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Gus
02-25-2009, 05:30 PM
This collection just sold for $2553 on ebay.

I knew a number of the items were very rare but had no idea how to value such a collection. I'm interested in hearing your perspective of the value of various items in the collection. What do you think was the most valuable, rarest, etc?

And if it was you who bought the collection, congratulations.


Text from the eBay listing:

Remember the early Coaster's, Estes, FSI, ProDyne Kits?

Vintage Model Rocketry Publication Collection
I have been a rocketry enthusiast since the late 1950’s. These are some old catalogs, newsletters, articles, and photos from the early days of model rocketry. It’s time for these to find a new home with someone who can collect and preserve them for the future model rocketeers to enjoy. Some really interesting things here - enjoy!

………5-4-3-2-1-0 LAUNCH!

Model Rocketry Magazines:
11 issues of SPORT ROCKETRY magazine, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001
3 issues of AMERICAN SPACEMODLING magazine, 1988, 1989
1 issue FINAL FRONTEER magazine, 1999

Collectible Catalogs:
1 Estes #261 (1961) catalog -= WOW! Ever see one?
1 Estes #631 (1963) B&W catalog – has to be VERY RARE.
1 Estes 1969 color catalog with order forms and envelope
1 Estes 1966 color catalog
1 Estes 1970 color catalog
1 Estes 1971 color catalog
1 Estes 1972 color catalog
1 Estes 1974 color catalog
1 Estes 1979 color catalog
1 Estes “Alpha Book of Model Rocketry” from 1972.

1 Centuri 1962 catalog – great B&W photos! – ever see one?
1 Centuri 1969 catalog
1 Centuri 1967 color catalog
1 Centuri 1971 color catalog with EnerJet
2 Centuri 1972 color catalogs
1 Centuri 1980 color catalog

1 Zeppelin Hobbies 2002 B&W catalog

1 EnerJet 1972 8.5 x 11” size, catalog – great photos and designs,
with 3 part order blank and instructions, VERY NICE.

1 FLIGHT SYSTEMS INC. (FSI) catalog – Has to be VERY RARE!
With flyer announcing the first D motors, and Order Forms.

1 PRODYNE 1964 catalog – Cyclone Motors! Ever see one?

1 CENTRAL ROCKET CO. 1960 Catalog with STARHAWK a very unusual Rock-A-Chute kit!

And MY Favorite:
1 COASTER’S catalog from 1962! The early BIG motors! Dyna-Soar kit!
1 Coaster’s Supplement #1 from March 1960! (I LOVED those early, 50# Coaster black Power motors, launched many two-stagers to over a mile in the '60's)

1 Very early Estes Astron Space Plane ($1.80!) assembly instructions, 6 pages –excellent!
1 Estes CINEROC Operating Manual - I flew the CINEROC several times - earlier full size 8mm camera on FSI, F-100's to 2600'.
1 Estes AstroCam110 instruction sheet and decal sheet

Some Very Early Newsletters
1 October 1961, Estes Model Rocket News, Vol 1 #3, – Very RARE!
1 Vol 2 #1, Feb 1962, Estes Model Rocket News
1 Vol 2 #2, July 1962, Estes Model Rocket News
1 Vol 2 #3, Sept/Oct 1962 NARAM-4 Coverage!, Estes Model Rocket News
1 Vol 3 #1, Feb/Mar 1963, Estes Model Rocket News
1 Vol 3 #2, April/May 1963 – All about Estes Industries, Estes Model Rocket News
1 Vol 6 #1, April 1966, Estes Model Rocket News
1 Vol 12 #2, April 1972, “
1 Vol 12 #3, July 1972, “
1 Vol 12 #4, Nov 1972, “
1 batch of Estes Cold Power price sheets.

1 Vol 13 #2, July 1973, Estes Model Rocket News
1 Vol 13 #4, Nov/Dec 1973, Estes Model Rocket News
1 american rocketeer, Centuri, Vol 4 #1
1 Vol 3 #3, June/July 1963

Other Stuff, read it carefully:
2 very early, “Estes Model Rocketeer” Estes colorful Iron-ons, Way Cool!
1 early Centuri “I am A Centuri Rocketeer” – Iron-On.
Even More Cool!

1 Copy of “Safety Regulation No 24, Rocket Experimentation by Amateurs” NJ State Dept of Labor and Industry, from Nov. 1963!!! Needed to get you license to launch back in the 1960’s in NJ!!! I had mine!
1 A big pile of miscellaneous documents, flyers, price lists, envelopes, parts lists, instruction sheets and some actual correspondence with the early manufacturers, from various manufacturers in the 1960’s.

5 Newspaper articles about local, Phila/NJ area early rocketeers, 1963, 1969…..wait until you see this stuff!

1 Full Page, color newspaper Illustration and Article from The American Weekly, March 5, 1961 (see Pix #9)The Rocket Race, showing the Russian and United States, written by Brig Gen. David Sarnoff, then with RCA…..with maps of the bases and drawings of all the rockets and missiles….some of which never existed! A REAL COLLECTIBLE!

