Turner September Auctions Opens The Archives With Stork Club & Walter Winchell Treasures
Over 245 Lots Feature Wide Array of Vintage Collectibles & More
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA, September 4, 2026 – Turner Auctions + Appraisals is pleased to present Ephemera from the Stork Club, Walter Winchell & More on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 10:30 am PDT. Much of the auction comes from Harold A. Layer, Professor Emeritus (retired) at San Francisco State University. Among these lots are his collections of the Stork Club and Walter Winchell, and two lots of card and board games/prototypes by Mr. Layer. Other auction sources include the SFO Museum for San Francisco photos and ephemera, San Francisco’s Cliff House for signed celebrity photos, and other collections and estates.
Walter Winchell (1897-1972) was a famous American newspaper gossip columnist and radio commentator who invented modern celebrity journalism. Originally a vaudeville performer, he reached at the height of his career in the 1930s-1950s an audience of 50 million people who read his syndicated columns or listened to his radio programs. Most of the Winchell items came from the Butterfield & Butterfield sale of “The Winchell Files” (from Winchell’s estate) in 1990 and 1991. Winchell lots include letters, documents, photos, and other ephemera related to his early theater days, his famous gossip column and iconic radio broadcasts; and his celebrity, journalism, and political connections. Of note are letters from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to Winchell, related to their mutually beneficial relationship during the kidnapping and murder trial of Charles Lindbergh’s baby, along with other trial-related letters and photos.
The Stork Club was a famous nightclub in Manhattan, New York, open from 1929 to 1965. Symbolizing the era’s cafe society, it hosted many wealthy patrons, movie stars and other celebrities, including Ernest Hemingway, Prince Rainer and Grace Kelly, and the Kennedy and Roosevelt families. Among the lots in the auction are ephemera, publicity photos, and mementos, including items related to owner Sherman Billingsley, a onetime bootlegger from Oklahoma. Billingsley and Walter Winchell were close associates, and Winchell became a Stork Club regular, saying the club was “New York’s New Yorkiest place on W. 58th.” The gossip and information Winchell acquired at his private Table 50 often became the juicy fodder for many columns and broadcasts.
Other items in auction include 19th and 20th century books, prints and posters; Victorian cards and postcards; space ephemera; vintage Apple devices; 1960s rock and counterculture posters; and much more.
Turner Auctions + Appraisals begins its online auction on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 10:30 am PDT; sale items are available for preview and bidding now. The auction will be featured live on four platforms: LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable, Bidsquare, and Turner Auctions + Appraisals’ free mobile app, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Apps (“Turner Auctions”). Both are easily accessed through ‘Upcoming Auctions’ at the company’s website: www.turnerauctionsonline.com/upcoming-auctions/.
Here below are some highlights of the upcoming online sale (please see lot details in the online catalogs):
LOT 37: J. Edgar Hoover TLS to Walter Winchell on Lindbergh Case, with Clippings. Hoover, John Edgar (1895-1972). A single-page typed letter signed by J. Edgar Hoover, on Division of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. letterhead, dated September 22, 1934; addressed to Walter Winchell c/o the Daily Mirror. 9″ x 6 1/2.” Condition: mounted/laid down on cardboard; scattered spotting/soiling; shows central fold crease. In the letter, Hoover thanks Winchell for holding back reporting on the Lindbergh kidnapping case. Together with two framed articles/clippings: A Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph headline, November 17, 1934: “Winchell Tip Spurs New Lindy Hunt” (frame 6″ x 16 1/2″) ; and “Walter Winchell of New York, Assignment Washington,” May 14, 1954, quoting Don Whitehead’s Associated Press article, regarding J. Edgar Hoover’s alleged “leaks” to Walter Winchell, and their coordination on releasing information concerning Bruno Hauptmann (frame 11″ x 8 3/4″). Provenance: The Harold A. Layer Collection. From the Walter Winchell Files, Butterfield & Butterfield, 1990/91. Estimate $1,000-$1,500.
