GLENDALE, Ariz. — It’s a plane lovers paradise! This week, you can get your hands on some historic aviation memorabilia at a one-of-a-kind auction in Glendale. It’s happening at EJ's Auction and Appraisal off of 59th Avenue and Bell Road.
And it’s all part of a collection an Arizona pilot collected over several decades. Owner and auctioneer Erik Hoyer says they have several hundred pieces of rare and historic items going up for auction on Friday at 6 p.m.
The rare items are part of a massive collection that belonged to the late Captain William B. White of Prescott Valley. He also collected toy trucks, antique stock certificates, vintage photos of fashion models among other things.
Captain White was a former commercial airline pilot who also served for nine years in the U.S. Air Force and was stationed at Luke Air Force Base. He grew up poor, never knowing his father, but his childhood stamp collection gave him some joy during troubled times.
Turns out, he spent his life collecting many different antique and vintage items. Eventually, he had to store what he couldn't fit into his two-story home into several storage units.
His collection includes the following:
- Military and commercial airmail envelopes and stamps dating back to when we first began to fly, including pieces from the Hindenburg.
- A large collection of old photographs signed by the pilots and black and white press photography, including photos of Amelia Earhart.
- Hughes Airwest flight attendant uniforms.
- Vintage luggage tags.
- Vintage aviation porcelain signs.
- Vintage airplane dash instruments.
- Vintage model airplanes.
EJ's Auction and Appraisal is open through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a free preview. You can also place a bid online. EJ's conducts live auctions every Saturday starting at 10 a.m.
For more information, just go to ejsauction.com.