Duff Tweed Carvings Auctioned on Ebay - 2-13-11 - Wall Street Hobo's and High Roller

Happy Presidents Day Weekend 2011!

We're back with three auctions that all ended on Ebay on February 13, 2011.  

A fellow Southern California collector and friend purchased the first two carvings and we at Duff Tweed Carvings were fortunate enough to have purchased the third which was a brand new addition to the collection.

First, let's share what my friend at the Rust Trap Ranch added to his collection.  The first piece to sell was Duff Tweed's Wall Street Hobo with Glasses dated April 6, 1972.  We own the same hobo without the glasses.  Really think the glasses are a nice touch.  Great expression too!!!

We also really appreciate the background he chose for this carving.  Very similar to that of Duff Tweed's Limited Edition of "The Cheater" (Cheating golfer limited to a set of 100)

Duff did sign and include "Pasadena" on this one (as he did most of the time), but what makes this particular carving more special is...

... he signed and dedicated the piece on the back to the buyer which reads:

April 6, 72

Dear Dick:

I am happy you are able to give this character a home!  

Thank you for your appreciation.

Sincerely,

Duff Tweed

Please keep in touch.

257 East Belhouse Drive (hard to read)

Pasa.

669-8581

INFO ON THE EBAY AUCTION: 4 BIDDERS - 10 BIDS - SOLD FOR $128.50 + $16.99 s&h.

Here are a couple of more pictures from different angles:

---D---U---F---F---   ---T---W---E---E---D---   ---C---A---R---V---I---N---G---S---

The second carving added to the Rust Trap Ranch was Duff Tweed's Wall Street Hobo-Investor.  We also have this piece in our collection, but up until now, we haven't differentiated the names between each different carving.  The Ebay seller Southtexaspicker, came up with "investor" and we think it suits the carving and expression well. . .

He doesn't look too happy with his investments.  Something we could all relate to a year ago! Now we're at a 

historic high with the Dow at 12,391 and climbing.

We did note there is some damage to this piece as the nose looks as if it has been scraped and it appears there is a crack through the right side of the carvings face.  The piece still looks great though. 

Once again we have the good 'ol "Duff Tweed - Pasadena" signed in the lower left along with the same great background normally seen in the Limited Edition series.

Finally, we have yet another dedication from Duff to the buyer of this wonderful hobo carving:

The dedication reads as follows:

March 17, 1981 

(Hey, that's St. Patrick's Day and we know Duff liked to sip his gin!)

Dear Paul,

Glad you can give this character a home!

Sincerely,

Duff Tweed

P.S. Thanks for your appreciation!

INFO ON THE EBAY AUCTION: 4 BIDDERS - 10 BIDS - SOLD FOR $137 + $16.99 s&h.

Congratulations are due to the Rust Trap Ranch.  He committed, bid and hung in there until the end.  We have noticed the prices starting to inch up on these carvings.  Let's hope it's a trend of new collectors discovering Duff's talent!

  THE MORE, THE MERRIER!

---D---U---F---F---   ---T---W---E---E---D---   ---C---A---R---V---I---N---G---S---

Now for the third and final carving auctioned that day on Ebay. . .

We were fortunate enough to add this carving to the Duff Tweed Collection.  The seller on Ebay listed it as The Low Bidder and the frame on which it sits is titled the same.  However, this carving is not the Low Bidder.  It is called the High Roller.  Not sure if it was placed onto a different frame and background by a previous owner or if Duff simply named it as such for this particular carving.  In any event, we are thrilled to have this new addition to the collection.

Looks like he literally bet everything including the shirt off his back.  He doesn't look to happy, but we're happy to have him.  He's in excellent shape too!

As you can see below he is clearly named "THE LOW BIDDER!" and is signed by Duff Tweed with his patented "Pasadena" added for good measure.

While it was very exciting to add a new carving to the collection, this is also the very first carving which has a Disney character (Donald Duck) drawn on the back of the piece along with Duff's dedication to the seller.  These pieces with such Disney character drawings typically sell for higher prices as the artwork increases the value of the piece.

The back of the piece reads:

March 17, 1981

Dear Mike:

Thank you,

Duff Tweed

449-8581

INFO ON THE EBAY AUCTION: 4 BIDDERS - 14 BIDS - SOLD FOR $139.50 + $16.99 s&h.

It appears Mr. Tweed was quite busy on St. Patrick's Day 1981!  Wish I had the opportunity to have bought him a few drinks!!!

