah.
RICK: G-52.
ROBBIE: Yeah. 425.
That's leaving a little meat left on it.
That work?
MIKE: What's- what's the retail number on it, Robbie?
ROBBIE: Maybe 6.
MIKE: How about this one? Like 175. 2 bills?
Alright, 200.
Very cool. I love it.
RICK: I don't know if you guys have ever seen
a hoist like that, but... jacked up...
MIKE: No.
ROBBIE: I've never seen a hoist like that.
RICK: Yeah, it's got an air tank on it.
I don't know, he let it down with...
ROBBIE: Big air tank.
RICK: And he let it down...
MIKE: Oh my, look at this! It's sitting on it.
Ugh!
MIKE: Is that real?
Where's the plug at?
ROBBIE: Right there.
MIKE: Right here.
ROBBIE: Here, Mike.
ROBBIE: In the advertising world, Ford is king.
So this is a neon clock with Ford advertising in it.
I mean, if this thing said Chevy or Dodge on it...
ROBBIE: Alright.
RICK: Zap.
ROBBIE: I wouldn't even be getting excited about it.
MIKE: Oh there it is. Look at that.
ROBBIE: Is the second... oh it is moving.
MIKE: Shheewww...
ROBBIE: Wow.
MIKE: Wow.
RICK: Some guys refaced these and have done work to them,
but I don't think anything's ever been done to this one.
ROBBIE: It looks real.
MIKE: I don't know, Robbie.
It might have been.
Look at that, that screw's painted, that screw's not.
And then if you look at, look at, look at see the paint on it.
I don't know.
ROBBIE: It's faded.
You can see the fade, fade in the paint.
See right there.
MIKE: Yeah.
ROBBIE: It's fading out. See right there?
See that?
RICK: Usually when I do it, what I was going to say,
they put a new, they have this replacement glass too.
MIKE: Yeah, that's the original glass for sure.
See right here, but that one's- both, yeah.
ROBBIE: That- those, both of those,
and then this one and this one.
MIKE: Here, let's look at the back of it, here unplug it.
ROBBIE: Unplug that.
RICK: It's got- it's got symmetry,
they did white on the sides, for some reason.
ROBBIE: It's got the freakin' tag on it right there.
Knot Neon Products out of Ohio.
The neon is original for sure.
MIKE: You know, it's obviously an original neon clock.
There's no disputing that.
What we're just talking about is that face.
MIKE: The face is really clean.
And the hands are super clean.
MIKE: It's so clean and it's so crisp,
which wouldn't be unusual if this thing really never hung in
the sunlight or maybe never hung at all,
it could have been in a box in a dealership
and they just never put it up.
Who knows?
MIKE: God, I mean it's got, this is a very expensive clock.
RICK: I know.
MIKE: Yeah.
RICK: He had... just so for point of reference,
he had this with that clock in the box.
RICK: I had researched just recently finding out
the rarity of that.
There's- there's really not very many of them out there.
MIKE: Isn't that Auction Action News?
ROBBIE: Yeah.
MIKE: That's a Wisconsin paper.
ROBBIE: Right.
RICK: Yeah, so he...
MIKE: Yeah right there, what's it say?
ROBBIE: Yeah. It says... this is Matthews,
that's yeah, I know Dan.
That's Matthews Auctions.
And this was probably, he doesn't own this auction
company anymore, this was probably 10 years ago.
RICK: He would have...
MIKE: I wonder if he bought this there.
ROBBIE: Well it says the thing sold for $6,490.
'Ford Sales and Service octagon neon clock,
rated 9 out of 10 with original cord, 6,490.'
The cord looks original.
Would he... would he have...
he have bought something at an auction?
RICK: Yeah. I don't know that...
MIKE: Is that the same, do you think it's the same one, Robbie?
ROBBIE: Yeah it's... it's exactly the same.
I mean, looking at the wording.
MIKE: You can't tell if it's the one from the auction though.
ROBBIE: No. No.
MIKE: When we first started doing this 35, 40 years ago,
to look at a clock like this, you wouldn't even question it.
Not that there weren't reproductions back then,
but not nearly what there is now.
The hobby is over-run with reproduction advertising.
And guys are like, getting brand new signs,
burying them in the ground, chipping the edges.
I mean, they're getting really good at it.
MIKE: I don't know, Robbie, would you- on a scale of
1 to 10, do you think this thing is real?
The face here, touch it.
I mean, what would you feel comfortable selling it for?
RICK: Well, the range is 3 to 6, we kind of know.
And then...
MIKE: I know, it's all over the place.
RICK: Will you do 4 on it, and I'd be happy.
MIKE: He had a reference point from
an old auction of like, what it- what- what a clock
like this brought at auction.
RICK: I- it's a good piece.
MIKE: That's if the face is real.
RICK: Well, the range is 3 to 6, we kind of know.
And then...
MIKE: I know, it's all over the place.
RICK: Will you do 4 on it, and I'd be happy.
I- it's a good piece.
I think it should leave you some room.
MIKE: And you think it's real, Robbie?
It's- it's Robbie's, it's Robbie's baby.
MIKE: What we're thinking about here is like,
hey did someone take this clock apart and put
this face on this clock and put it back together.
MIKE: Is the face real?
ROBBIE: I'm saying yes.
MIKE: Robbie and I are going back and forth.
I want to be able to say that he was the
one who made the decision that it was real.
Not me, you know, [laughs] I think it's real too,
but... he's the deciding factor.