LOT 1: The Stork Club/Sherman Billingsley Cigarette Ad, Ashtray, and Stork Vase. Group of three Stork Club memorabilia pieces: 1.) La Fatima Cigarettes advertisement featuring Stork Club owner Sherman Billingsley image and quote. Copyright 1951, Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co. 14″ x 10 1/2.” Condition: tear at right margin; light toning. 2.) A vintage Stork Club ashtray, black-glazed ceramic with white-glazed text. 5″ diam. x 1 1/4″ height. The base marked J. Orlando Inc. N.Y.C., and Italy. 3.) A tabletop painted wood stork bud vase holder, approx. 7 5/8″ tall. Condition: the standing leg broken off at top and bottom and imperfectly repaired (may need attention). Together with: Vintage ad for Hammer’s Pale Dry Ginger Ale, 11″ x 7 1/2″. Sticker note on back identifies the piece as being from The Walter Winchell Files auction, Butterfield & Butterfield, Dec. 1990/91. Condition: laid down on board; a score across top, corner/edge wear and loss. Provenance: The Harold A. Layer Collection. Estimate $150-$250.
LOT 43: J. Edgar Hoover TLS to Walter Winchell [Herbert Corey; Lindbergh Case]. Hoover, John Edgar (1895-1972). A single-page typed letter signed “John” by J. Edgar Hoover, on FBI Director letterhead with embossed stamp, to Walter Winchell, 115 Central Park, West, New York, April 17, 1936. 9″ x 6 1/2″ (frame 9 1/2″ x 7″). Condition: Good; loose; fold creases; some staining at corners/edges. Provenance: The Harold A. Layer Collection. From the Walter Winchell Files, Butterfield & Butterfield, 1990/91. Estimate $1,000-$1,500.
LOT 127: A. A. Milne, The House At Pooh Corner, First Edition. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1928. Illustrations by Ernest E. Shepard. 12mo. Pictorial gilt-stamped salmon pink cloth boards; pictorial endpapers; top edges gilt. 178 pp. Condition: Overall Good; some sunning, soiling, wear to spine; bookplate on front pastedown; extensive toning to one side of endpapers at front and rear; both half-title and rear printer page with dampstain along gutter. Estimate $400-$600.
LOT 28: Walter Winchell Estate Photo Negative Collection, with Reprints. A group of approx. 110 black and white and color photographic negatives, including Winchell portrait sessions, Winchell’s family, numerous with assorted notables and social events, and some images of Winchell ephemera/ newspaper columns, ranging from circa 1930s to 1960s. Please note approx. 30 negatives have been moderately to very heat damaged, having surface crinkling (though images still mostly discernable). Together with approx. 90 mostly recent (circa 1990s) photo prints of the collection, including some prints by Knopf for Neal Gabler’s biography, Winchell; all contained in two binders. Provenance: The Harold A. Layer Collection. From The Walter Winchell Files, Butterfield & Butterfield, 1990/91. Estimate $600-$800.
LOT 108: David Stone Martin (1913-1992), Print. Artist: David Stone Martin (1913-1992). Title/Description: Chicago jazz musicians at train station. Signature: In plate lower left. Medium: Lithograph. Size: 13 3/4″ x 10 1/4″ (sight); 20 3/4″ x 16 3/4″ (frame). Condition: Toning; a few pale dampstains at center; not examined out of frame. Estimate $300-$500.
LOT 32: Winchell at the Palace Theater, Original Photo and Scrapbook. The Palace Theater, New York. A circa 1930 original photograph of The Palace Theater, New York, featuring on the marque Walter Winchell, Harry Richman, Violet Carlson, Lillian Rother, and others, and Winchell on the sign boards. 9 7/8″ x 13 1/8.” Condition: laid down on board; some white marks or losses to margins, light surface scuffing, but overall good. Together with: A Palace Theater Winchell Publicity Scrapbook. Provenance: The Harold A. Layer Collection. From The Walter Winchell Files, Butterfield & Butterfield, 1990/91. Estimate $300-$500.