Cheers to Duff and may you all be keeping warm and dry this nasty winter season.  Yes, even us in Southern California have heavy rain and cold temperatures this week.

All the best!

-Joe

1-1-11 or Two! I Say Two! - Duff Tweed "damaged" Hobos

Happy New Year! May you have health, wealth and happiness this year and always! 

2011 is here and so are two hobos new to this collection.


We intended this post to be the last in 2010, but instead it is the 1st on 1-1-11. Has a better ring to it!


For starters, we always give credit where it's due.  The expression, "Two, I say two!" is my mother-in-laws saying.  When I first met her she used the expression all the time.   Years ago we took my wife's mother shopping for a gift.  She chose a nice looking purse/handbag.  While getting ready to pay I notice there were two purses at the register.  So I asked my wife about them and my mother-in-law sings out "Two, I say twoooooo.".  We all laughed out loud! I've learned many things in life and one of them is, "never argue with your wife's side of the family" (that's her privilege).  Needless to say, the saying became a family favorite.


So now we have two, I say two hobos carved by Duff Tweed.  Each has sustained damage, but since both were new additions to the Duff Tweed Carvings collection, we happily purchased them.  These came to us from Ken B. in Oklahoma.  He actually purchased three Duff Tweed carved hobos that came stacked in a dirty wood box at an estate sale for $5.00 total. Those amazing deals are out there and they appear to be all over the United States and Canada. We purchased two of the three hobos as we already owned the third one. That third hobo was also damaged and sold on Ebay for approximately $15.50 plus shipping and handling.  We paid ALOT more for the two we purchased, but there's a price to pay when building a collection.  This makes over thirty unique carvings that now exist in the collection.

Below is what we're calling the Hungry Hobo.  His right hand shows damage to his fingers.  The rest of the carving is in perfect shape.  His left hand is on his stomach and he is crying out.  He could also be swearing his promise to someone as he has his hand in the air.  At least that's what we see!  These appear to be earlier Duff Tweed carvings.

Nice tongue and tooth below!

Next we have the "I Ain't Got No Money Hobo".   It looks like he was asked for money, he didn't have any to give and someone took a chisel to his face.  It's a real shame, but you can still get a great sense of how this pieced looked in it's original form.  We took one look at him and heard David Lee Roth singing,

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I ain't got nobody"... 

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I'm soooo sad and lonely!"

We feel extremely fortunate to have been able to have added these two Duff Tweed Hobo carvings to the collection.  A big sincere thank you goes out to Ken in OK!!!  Thank you for your contribution to the collection!

For those who are curious about the third damaged hobo which sold on Ebay in December 2010 for $15.50, here's a couple of pictures below:

Really hope the buyer of this Duff Tweed enjoys him.  It was the only one of the three carvings signed by Duff and had his home address and phone number on the back.

We're looking forward to a wonderful year full of new collectors, stories and of course additional Duff Tweed carvings! 

All the best!

-Joe

Duff Tweed's Three Golfers Sold on Ebay - Short and Sweet

Happy Holidays to all.  Hope you have enjoyed them. 

Feeling a bit tired and lazy after Christmas, but wanted to share a recent sale of a signed and dated 1964 set of three carved golfers by Duff Tweed.   One of the cleanest sets we have seen!

The seven day auction on Ebay ended December 22, 2010 for a total of $161.50 plus shipping.  There were four bidders who placed a total of 10 bids.  The carving was sold out of San Diego, CA.  Duff Tweed Carvings did not bid on this set as we own several and really wanted to see another collector end up with this set of three golfers. 

Below is a picture of the set copied from the Ebay listing:

This set is done in Duff's classic colors and looks to be extremely well cared for.  It even has both original wood golf clubs which are missing from many sets.

Please come back soon and see our latest and greatest find.  We are waiting to receive two Hobo carvings NEVER SEEN IN THIS BLOG.  One has significant damage to the face while the other has some small damage to his hand, but they're new to us!

We're always excited to share new Duff Tweed carvings as we discover them and would happily welcome your finds and stories! 

See you soon!

All the best!