4 Original NASA B&W, 8 x 10” photos from Wallops Island, showing the NIKE-APACHE, a three-stage Aerobee during assemble, the Aerobee at launch, and a photo of a sodium vapor cloud. The three stage Aerobee was launched on April 18, 1963 and came within 20 miles of the orbiting Explorer XVII satellite! Also the newspaper article about the launch. Bet no one even remembers this event! We had an ASAT underdevelopment back then!! I used these pics to build a scale model of this one back in 1963.

Ltvscout
02-25-2009, 06:31 PM
What was the ebay name of the seller?

Gus
02-25-2009, 06:36 PM
What was the ebay name of the seller?
Seller's ID is "nahood". Doesn't look like this person has sold any rocketry items recently.

Link to the auction is here. (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=260365545947)

shockwaveriderz
02-25-2009, 07:05 PM
Gus:

I can't tell you the worth of all of this stuff; but I can tell you what I think about some of the items from a historical viewpoint.


1 Estes #261 (1961) catalog -= WOW! Ever see one?
1 Estes #631 (1963) B&W catalog – has to be VERY RARE.

These two are rare as is espeically the #261.

same goes for :

1 Centuri 1962 catalog – great B&W photos! – ever see one?

I posted .pdf copies of this:

1 PRODYNE 1964 catalog – Cyclone Motors! Ever see one?


1 CENTRAL ROCKET CO. 1960 Catalog with STARHAWK a very unusual Rock-A-Chute kit!

I have a few pages of this. The STARHAWK used fireworks plastic tilt fin can.


And MY Favorite:
1 COASTER’S catalog from 1962! The early BIG motors! Dyna-Soar kit!
1 Coaster’s Supplement #1 from March 1960! (I LOVED those early, 50# Coaster black Power motors, launched many two-stagers to over a mile in the '60's)

I have a pic of the 62 Coaster catalog with one page from it.

The 1960 supplement might be interesting.

I recently received copies of these :

1 October 1961, Estes Model Rocket News, Vol 1 #3, – Very RARE!
1 Vol 2 #1, Feb 1962, Estes Model Rocket News


I know at least 2 people that have these. One sent me his copies. They are rare.


you cas get this from libraries:

1 Copy of “Safety Regulation No 24, Rocket Experimentation by Amateurs” NJ State Dept of Labor and Industry, from Nov. 1963!!!


This would probably have some interesting info:

1 A big pile of miscellaneous documents, flyers, price lists, envelopes, parts lists, instruction sheets and some actual correspondence with the early manufacturers, from various manufacturers in the 1960’s.


Hopefully who ever got this stuff will copy and post some of this stuff to ye old rocketshoppe.


hth

terry dean

LeeR
02-25-2009, 10:13 PM
I am just kicking myself for setting a max bid of $2552.

Gus
02-25-2009, 10:29 PM
Terry,

I follow eBay quite closely and although 1963 catalogs come up from time to time, I don't ever recall seeing a '61 Estes or '62 Centuri go up within the last several years.

I think the Coaster catalog was pretty special, too. I've seen later Central Rocket Co. catalogs, but nothing as early as this one. I've seen FSI catalogs offered, but never a Prodyne.

I found it interesting that the collection was put up as a whole. Usually I think items bring much more when auctioned individually, but this collection was unique in that it had so many rare items which would be extremely difficult to aquire individually so it may have actually brought more by not splitting up the collection.

That was a truly amazing collection and, like you, I hope the winner is willing to scan and post some of the items.

shockwaveriderz
02-26-2009, 10:36 AM
Gus, I don't want to give the impression to anyone who might have bidded on this collection as it not being worth what it sold for. I'm very poor when it comes to pricing out old rocketry stuff.

I agree with you the #261 Estes and 62 Centuri are both very rare and therefore both are woth literally hundreds of dollars each, if not a near athousand each just by themselves.

Later today if I get around to it I'll post some of the stuff that I mentioned that I have.

terry dean

shockwaveriderz
02-26-2009, 11:49 AM
some Coaster and Central Rocket Co pics stolen from Ebay

terry dean

Nedss396
02-26-2009, 02:43 PM
Hi Gus, I sold the collection of MR Pubs on e-Bay. I have sold other Old Mod Roc items - some old motors, CINEROC, and a few old kits last year. While I did enjoy these old pubs, photos and things, its far better to have them going to someone who can use them AND preserve them for others. I don't have the time to get on this great forum very often , but its always fun when I can! Can't wait for some nice weather around here....

Rocketflyer
02-26-2009, 06:36 PM
Hi Gus, I sold the collection of MR Pubs on e-Bay. I have sold other Old Mod Roc items - some old motors, CINEROC, and a few old kits last year. While I did enjoy these old pubs, photos and things, its far better to have them going to someone who can use them AND preserve them for others. I don't have the time to get on this great forum very often , but its always fun when I can! Can't wait for some nice weather around here....

So, thanks for thinking of us, belatedly. (Where's a raspberry icon when you want one?)