MIKE: Alright, he said- Rob Wolfe's saying yes.
ROBBIE: I'm saying yes, because I'm looking at the screws,
and the screws...
they never, they never put primer on the screws.
MIKE: Yeah.
ROBBIE: So that was the area that lost most...
MIKE: Alright, 4 grand?
RICK: I think you'll be alright on it.
MIKE: Alright.
RICK: I know it.
RICK: That's got to be reasonable for a clock.
MIKE: That's the most expensive clock I've ever bought.
RICK: You know, we got to get back to basics here.
It's a clock.
[laughs]
RICK: You got to check this out.
He put a bunch of stuff up here.
And I'm not sure quite how, quite sure he got it up here.
But you got to check this out.
MIKE: What do you mean, he's got stuff bigger than this-
this hole is?
RICK: Yes.
RICK: You know, nobody could ever figure out how
the heck or why you'd want to go through a hole
to get to all that stuff. But you know,
he just made it a lot more difficult to get up there.
MIKE: You getting the ladder, Robbie?
ROBBIE: I got the ladder.
MIKE: Alright...
Rick: [laughs]
MIKE: Wow...
ROBBIE: Wow, you weren't kidding.
He did have some stuff up here.
RICK: It's a beautiful space, you know, once you're up there.
MIKE: I've never seen a set of these.
That doesn't mean that others don't exist,
but this is the front piece to an andiron.
Okay, so there would have been arms that came off the back
here, and that's what the logs would have been on.
Nautical.
Imagine the house that these would have been in.
Stone fireplace.
ROBBIE: Oh it had to be a big fireplace too, man.
MIKE: I know, yeah...
ROBBIE: That thing's, those are cool.
MIKE: Glass of rye whiskey and you just...
wooh!
MIKE: For just a brief second, we were all having that-
that same moment, man, with the rye whiskey
and the sitting in front of the fire.
MIKE: Dreaming about the open sea.
MIKE: All of us imagining together where these
would have been, and what that fireplace
would have looked like.
These are just part of what they used to be,
but they're still incredible.
They're very decorative.
MIKE: 2- 200.
RICK: 200.
MIKE: Yeah.
Because they, I mean, they're just missing...
RICK: Okay.
MIKE: ...everything else. But the money shot's there.
RICK: You're arguing with yourself.
MIKE: Shake his hand, shake his hand, Robbie.
RICK: You're...
MIKE: My hands are full.
ROBBIE: Yeah.
Mike: [laughs] Alright.
ROBBIE: Alright.
MIKE: Let's see what else we got.
The ultimate garbage can.
RICK: Sea bag, is that what it is?
MIKE: Yeah.
MIKE: Once you get upstairs into this attic space,
[laughing] it's crazy, man!
The amount of effort it took him to get all of these things up.
And some of them are pretty large.
And you're looking at them like,
did that really fit through that little hole.
ROBBIE: Look at that.
MIKE: I could see this in- in your house,
Robbie, with some pumpkins on it.
A 'live laugh love' pillow.
Robbie: [laughs]
MIKE: It's almost like...
he wanted to put the stuff in here,
not to be tempted to get rid of it.
ROBBIE: 175.
RICK: I was going to say 2, so we're there.
ROBBIE: Alright.
MIKE: You know, and then you- you walk into this
room and it's pretty much like 90% petroliana.
MIKE: Whoa!
MIKE: This is some of his best stuff that I've seen so far.
RICK: That has the box.
ROBBIE: Is the- what's the box say on it, any advertise-
RICK: It would have been the gas...
ROBBIE: Yeah, see Skelly Oil Company.
MIKE: Skelly Oil Company.
ROBBIE: Yeah.
MIKE: Right there.
MIKE: Skelly is one of those large American brands
that grew to be a household name.
This is a brand that's been around since the 'teens.
When you look at this globe, it's never been mounted,
it's always been in this box.
That's incredible to me.
RICK: So is that new-old stock, is that what you call that?
MIKE: Yeah.
ROBBIE: I'd call it new-old stock.
MIKE: It's dead stock, yeah.
RICK: Yeah.
MIKE: The only thing that hurts it a little bit is,
that it's Skelly.
They're a large company, they made a lot of product,
so they made a lot of globes.
MIKE: $1,000.
RICK: I'll do 12.
MIKE: 11.
RICK: Okay.
ROBBIE: Alright.
MIKE: We'll do 11?
Okay. Thank you, man.
ROBBIE: Any type of globe in today's market is a commodity.
ROBBIE: So Zephyr Gasoline?
ROBBIE: Basically you're investing.
You're hoping that 5 years from now,
it doubles and triples in money.
ROBBIE: Got a milk glass body on it, real lenses,
15-and-a-half inches.
ROBBIE: That's what's going on across the industry right now.
ROBBIE: There's no damage on the- on the body itself.
900 bucks.
ROBBIE: Butch amassed a pretty good collection of globes here,
but none of them are big money.
This is a pretty plain -jane globe in itself,
but it is red-white-and- blue - America, baby.
ROBBIE: That work?
RICK: Yeah.
ROBBIE: Alright, appreciate it.
RICK: I was going to tell you 1,000,
I didn't feel like messing with you.
ROBBIE: [laughs] I got to ask...
RICK: You give me that look.
ROBBIE: Rick, I got to ask about the rocker can.
RICK: Okay.
ROBBIE: This is an NOS- I call it an NOS rocker can, okay.
