Youngstown Playhouse costumes, props to take center stage at auction

By Guy D’Astolfo

YOUNGSTOWN — More than 125 military uniforms, plus accessories, that are part of the Youngstown Playhouse properties collection will be auctioned Saturday to raise money for the struggling theater.

Swords, bayonets, caps, machetes, medals, hand weapons, knives and ammunition are part of the collection, which will go on the block beginning at 10 a.m. at ByceAuction, 755 Wick Ave., across from Ursuline High School. Jeff Byce will be the auctioneer.

The auction is part of the Playhouse’s ongoing effort to get back on its financial feet. The Playhouse, which reopened last week after being closed all year, is trying to raise money by selling unneeded assets, according to Pat Fagan, spokeswoman for the theater. Kitchen equipment and other items were auctioned in June.

“I am proud to be working with the Playhouse,” said Byce. “They are doing all the right things to get back to doing what they do best. These items that were once donated are no longer essential.”

The uniforms date back to World War II, and some of the accessories predate that war. Fagan said the uniforms are expendable because they do not fit the larger men of today, and therefore can’t be used in plays.

Fagan noted that in many cases, the patches that are on the uniforms are actually more valuable to collectors than the uniforms themselves.

Saturday’s auction will also include more than 200 pieces of costume jewelry, vintage dresses and fabrics, hats, terra cotta pots, stone urns, an outdoor bench and chairs, antique cameras, cabinets, chests, lamps and other items.

Some oddities that might have once been used in a play are also part of the sale. These items include a carved soapstone box, Vanity Fair prints, a bust of Michelangelo, Roman figures, Blue Boy porcelain figures, a rotary phone, statues, book ends, candleholders and figurines.

A handmade Iranian hand woven rug, valued at $33,500, is also available.

Auctiongoers can preview the items from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday. The auction will begin at 10 a.m. with miscellaneous outdoor items, tools and collectibles. The uniforms and military accessories will be sold from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; costume jewelry and clothing from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.; and other items at various times.

The entrance to the Byce auction gallery — which seats 75 — is at the building’s rear. Because of the fragility of some of the items, it is not recommended that children attend.

For more information, call Byce Auction at (330) 747-7000 or go to byceauction.com.