-Joe

Quest for the Best: Duff Tweed's Double Jigger Jack Grant - Sue the Bastards - The Low Bidder

Welcome back!  Yes, we've been busy at Duff Tweed Carvings and have three new carvings to share. All three carvings are compliments of Alex in Downey, California.  Alex purchased these three pieces directly from Duff Tweed in 1968 and shares the following:

I bought them from Duff in 1968 in Pasadena and they have been in storage ever since.  I remember he had several for sale that day and I asked him which were his favorites and why.  He pointed to these and when I asked why,he answered "because their faces tell it all".  I bought them immediately.  Unfortunately I moved around the country for a while and never had a worthy place to display them.

-Alex

First we have Double Jigger Jack Grant in a really cool black and red jacket.

Jack loves is hootch and in this carving he is drinking Old Mule.

Look at how clean and pristine this carving is.  Alex took great care of all three carvings.

Here are two other carvings of Double Jigger Jack Grant for comparison purposes:



Next we are proud to share Sue The Bastards.  Good things come to those who wait!  We had watched this item sell about a year ago on Ebay and regretted having not bid on it.  Then like magic, it appeared.

Alex informed us that while there are many golfer sets carved by Duff Tweed, Sue the Bastards was carved in a much lower number of editions.  As with all Duff Tweed carvings, we're not sure how many Duff created in his lifetime, but owners and collectors are getting a pretty good idea over time.

I wouldn't want to mess with this guy!  Below is a close-up.

Last, but certainly not least is The Low Bidder.  We have another low bidder/hobo carving, but it is not titled.  Additionally we watched one sell on Ebay earlier this year.  We'll post pictures of each below.

What a great paint job!  You have to appreciate Duff's attention to detail.  Check out his left foot where his shoe sole is separating.



Pictured below are all three Low Bidders. 

We would like to extend our sincerest thanks to Alex in Downey for caring so well for these pieces for all these years.  Additionally a big THANK YOU is in order for his willingness to share what he learned about Duff Tweed and for allowing us to add his special carvings to the collection.

THANK YOU ALEX, it was a pleasure meeting you!!!

We'll be back soon with more Duffalicous tales!

All the Best!

-Joe

Duff Tweed's personally dedicated "Card Players" - Found in Canada

On November 12, 2010 Warren in Canada contacted us at Duff Tweed Carvings. He shared a second set of what we had previously believed to be a one of a kind carving by Duff Tweed.  We paid a lot more than Warren did for the set we own and titled it Duff Tweed's Poker Players (Please see previous blog dated July 14, 2010).  Warren found his set at the Salvation Army a few days before contacting us for guess how much?  We'll tell you at the bottom of this blog, but don't jump ahead as there is too much good Duff stuff in between! 

Since Warren was kind enough to contact us to share his great find, we have named this blog "Card Player's" as he so aptly titled them.  In this manner we may differentiate his piece from ours for description purposes.  It will also make it easier for Warren to share his piece with the world!

What we first appreciated about Warren's set of Duff Tweed's Card Players was how clean it was.  The characters, frame and background look extremely clean.  However, this piece is signed '83 which is three years before Mr. Tweed's passing, and much later than all the other pieces we have shared in this blog.

Warren's piece looks extremely similar to the one in our Duff Tweed collection, but as you look closely you'll notice slight differences in the carves that form expression as well as the obvious differences in the painting.  The table cloth looks to be a different color as well.

Pictured above is Poker Player's and above that is Warren's Card Players for comparison purposes.  Warren's set has the green felt table and the Duff Tweed Carvings set has the teal felt.

Here are some close-ups of the carved characters Warren so kindly shared with us:

Just below, Warren shares Duff's dedication to Margie who obviously purchased or was gifted the set of three carvings from Duff in 1983:

Above reads as:

Nov 83

Dear Margie  - You and Pat made my day!  - Sincerely  Duff Tweed

Really wish we had met Duff before his passing and had the opportunity to have a personally dedicated piece!  How cool!  Even better, just to sit and talk with the man. 

OK, last comments on this piece.  We thought it was pretty neat that Duff who was Canadian born actually made this piece in Pasadena, California, but it found it's way back to Canada.  Many of us who are collectors wonder just how many pieces did Duff Tweed carve in his lifetime? That answer may always be a mystery to us.

A big shout out and THANK YOU to Warren in Canada for sharing his piece with the world!  Warren purchased his Duff Tweed Card Players for $25 at the Salvation Army.  Sweet Salvation!  Fantastic find Warren! :-)

Keep bringing us your incredible Duffy finds and stories.

Happy Holidays and Happy Duffing!

All the best!

-Joe

You've Gotta Give a Hand to Nikki - Duff Tweed's GunSlinging Cowboy

It's stories like this that inspired me to create this blog.  I always do and will continue to applaud those willing to share.