RICK: Really.
ROBBIE: New-old stock, because...
RICK: It's that good?
ROBBIE: ...it doesn't look, well it doesn't look
like it's ever had oil in it.
ROBBIE: Typically you find these cans,
they're all beat up.
Oil has been dripped all over them.
This can looks like it's never even been used.
ROBBIE: This was basically Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
RICK: Yeah.
ROBBIE: Connor Oil Corporation.
RICK: O'Connor, that's still, that's still here.
ROBBIE: Okay.
RICK: Yeah.
ROBBIE: So that was an independent company that
basically used this oil in their cans.
ROBBIE: One thing about gas and oil is,
in the collector field,
it's about the independent companies that were out there.
There was hundreds of them all over the United States.
Small mom-and-pop outfits, 2 gas stations they had.
ROBBIE: It's got the lid, even still has the cork in it.
RICK: Cork, yeah that looked pretty good.
ROBBIE: Condition on this one's incredible though.
RICK: Cuz it's local.
If I ever want to sell it, I think I could get 8 or 9.
So if you're not in that area...
I probably wouldn't sell it.
ROBBIE: When you find a can like this, that was an
independent oil company, and it's in perfect shape,
you have to try and buy it.
ROBBIE: I was going to say 700.
RICK: You were?
ROBBIE: Yeah.
RICK: Could you do 8 on it?
ROBBIE: 750.
RICK: Okay.
ROBBIE: Do it?
RICK: Yeah.
ROBBIE: That work?
RICK: Yeah.
ROBBIE: Alright, thank man, appreciate it.
MIKE: That's pretty cool.
ROBBIE: Sea Wolf.
MIKE: Oh there you go, you need that.
ROBBIE: Check that out, dude.
RICK: There's-
MIKE: Robbie.
ROBBIE: It's like new-old stock, Mike.
RICK: A high-end toy for kids at Christmas in the '50s,
or what was the deal with this?
ROBBIE: Yeah, it's- it's battery-operated.
RICK: Oh okay.
And then you could put it in the water?
ROBBIE: Yep.
RICK: Got the box.
ROBBIE: That's one thing that I love about it,
is 'cause it does have the box.
100 bucks.
It's in the box.
RICK: I'm not going to shake 'cause you'll drop it.
ROBBIE: I- I won't drop it. Alright.
RICK: I thought it was high, actually.
I didn't even know what it was worth.
MIKE: What do you think on this, RJ?
Ugh...
ROBBIE: It's in good shape, it's got the original hangers
on it, watch those legs.
RICK: Was that Texaco?
ROBBIE: No, Mobil Pegasus.
RICK: Mobil, that's right.
ROBBIE: Yeah. The Pegasus horse.
That got touch -up on it, Mike?
MIKE: Yeah, it looks like... doesn't it, right there?
ROBBIE: That's what I was thinking, right there.
A high retail on that's like 3 grand.
MIKE: How about uh... 22 on it?
RICK: I- I was feeling good about the prices up there.
You know, this porcelain stuff for collectors
is off the charts.
RICK: I guess 22's fine.
MIKE: Well, there's a little bit of damage here.
RICK: Yeah, I can see.
MIKE: I mean, the guys at the end of the rainbow want...
RICK: 3 grand, I heard him say.
MIKE: This- this...
ROBBIE: Yeah.
MIKE: ...I'd be at 22 on this.
RICK: Okay.
MIKE: What about the Iso-Vis, Robbie?
MIKE: Petroliana is so hot.
All of this stuff is being swept up.
MIKE: For this, and the Pegasus - 2,800.
RICK: Yeah, let's do it.
MIKE: Okay, alright, appreciate it.
I know Robbie's bird-dogging you on that Red Crown.
ROBBIE: If I remember correctly,
there's 5 different versions of this sign.
RICK: Um-hm.
ROBBIE: The plus is, it's got a thermometer in it.
Somebody redid the frame on it.
Not a big deal.
I mean, it looks good. I would do...
1,600.
RICK: That seems fair.
RICK: I have a feeling that the guys that collect
porcelain are used to seeing these kind of numbers.
MIKE: Alright, here's the Coke section.
ROBBIE: Yeah.
RICK: Well, there's some pieces of it.
MIKE: Oh yeah, I see that.
Oh he does have a lot of stuff. So...
ROBBIE: Ah he...
MIKE: Wow. Check out the clock face, Robbie, over there.
And he's got the Coke machine.
What about this?
This is Model 33.
The vendo.
Let's see... can we open it up here...
ah see, the barrel's missing.
How about... the machine and the cooler,
I'd do the both of them for 750.
RICK: That's fine.
MIKE: Okay. Thanks, man.
RICK: I'll do it. I was going to say 8...
MIKE: You'll get me on something else, I'm sure.
RICK: Yeah.
Mike: [laughs]
RICK: That's fine.
MIKE: So he was collecting a lot of stuff other
than just petroliana.
Robbie, look at these.
ROBBIE: Did this property have a windmill on it?
RICK: Well if they did, it would have been for feeding.
Didn't they use that to bring water up to the cattle?
ROBBIE: Right, right.
So you've got the head to the windmill there.
RICK: Uh-huh.
ROBBIE: These are the blades. There's your 3.
And actually, he's got some extra blades down here.
So here's the piece to the tail right here.
All the pieces are here.
That's even...
MIKE: It- it was probably on the property
and he took down what he could to save it.
ROBBIE: We're from the Midwest.
