July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Map to the future?
Rare world map among items in auction
Map to the future?
A good map can help you get where you're going.
A great map can help give your life a whole new start.
That's what Barb Mink is hoping.
In a scenario fit for an episode of Antiques Roadshow, the rural Redkey woman and her husband, Doug, will be putting a vintage map of the world on the auction block Saturday that could bring bids in the thousands of dollars.
A dealer is listing the same map on the Internet with an asking price of $15,000, and a later edition of the map - apparently not as old as the Minks' version - is listed on eBay for $12,500.
"I'm just hoping it brings way up there," Doug said this week.
The couple is dealing with serious health issues and needs to downsize dramatically in the future. In addition to their home and a rental property in Redkey, they'll be selling scores of tools, coins, and collectibles.
So what's so special about this map?
It dates from 1725 and is formally titled "A Map of the World Corrected from the Observations Communicated to the Royal Societys (sic) of London and Paris by John Senex."
And it has some idiosyncracies as antique maps often do.
California, for example, is shown as an island, not connected to America.
Australia, the outline of which is incomplete, is labeled as "New Holland." India is the Mogul Empire, and much of Russia is Independent Tartary. Northern Africa is Barbary, and central Africa is labeled "Negroland."
Around the map are scientific texts by Sir Isaac Newton on the theory of the tides and Edmond Halley on trade winds and monsoons. A hand-colored engraving, it measures 45 ¾ inches wide and 26 1/4 inches high.
"Every time I look at it, I see something new," said Barb.
How the 285-year-old map made its way to rural Redkey is a story in itself.
Barb's late husband Curtis Ooten acquired it at an auction for $250. But where and when he bought it are unclear.
"My (first) husband lived out west in Arizona. He was a brick mason," Barb said. At any rate, he already owned the map when they were married in 1994. "He always said, 'I think it'll be worth some money some day,'" said Barb, "but I never dreamed." Curtis Ooten died in 2002.
The map was listed as "an item of great interest" in the sale bill for Saturday's auction at the Mink home, 6786 West Ind. 67. The sale bill is a long one - "You don't realize what you accumulate over the years," said Doug - and two rings are planned.
The couple didn't realize the map's potential value until it had already been listed for sale, but they're pleased that it has been attracting attention - and bids - from out-of-state collectors already.
"We're hoping to get some collectors," said Doug. "It's quite a piece."
The auction begins at 10 a.m. Mel Smitley's Real Estate and Auctioneering is handling the sale.
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A great map can help give your life a whole new start.
That's what Barb Mink is hoping.
In a scenario fit for an episode of Antiques Roadshow, the rural Redkey woman and her husband, Doug, will be putting a vintage map of the world on the auction block Saturday that could bring bids in the thousands of dollars.
A dealer is listing the same map on the Internet with an asking price of $15,000, and a later edition of the map - apparently not as old as the Minks' version - is listed on eBay for $12,500.
"I'm just hoping it brings way up there," Doug said this week.
The couple is dealing with serious health issues and needs to downsize dramatically in the future. In addition to their home and a rental property in Redkey, they'll be selling scores of tools, coins, and collectibles.
So what's so special about this map?
It dates from 1725 and is formally titled "A Map of the World Corrected from the Observations Communicated to the Royal Societys (sic) of London and Paris by John Senex."
And it has some idiosyncracies as antique maps often do.
California, for example, is shown as an island, not connected to America.
Australia, the outline of which is incomplete, is labeled as "New Holland." India is the Mogul Empire, and much of Russia is Independent Tartary. Northern Africa is Barbary, and central Africa is labeled "Negroland."
Around the map are scientific texts by Sir Isaac Newton on the theory of the tides and Edmond Halley on trade winds and monsoons. A hand-colored engraving, it measures 45 ¾ inches wide and 26 1/4 inches high.
"Every time I look at it, I see something new," said Barb.
How the 285-year-old map made its way to rural Redkey is a story in itself.
Barb's late husband Curtis Ooten acquired it at an auction for $250. But where and when he bought it are unclear.
"My (first) husband lived out west in Arizona. He was a brick mason," Barb said. At any rate, he already owned the map when they were married in 1994. "He always said, 'I think it'll be worth some money some day,'" said Barb, "but I never dreamed." Curtis Ooten died in 2002.
The map was listed as "an item of great interest" in the sale bill for Saturday's auction at the Mink home, 6786 West Ind. 67. The sale bill is a long one - "You don't realize what you accumulate over the years," said Doug - and two rings are planned.
The couple didn't realize the map's potential value until it had already been listed for sale, but they're pleased that it has been attracting attention - and bids - from out-of-state collectors already.
"We're hoping to get some collectors," said Doug. "It's quite a piece."
The auction begins at 10 a.m. Mel Smitley's Real Estate and Auctioneering is handling the sale.
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