Recently, I received an email inquiring from what wood were Duff Tweed carvings made.  The owner of a Duff Tweed carving went on to explain that they were replacing a hand that had fallen off their Duffy cowboy carving.  So I replied pine wood was what Duff used and suggested she might not want to replace the hand as Duff himself would not have carved it.  I really thought nothing of it and just went on with my daily routine.

Then, today all the pieces fell into place.  Nikki, who had first contacted me about replacing the hand sent pictures today and completed the story, so I couldn't help but share her never seen in this blog Duff Tweed Gunslinging Cowboy.  I don't know which is better, the cowboy or the story.

So here's how I learned what had happened.

First email received from Nikki: 

Hi.
Wondering if you could answer a question for me?
What type of wood did Duff Tweed carve with?
I have a mounted cowboy (the type that were painted) whose hand fell off. Then my dog ate it.
I want to have another hand carved, and was wondering what wood to use.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
~Nikki

At this point I had not seen the carving and assumed it was one of the members of the Slaughterhouse Four.  The part that her dog ate the hand, just made me laugh.  I replied to Nikki and waited for a response.

Today I received a response from Nikki:

Hi Joe,

Thanks for your reply; attached are photos of my Duff Tweed Cowboy.

History: Two Duff Tweed carvings hung in my husband's bedroom as a child when his family lived in Palos Verdes in the early 1970s. This is where they were purchased. His brother currently has the other one.   Bummer about the hand. I'm going to have a new one carved so he's complete. It's nice that the piece does not need to be glued on, it simply slips onto the little post in his arm.
Great blog!

Nikki replied once again after I asked her permission to tell her story. Her dog's name is Rex, and he is an 11 year old black lab.  Gives new meaning to the saying, "Never bite the hand that feeds you".  I wonder how many years Rex sat there watching that hand dangle til it fell off and he ate it?  Sweet victory for Rex; not so much for Duff *laugh*.  Rex is now part lab and part Duff Tweed carving as there is no way all that wood came out and will be auctioned on Ebay starting at $99.99 plus shipping and handling. No, seriously, Rex is fine!

Now for the part I know all you collector's have been waiting for, here's Duff Tweed's Gunslinging Cowboy.  At least that's what we're calling him until we learn otherwise. :-)

He is way cool!  Nikki, thank you for sharing.  It's greatly appreciated.  UPDATE: This evening I was informed by a previous seller of Duff Tweed carvings that this cowboy was originally designed for Gene Autry. This is one of Mr. Tweeds versions of this carving as he hand carved multiples of most of his wonderful characters. 

 

Hope you enjoyed this newest posting to the Duff Tweed collection and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

All the best!

-Joe

Will the real Jack Harris step forward? - Comparing Duff Tweed Carvings

Happy October Folks!  Halloween is quickly approaching.  How time does go by. . .

It's been a great year for the Duff Tweed Carvings collection.  This year we introduced you to approximately 26 or so unique Duff Tweed carvings.  While admiring the collection, I always take the time to look at the differences in duplicate carvings done by Duff.  No two are ever exactly the same.  Since the Slaughterhouse Four seems to be such a popular set and theme for Duff Tweed collectors, today you have the opportunity to look at three carvings of the same figure, "Jack Harris" and see the noticable and subtle differences in each carving.

This is the Jack Harris carved in 1950. Besides the cigarette unique to this carving, there are additional ink applications for eye, moustache and sideburns.  This Jack Harris' face even looks wider than the next two that follow.  He is the most different Jack Harris I have seen to date. Look closely and you'll notice many differences in individual carves between this one and the next two.







This version of Jack is the darkest of the three.  He came with a set of the Slaughterhouse Four with three characters on one frame and the final carved character on his own frame.  This one and the Jack Harris below look most similar to one another.  As you look closely though, you'll see differences in chins, eyes, suspender strap, scarf knots and more.



This version of Duff Tweed's Jack Harris carving came from a set of the Slaughterhouse Four which were all individually famed on worm wood frames.  They are smoother than the other ones I have seen.  Note the differences from the previous two carvings shown.  They look similar, but are not identical.

Take a look below and please compare for yourself:

I could continue to point out every difference from carving to carving, but I think some of the fun in looking at Duff Tweed carvings is finding those differences on your own.

Happy Fall 2010!  Wishing you all the best!

-Joe