There are plenty of windmill still up in the air.
And typically when you find them and the guy wants
to sell them, you got to take the thing down.
This one's already on the ground,
all the work's been done for me.
RICK: Just missing the tower, like you said.
ROBBIE: A lot of these had better advertising on them.
Where's Atwater, Wisconsin?
RICK: There's an Atwater Race Track, it's not far.
ROBBIE: Okay.
ROBBIE: People love the windmill for decoration.
You want the one that's straight, that's not beat up,
that's got good patina to it.
ROBBIE: A complete windmill, about 2,500 bucks,
that's what it's going to bring, complete.
2,000.
MIKE: That's something that needs to be re- totally
re-conditioned.
ROBBIE: Re -done. Yeah, so.
RICK: Right, understood.
And this would have to be put back together,
and there's... there's labor too.
ROBBIE: Right, and re-conditioned if
I- ifI find a tower to put it up on.
RICK: I saw the fans, I guess, and maybe I saw part of it,
but I never really put it together and Robbie
instantly knew what it was and what it would sell for.
ROBBIE: So um...
I'd want to be at 750 on it.
RICK: I think I'm going to take it, that's fine.
ROBBIE: Alright.
RICK: Yeah.
MIKE: Alright, yeah.
RICK: I don't know who...
I'd like to see it get put back together.
RICK: I imagine somebody had put that back together,
that really gives me a good feeling.
MIKE: Look at the size of that gig, man.
RICK: He speared uh...
MIKE: Look at that thing!
ROBBIE: What the heck would you be spearing with that?
RICK: He speared carp or whatever they are.
MIKE: This is a metal rod.
ROBBIE: Carp?
MIKE: Okay, he speared carp with this.
RICK: Off a bridge.
MIKE: I was going to say, this ain't a frog gig.
RICK: No.
ROBBIE: He threw it.
RICK: When he grew up, he lived on the...
a little stream over at the other farm.
MIKE: Oh he was on the bridge throwing this?
RICK: So, so he was always on the bridge,
and he would get a lot of fish.
MIKE: Growing up along the mighty Mississippi River as a
kid, you hear tons of fishing lore stories, you know.
Fish in the river that are, like as large as a Volkswagen
and 6, 7, 800 pounds, swimming around through the Big Muddy.
MIKE: You know, so this gig is what you would
need if you ran into something like that.
MIKE: That thing's got some weight to it, man.
RICK: Yeah.
And you-
MIKE: Would you sell this?
RICK: Yeah, I'd sell it.
MIKE: 50 bucks.
RICK: Would you do 75?
MIKE: Absolutely not.
RICK: No?
Mike: [laughs]
RICK: Alright.
MIKE: I'll tell you what, I'd do 60 bucks.
RICK: Okay.
$60 is fine.
MIKE: Alright, cool. Thanks, man.
RICK: I was just testing you to see if you would...
ROBBIE: That's the biggest one I've ever seen.
MIKE: I know, it's a bruiser.
ROBBIE: I mean, these things are built like a harpoon,
was he gigging Moby Dick?
MIKE: Hey Robbie.
ROBBIE: Yeah.
MIKE: Help me pull this out, help me pull
this table out right here.
Move this, pull this back... pull...
ROBBIE: Ohh...
MIKE: ...that...
ROBBIE: ...yeah.
MIKE: Alright, 1, 2, 3. Pull it out.
ROBBIE: Right there.
MIKE: You got it?
ROBBIE: I got it.
MIKE: You sure?
ROBBIE: Yeah.
MIKE: Alright, look at that.
That's a cool piece. This is a cool piece.
ROBBIE: Look at the bottom of it.
MIKE: Yeah. See the way this adjusts?
MIKE: The money shot on this piece is the base.
The way it adjusts, the size of the knobs,
the arch of the legs, the round cast iron ball feet.
MIKE: You know, it's overbuilt, it's heavy-duty.
It's cast iron bracket that goes into the top.
RICK: Would it- would it have been a plan desk or something?
MIKE: To me it's...
ROBBIE: It could have been...
MIKE: ...just a utility desk.
MIKE: This is the kind of stuff they reproduce because
designers and decorators are using them like crazy.
But this is a real deal piece.
MIKE: Where's it made at? Does it say?
ROBBIE: Rochester, New York.
MIKE: Cool. And then this lowers it, obviously.
ROBBIE: So does that one.
This one, there, there.
MIKE: There we go.
RICK: No way.
ROBBIE: Yeah.
MIKE: Yeah, there you go.
$100. $100.
RICK: I'll take it.
MIKE: Alright, thanks.
MIKE: What about the Nehi piece, man, that's really cool.
MIKE: Nehi Cola was around from the late 1920s to the mid-1950s.
Then it became Royal Crown Cola.
MIKE: That looks like somebody made this top.
Somebody made this top out of...
out of wood.
RICK: Oh yeah.
MIKE: That's a piece of wood.
But they did, look how, look how they did the hinges and
everything, man, they really overbuilt it.
And then this is, look at this piece, the handle.
It's like off of a...
RICK: Like a, a...
MIKE: ...off a dresser.
MIKE: This cooler's been altered in a couple
of different ways.
But the paint on it is really incredible.
MIKE: I don't know, a couple of hundred bucks the way it is,
without the lid and this, whatever they've done here.
RICK: I'll take that, yeah.
MIKE: Okay.
MIKE: This is something that somebody could still use,
and it's a great piece of advertising.