LOT 117: George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, First American Edition. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1949. Stated First American edition. 8vo. Red and black title stamped gray cloth boards; dust jacket (dj). Condition: Volume is good, with some wear to ends of spine and corners; penciled owner’s inscription. The dj with tears and sizable losses, fading to spine portion, and strip of tape to front. Together with: Coming Up For Air. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1950. First American edition. 8vo. Pictorial stamped blue cloth boards; dust jacket. Condition: Overall Good; the dj with tears/losses to ends of spine. Estimate $200-$400.
LOT 150: Female Impersonator Robert Bertin Postcards, and Other Performers (20). Robert Bertin (active 1900s-1910s). A collection of eight Belle Epoque real photo postcards of the French vaudeville female impersonator, Robert Bertin, marked Bioletto, Photo-Lyon; each labeled “Mr. Bertin.” Condition of the group is good/unused, but with penciled notations verso, and one with some scattered dots of ink. Together with: Eleven additional French 1900s hand-colored real photo postcards of actresses/performers, all used, some with stamps/ postmarks on front. The Harold A. Layer Collection. Estimate $200-$300.
LOT 216: Signed Baseball, Lefty O’Doul and Others, 1948. Francis Joseph “Lefty” O’Doul (1897-1969), and others. An Official League signed baseball, hand-dated 1948, with approx. 20+ signatures, including Lefty O’Doul, Frank Shofner, Mickey Rocco, Roy Nicely, Bruce Ogradowski, Jack Tobin, Ben Guintini, and others, some faded. Estimate $200-$300.
LOT 230: Apple eMate 300 Laptop, with Macally iBall. A circa 1997 Apple eMate 300 laptop, with translucent blue-green curved case, touchscreen, stylus pen, and Newton operating system. Approx. 9 3/4″ x 11 3/4″ (untested). Together with a Y2K translucent Macally iBall USB trackball (untested); and a bag of approx. 17 vintage pin SIMMs. The Harold A. Layer Collection. Estimate $200-$300.
LOT 242: Collection of Vintage/Later Rock Posters (5). A collection of five small vintage rock concert posters. Note: some are possibly later reprints; and all with varying condition issues, including pinholes, small edge tears, fading, staining, etc. 1.) Avalon Ballroom, Daily Flash, Quick Service Messenger Service, Country Joe & The Fish. Circa 1966. Mouse! Studios, Family Dog Productions. 20″ x 14″ (creasing upper right; tear and hole right margin, other edge/corner dings). 2.) Bill Graham, Fillmore, Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band. Circa 1966. Wes Wilson, West Coast Lithograph. 19″ x 13 1/2″ (pinholes, losses to top margin, fading). 3.) Bill Graham, Fillmore, Quicksilver Messenger Service And Sly And The Family Stone. Circa 1968. Lee Conklin, Tea Lautrec Litho. 21″ x 14″ (pinholes/creasing to corners; dampstains upper left; paint staining lower margin). 4.) KSAN Radio San Francisco. What Was That, Or, Suddenly Last Summer. Circa 1976. Art by Kelley Mouse. 21″ x 14″ (losses to upper left corner). 5.) New Age Bicentennial Unity Fair [Grateful Dead]. Appears to be a later poster print of the original 1975 handbills. 16 1/2″ x 13 1/2.” Estimate $150-$250.
LOT 126: The Lord of the Rings 3-Vol. Boxed Set, 1965, Second Edition, 7th/8th Printings. Tolkien, J. R. R. The Lord of the Rings, Revised Edition three-volume set in slipcase. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965. 8vo. Black pictorial cloth boards; top edges stained. 1.) The Fellowship of the Ring, Second Edition, Eighth Printing. 2.) The Two Towers, Second Edition, Seventh Printing. 3.) The Return of the King, Second Edition, Seventh Printing. Condition: Each volume is Very Good; dust jackets (dj) also very good, with only very slight edge/corner wear (Return of the King dj with a bit more wear, but still very good). The slipcase in good condition, light scuffing, wear to corners. Estimate $150-$250.