Gus
02-26-2009, 07:00 PM
Hi Gus, I sold the collection of MR Pubs on e-Bay. I have sold other Old Mod Roc items - some old motors, CINEROC, and a few old kits last year. While I did enjoy these old pubs, photos and things, its far better to have them going to someone who can use them AND preserve them for others. I don't have the time to get on this great forum very often , but its always fun when I can! Can't wait for some nice weather around here.... Thanks so much for stopping by here. As you know, this forum focuses on old rockets and the items you auctioned were amongst some of the earliest offerings in the hobby.

If you don't mind my asking, would you tell us a bit about your rocketry experiences in the early days? I'm fascinated that you had catalogs from Estes, Centuri, Coaster, and Central Rocket Co. How did you know about all those companies so early? Was it via ads in magazines or did you belong to a rocketry group? Which of the companies did you order from and any experiences that stand out?

Gus

Leo
02-27-2009, 12:23 AM
and to add to Gus's wishes I'd also sure like to see some fotos from that era if you should happen to have any :)

Rocket Doctor
02-27-2009, 08:46 AM
I would agree, the Estes 1961 catalog is a gem. But, was it the Denver copy or Penrose?
I have a collection of Estes catalogs from 1966 to the present, and a rare purple cover centuri catalog, don't remember the year in mint condition.

I also have quite a lot of literature as well.

From what I gather here, the seller is from NJ, especially with the Regulation N024 which was the regulation in NJ to have a permit for $2.00 to pruchase motors, no test, fill out a simple form, send in your $2.00 and that was it.

This is like the collection that went up for sale on ebay last year for around $3000.00, but was pulled, I guess the seller got a better deal off of ebay.

If anyone is interested, I still have over $4000 worth of Estes kits available for $2000 plus postage.

Nedss396
02-28-2009, 09:04 AM
Gus, going through all these old items brought back a lot of memories - I even found the original drawings I did back in 1959 for rocketry science fair project!
Rather then rewite a bunch of boring old stuff, try this -
Here is a link to the article I wrote back in 2007 for Apogee.

http://www.apogeerockets.com/education/downloads/Newsletter181.pdf

(Not a commercial, but Apogee has some nice kits and parts and fast service - plus they are great people to deal with!)

It also has some of the early photos - I have more old B&Ws.

You asked how I found all this stuff?
Back then, 1958-1970 I was really in to the hobby and was always looking for new motors, etc. they were advertised in model airplane mags mostly. One local hobby shop actually carried early Coaster motors for me..I think I was the only kid buying them! When a new catalog came out, I just put the old one in my rocketry box - and there it stayed. I attended some early NARAMs, but did not compete, I was pretty much a loner when it came to building these things....as you can see in the article!
Let me know if you have any quetions?

Take care....

Gus
02-28-2009, 10:08 AM
Ned,

Wow! What a great article.

That was way more of an answer than I expected, LOL.

I'm amazed at the variety of stuff you tried (and lived through).

It sounds like we were similar in terms of being loners in doing rocketry. I had a couple of friends who were interested but mostly it was just my thing. I never joined any groups until I re-entered the hobby as an adult.

You mentioned that you went to some early NARAMs but didn't compete. Was there much sport flying at the events in those days? Meet anybody famous? Any unusual happenings?

I went to the Old Rocketeers Reuninon at NARAM 50 last summer and was amazed at the number of folks there who, like you and me, had been so totally absorbed by this hobby as a youth.

Again, thanks for taking the time to share your experiences. Really fascinating.

Nedss396
02-28-2009, 11:08 AM
Thanks, Gus - glad you enjoyed it.
I KNOW I am lucky to have surrived some of those "science experiments"!
Mixing your own fuel back then was not a good idea.... a few close calls, but all-in-all it was a learning experience. I remember coming home from school and finding 3 or 4 large brown bags of zinc dust and sufphur on the front porch...it's hard to imagine ordering those materials and having it delivered to you door by Parcel Post todya!!! Same thing with ordering a 50 ft roll of that red, water-proof fuse.

I attended NARAM 7 at Aberdeen, MD, then 10 at Wallops, and 13 at Aberdeen, I can remember some launches, and seeing Vern, Leroy and Harry there, also somewhere I have pixs of that Rocket/Ballon launch at 13 (I think) .
(I was into drag racing as well, I drove a new 64 Chevelle SS to #7; a 66 SS 396 to #10 and a 69 Z/28 to #13)

My oldest daughter often went with me to the launches, much later (late 90's) my son (now in USCG S&R) and I built some Hi-Power vehicles. Still want to get into R/C B/G sometime....

Capt'n Jim
03-02-2009, 11:32 AM
Last summer I sold my entire "ground support" library stuff on e-bay. In short the collection sold for I believe about $400. There wre plans, books, shuttle stuff, Model rocket News but the catalogs drew the most interest. The catalog collection started in 1975-about 1990 something (with some duplicates).

The guy that bought this was paying for the early 1960's no doubt. But like the posting said when was the lst time you saw one of these!