MIKE: Ugghh! Here we go.
Here, let me hand that out to ya.
ROBBIE: Okay.
MIKE: That's car...
ROBBIE: That's an early one.
RICK: Speedometers?
ROBBIE: Speedometers, yeah.
RICK: Yeah, I think it was just like him to- to stash things
around in a drawer, so that you know, he knew where they were,
but you didn't necessarily know where they were.
ROBBIE: Car, car, car. All those are car.
RICK: Alright.
MIKE: Nines put on a truck, brand new.
ROBBIE: NOS, yeah.
MIKE: Butch had all of these auto accessories together
in one drawer, in a file cabinet.
He thought that much of every single piece,
and he knew this was the hard stuff to find.
MIKE: What do we got here?
So far, I got these speedometers.
MIKE: There's 2 1935, '36 Ford speedometers.
MIKE: These are '30s Ford, both 100-mile-an-hour.
MIKE: And the other one is an early accessory
speedometer for a car.
RICK: And what's the deal with the brand name on that?
Like Stewart.
MIKE: Stewart, yeah.
ROBBIE: Yeah.
MIKE: Stewart made a ton of speedometers.
ROBBIE: Yeah.
MIKE: This is called a soup can speedometer.
RICK: Okay.
MIKE: I call this the gingerbread, okay,
because once you have the car, you want to find those little
special pieces to make it unique or different.
MIKE: These are what they call cores.
So basically if anybody's going to use this in a car,
they would have this rebuilt. There's guys you can send this
to, there's a guy down in Texas, you send this to him,
he'll rebuild this whole thing.
You know, I'd do like...
$100 apiece for those, and for that soup can speedo...
like 125, you know.
ROBBIE: 3-and- a-quarter.
RICK: That's fine.
MIKE: You want to do that?
RICK: Yeah.
MIKE: Okay. Whoa.
ROBBIE: I know, that's what I said.
RICK: 100 bucks, take it.
ROBBIE: Alright.
RICK: It's yours.
ROBBIE: Appreciate it, man.
MIKE: I can't wait to hear that.
RICK: Let's go look up here.
MIKE: Alright.
What kind of stuff you got up here?
RICK: A couple of cars up here.
MIKE: Oh this is where the cars are?
RICK: Yeah.
MIKE: Oh wow.
RICK: So above where we just where.
MIKE: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
RICK: This opens wide open.
ROBBIE: Oh you can drive them...
MIKE: Oh wow! RJ, what!
ROBBIE: Wow.
MIKE: God, I wish I had this much room!
ROBBIE: Look at that, look at how they built the
beams in here, look at all that.
MIKE: So did you play in here when you were a kid?
RICK: Yeah.
MIKE: Oh my gosh.
RICK: This was full of cars. So he had it from-
ROBBIE: Full!
RICK: -that side all the way around this wall
and all around this side.
ROBBIE: This whole barn.
RICK: Whole barn was full of cars.
MIKE: This is nice. '35 5-window.
RICK: Yeah, this car was in the movie, Public Enemies.
MIKE & ROBBIE: Really!
RICK: Yeah.
MIKE: Wow!
RICK: He took it to Chicago.
MIKE: Did Johnny Depp drive it?
RICK: I don't think so, but I think it was, you know,
an extra vehicle for the- for the shot.
MIKE: Yeah, absolutely.
RICK: With the countless cars that Butch had come
through this shop and that he owned,
there would have been too numerous to mention.
That '35 in particular was in a movie,
and he was very fond of that car.
RICK: If he was going to town in Oakfield,
he would drive this.
MIKE: No kidding.
RICK: 'Cause he took me around in it.
MIKE: Yeah?
RICK: And he was all, he was proud of this.
MIKE: Alright.
It's got the original engine in it.
ROBBIE: Is this something you guys are going to keep?
RICK: No, we're going to sell this one and keep that one.
RICK: The Model A is a little truck,
and it- if you see the old pictures of it,
there were times that that thing looked really rugged.
So he did a whole, like a body off
frame restoration on that car.
And it took him a lot of years to put together.
RICK: He already was going to sell this.
ROBBIE: Okay.
RICK: 'Cause I know he, I'd heard an offer
he had gotten on it.
ROBBIE: Okay.
RICK: And he turned the guy down.
MIKE: What was the offer for it that he turned down?
RICK: This one he got an offer for 25 from a guy from Chicago.
MIKE: I'll tell you what, that's...
that's not a bad offer.
ROBBIE: ...yeah.
MIKE: 1935 was a big year for Ford because they hadn't
changed the body style really, since 1933.
But in 1935, the design evolved.
To me it was like they took a 1934 Ford,
hooked a tire pump up to it,
and just pumped it up a little bit.
MIKE: You know, it was more plumper, more rounder,
it didn't have hard edges.
It was a bigger, more comfortable car.
MIKE: When you look at the fire wall and the door
jambs and stuff and everything in it,
looks like it's original paint, man.
But then you look at the ceiling here- the- you look
at the roof, you can see this has been brushstroked.
ROBBIE: Like...
MIKE: You can see right here, some Bondo in the car.
RICK: Okay.
MIKE: Right there, some Bondo.
And that would have been-
RICK: And that would have been him, he did it.
MIKE: Yeah, he would have been fixing that.
RICK: Maybe to get it ready.
MIKE: Maybe it's like an older, older restoration.
Do you think we could hear this run?
RICK: Yes.
MIKE: I mean, do you... let me try to start it.
ROBBIE: Look it, it's got reds, Mike, old...
MIKE: Oh my God, this seat is like...
[laughs]
RICK: He was tall.
MIKE: This seat is friggin'...
ROBBIE: What did you say, he was 6-foot-4?
RICK: 6'4", yeah.
ROBBIE: You didn't turn it on, did you, Mike?
MIKE: Yeah.
ROBBIE: Go ahead.
MIKE: Let me see, I'm going to choke it.
Here, ready?
ROBBIE: Yeah.
[tries to start engine]
ROBBIE: Don't think it's getting any fuel.
ROBBIE: One thing my brother is good at, turning the ignition.
He needs me to actually do all the work.
ROBBIE: If we add some starting fluid,
I'll get this thing started.
RICK: I probably do downstairs.
You want me to just get it?
MIKE: Yeah, yeah you want to get some starting fluid?
Go grab it, let's hear it run.
RICK: I'll grab some. Okay.
ROBBIE: Let me ask you this, you got any gas, Rick?
RICK: Yeah. I'll bring both.
ROBBIE: Bring me a little gas can.
MIKE: I mean... here...
ROBBIE: 25.
MIKE: 25's it on it.
ROBBIE: Yeah.
MIKE: You know. I mean, it's a survivor car.
It's cool, um...
ROBBIE: I think you'd have to be into it...
MIKE: I tell you what, it's got $1,500 worth of tires on it.
ROBBIE: Yeah.
MIKE: You know, these are nice.
And they're really not that old,
they're not checked or anything.
ROBBIE: These early '30s Fords are very desirable.
If you could find a 3 -window,
that's like the golden monkey right there.
This is a 5-window and it's still got,
look at all the lines on it.
Ford had it going on in the '30s.
MIKE: It's got the look to it overall.
I mean, the fact that it was in the movie,
you know, kind of sets it up a little bit. But...
ROBBIE: Did you ask for... hey...
MIKE: ...I think once you get it out in the light,
you can really probably start seeing the imperfections,
especially like on the roof line here, you know.
That's bare met- that's- that's bare metal right there.
RICK: So here's gas, Robbie.
ROBBIE: Alright. Alright, got some gas, Mike.
RICK: Good on unleaded, just...
ROBBIE: Good unleaded, yeah, that's all you need.
RICK: Okay.
ROBBIE: Get in there, brother. Hell yeah.
MIKE: I'm right here.
ROBBIE: Oh. Get in there.
RICK: He's in the trunk.
MIKE: You already put gas in it?
ROBBIE: I'm going- no I'm not putting it into the tank,
I'm putting it in the carb.
MIKE: Oh, I thought you were putting it in...
ROBBIE: Yeah, I'm not doing, no hell no.
MIKE: Alright, alright, settle down here.
ROBBIE: I want to see it firing, dude, hold on.
MIKE: Alright, don't start it on fire.
ROBBIE: I'm not. So just give me 2 seconds,
don't be moving around.
Don't do anything.
MIKE: I'm not doing anything.
ROBBIE: Now you did that, you freakin' choked it.
MIKE: No I- oh, I choked it, yeah I choked it, sorry.
ROBBIE: Yeah, God.
Mike: [laughs]
RICK: Brothers.
ROBBIE: It's hard enough to even look down in here.
There we go.
MIKE: [laughing] Sorry.
ROBBIE: Okay.
That's a lot of gas.
MIKE: Alright, you want me to start it?
ROBBIE: Yeah.
MIKE: Alright, let's see what happens here.
[tries to start engine]
[engine sputtering]
[engine starts]
MIKE: There's no gas in it...
Let it die.
ROBBIE: That's it.
MIKE: There's no gas in it.
You're- it starts, but it needs gas...
ROBBIE: Yeah, there's no gas, I know,
I already knew there was no gas in it.
MIKE: I can't believe that...
that battery has lasted this long.
RICK: Exactly, that's what's tripping me out, like...
how, you can't get a new car to do that.
RICK: I was surprised it rolled over even. And then to get,
you know, to get it going, that- that was cool.
MIKE: Man, I think if he had an offer at 25K on it, I mean,
to me that's- that's all the money.
MIKE: This is a great looking car,
there's a lot of original paint on it.
MIKE: I can make you an offer on it,
but it ain't going to be 25K, 'cause I- I need to ship it,
and then I got to, I mean, getting it running
and everything.
You know, to me it's an 18- 19,000 car.
ROBBIE: There's a little bit left on the
back side of that on it.
MIKE: So...
RICK: Yeah, I'd like to just not go below 25.
MIKE: I don't, hey I don't blame ya.
MIKE: The fact that it's a patina driver,
and it was in Public Enemy,
takes it to the next level.
MIKE: If you can show it in the movie,
then that brings it up a little bit.
You know, there's a guy out there that...
RICK: Okay.
MIKE: ...you know, wants to brag about that.
MIKE: You know, but at the end of the day,
I think it's still...
25- $26,000 car, and he's already got
an offer on it for 25.
MIKE: Alright, here you go.
Urgh...
ROBBIE: Rick, I think it was pretty dang good that- whoa!
Dude.
MIKE: Yeah... [laughs]
ROBBIE: Trying to, what are you doing there.
MIKE: People live as long as we talk about them,
and remember them.
Butch inspired his nephew so much
that he moved from California to Wisconsin
to build the home he never got to start.
MIKE: You got that?
ROBBIE: Ahh... yeah.
MIKE: You trust me with that?
ROBBIE: That's about it. Right there.
MIKE: Alright. Okay.
ROBBIE: Hey.
RICK: Thank you, guys. Yeah.
ROBBIE: Seriously, thanks for taking the time,
and showing us around.
RICK: Oh yeah.
RICK: One of my earliest memories of
my uncle was like...
working on a car out here with him and sanding for him a lot.
It's just unfortunate I didn't get enough time with him.
MIKE: Thank so for sharing your family's history with us.
RICK: Of course, yeah.
MIKE: I appreciate ya.
RICK: I loved the guy, and I thought he was cool as hell.
There's not a lot of people that will speak about him the
same way or saw him the same way as me.
He didn't get to know people as well.
RICK: Alright, you guys have a good one.
MIKE: We'll catch you on the flip side.
RICK: But every man tries in a different way in this world,
and we're not always perfect.
But I think he did the best he could.
MIKE: Butch left a huge wake behind him.
He was a self -employed guy.
[honks horn]
MIKE: And he surrounded himself with all
the things that he loves.
MIKE: See ya, buddy!
RICK: See ya, Mike.
MIKE: That, is a life well lived.
MIKE: Dani D, what's up?
DANIELLE: Hey, I got a good one for you today.
Did you get those coordinates I sent you?
MIKE: I'm about 15 minutes away.
DANIELLE: I sent you some pictures too.
I figured since Robbie took the day off,
I'd send you somewhere a little different.
MIKE: Okay.
DANIELLE: His name is Matthew Gruber.
He basically invented the modern industry of automatons.
MIKE: Automatons have always fascinated me.
It's almost like, you know, you're looking
at a piece of art.
DANIELLE: I know, that's why I kept this one
in my back pocket for you.
MIKE: I can't wait to see some of these pieces.
They look incredible in the photographs.
DANIELLE: I know for a fact, at one point,
NBC even hired him to duplicate the original Howdy Doody puppet.
MIKE: I know, I can't wait to see that.
Howdy Doody in person!
DANIELLE: Okay, let me tell you the catch.
MIKE: Okay.
DANIELLE: You ready?
I have no idea if he wants to sell or not.
He is 97-and-a-half, and these creations are like his children.
MIKE: I'm excited to meet him.
DANIELLE: You might possibly come up empty-handed.
So just be prepared for that.
MIKE: Alright, I'll talk to you soon.
DANIELLE: See you later.
MIKE: Bye.
[knocks on door]
JANET: Hello.
MIKE: Are you Janet?
JANET: I'm Janet.
MIKE: I'm Mike.
JANET: Come on in. And...
MIKE: Hello. How are you?
This must be Matt.
JANET: This is my dad, Matt Gruber.
MIKE: Hey Matt Gruber, how are you?
MATT: I understand...
MIKE: Very nice to meet you.
MATT: My name is Matt Gruber.
I was born in the Bronx 97 years ago.
I made the first automaton of the modern era.
MIKE: I'm a huge fan, because I used to
collect puppets when I was a kid.
MIKE: I was fortunate enough to grow up
in a time when there was a real push
to make creative television for kids.
Shows like Captain Kangaroo, Mr. Rogers.
JANET: You're in the right place.
MATT: Well.
MIKE: I watched Lamb Chop, I watched Sesame Street.
So one of the first things that I ever collected were puppets.
MATT: That's when it starts.
MIKE: And so I've always been fascinated with anything
related to them, automatons or ventriloquist dolls.
MATT: Um-hm.
MIKE: Can I take a look at this one?
MATT: Let me put it on for you.
Mike: [laughs] Wow.
JANET: And if he had a tape inside...
MIKE: Okay.
JANET: His mouth would be moving too.
MIKE: Okay, so that's where the voice comes,
it comes from a tape.
JANET: It does.
MIKE: Can I make you an offer on this one?
MATT: No.
MIKE: No.
Alright, I'm don't blame ya.
So was this one something that you never finished, or...?
MATT: No, I just exposed it so someone could see it.
MIKE: Okay.
MATT: Every automatic puppet that I produced
was made completely by me.
MIKE: So how old were you when you first
started this journey of making these?
MATT: 18.
MATT: The objective was to create a movable puppet to be
used as a point-of-purchase advertising device.
MIKE: What was she advertising, the Skamperette?
MATT: Slips and panties. Put it on, Janet.
MIKE: Yeah, can we see that play?
JANET: Sure.
MATT: Yeah.
SKAMPERETTE GIRL: "...panties to beat
sensational Skamperette panties.
You get a panty to phonograph record free..."
MIKE: Wow. So awesome.
[laughs]
JANET: Like they all had their own personalities.
MATT: The sound system, that's the challenge.
MIKE: The body and the mouth are in sync with the voice.
MATT: There's a magnetic tape machine.
MIKE: Um-hm.
MATT: It goes through here, there's a censor here.
On the tape there's a marking that opens the mouth.
MIKE: To actually see an automaton speak...
SKAMPERETTE GIRL: "...Skamperette panties,
you get a panty to phonograph record free..."
MIKE: That's what Matthew did that was game changing.
The movement had been done before.
MATT: At the time I went to Walt Disney,
with the little one.
MIKE: This one is the one you brought to Walt Disney?
MATT: Yes.
MIKE: The man himself.
MATT: No.
I did the New York representatives.
I put this on his desk, and- and...
MIKE: [laughs]
MATT: ...it started to talk to him.
MIKE: He had to be blown away.
MATT: He was crazy about it.
MIKE: I bet.
MATT: Walt Disney raised this to an art form.
MIKE: Matthew didn't have the resources to take
it to the next level, the big level.
But he showed it to somebody that did.
JANET: You inspired Walt Disney.
[laughs]
MATT: Could be.
MIKE: You inspired Walt Disney.
MATT: I hurried him up.
MIKE: Yeah.
MATT: That's what I really did.
MIKE: Yeah.
Yeah, you gave him a kick in the pants.
MATT: Because that was inevitable,
that that would happen.
MIKE: Yeah.
MIKE: Okay.
MATT: Yeah.
MIKE: I've seen Skamperette work.
Alright, can I make you an offer on Skamperette?
MATT: Yes.
MIKE: $5,000 for Skamperette.
MATT: No.
MIKE: Can't do it? Alright, I know.
MATT: Okay.
MIKE: I think I'm probably the first one that actually
physically asked him, 'would you sell that?'
And the answer very quickly, was no.
And I can respect that.
MIKE: Howdy Doody's incredible.
MATT: Yes.
MIKE: Does Howdy still work?
JANET: Absolutely.
MIKE: Howdy Doody is the most famous marionette
ever created.
You got Kermit, and you got Howdy.
It really depends on which generation you talk to.
MIKE: Alright, let's see him get down.
There he goes, [laughing] that's awesome!
So awesome.
MATT: I duplicated the original puppet to operate mechanically.
MATT: Howdy was promoting the sponsors
of the show at various conventions.
MIKE: The scale of this piece is how much larger than Howdy?
MATT: He's the original size.
MIKE: Oh that's- that's how big Howdy's puppet, puppet was.
JANET: It was really exact.
MIKE: Really.
See I, I had no idea the original Howdy was that big.
MATT: As a matter of fact...
MATT: I went down to NBC each morning,
and I worked with the original Howdy.
MIKE: To align yourself with such a huge brand as this...
MATT: Hmm.
MIKE: Incredible.
MIKE: When I'm looking at Howdy Doody,
I'm thinking about how everything that
Matthew did added up to this.
Out of anybody in the world, he was the guy that they
handed over the original puppet to recreate him.
That says a lot.
JANET: It's unbelievable what he went through to
make that shirt. He needed the exact plaid,
and the plaid didn't exist.
MATT: Well, it wasn't unbelievable.
JANET: Daddy, nobody would have done that,
it's amazing that you did it.
MATT: Oh well.
JANET: And he used a combination of India ink and,
and an airbrush to create, to recreate the plaid.
MIKE: On a project like this today,
you would have a sculptor,
you would have a seamstress, you would have a painter,
you would have an engineer.
You would have a team of people making something like this,
because each one specializes in their own field.
Matthew specialized in all of it.
He made every single piece on this puppet.
Even the shirt. It's unbelievable.
MIKE: Can I make you an offer on this one?
MATT: No, not really.
The other one that's in there.
MIKE: Oh you have another one of these?
MATT: Yes.
JANET: Well, he made- he made another one afterwards.
MATT: I'll show it to you.
MIKE: Okay.
MATT: I had leftover 2 hands and the arms,
the shirt material, and the boots.
I said, well gee, I got this stuff left over,
I'll make another Howdy.
MIKE: Wow.
So obviously it's not as refined.
When you look at his head, the way it's painted,
everything about that is completely
different than the one out there.
Yeah.
MATT: Well, that one is 30 years older than this one.
MIKE: Okay, so you made this one 30 years later.
MATT: Yes.
MIKE: I'm a fan of Howdy Doody's.
MIKE: What about this piece?
This is more kind of a little bit more
of a contemporary piece.
MATT: Yes.
MIKE: In the condition it's in...
6,000 for this one.
MATT: No, I wouldn't be interested in...
MIKE: Okay.
MATT: ...selling that.
MIKE: I thought for sure I was going to be able to
buy that second Howdy Doody.
But... he didn't even want to sell that.
You know, it was just too close, it was just...
it wasn't meant to be.
MIKE: The Magician is incredible.
JANET: Isn't he cool looking?
MATT: Yeah...
MIKE: Yeah, I think he's the most elaborate one
I've seen you make.
MATT: He's the last one.
MIKE: Okay.
Oh wow... how about the Magician,
can I make you an offer on the Magician?
JANET: Good luck.
Mike: [laughs]
MATT: Yes.
MIKE: You know, sometimes it's difficult to be the first guy
in. You know, they're thinking about selling,
and they're toying with the idea.
And then when it becomes real, when the quest- the-
the word is asked, 'would you sell this?'
Then, the it's very real.
MIKE: $6,000.
MATT: No, that I would not be able to...
MIKE: Okay.
MATT: ...let you have it for.
MIKE: Okay.
MATT: It's ridiculous to say, but these things are like
children of mine. [laughs]
Having created every bit of them,
they really are an expression of who I am.
MIKE: Had you ever thought before at all
about putting one out on the market.
MATT: No, not really.
MIKE: Okay.
MIKE: These will all probably end up in a museum, you know,
with a tour guide and a curator taking everybody
around and talking about Matthew's life.
MIKE: It's a big deal for me to meet the
man that created an industry.
You, my friend, are the one that moved the bar.
MIKE: I got to experience it first-hand.
MIKE: Bye-bye, guys.
JANET: Goodbye.
MIKE: And I got the private tour.