Estate Sale of PAWS Co-Founders Ed Stewart & Pat Derby
Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) president and co-founder Ed Stewart, wishing to downsize the contents of his home, has chosen Schiff Estate Services in Sacramento to organize and present an estate sale featuring hundreds of items belonging to him and his late partner, PAWS co-founder Pat Derby. Ed has asked that a special sale day be set aside for friends — before the sale is advertised to the general public.
This "friends" sale will be held on Saturday, June 20, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Schiff's warehouse located at 1409 Del Paso Blvd., in Sacramento. Ed will be donating 25% of the proceeds of the sale to PAWS in Pat's memory.
Also included in this sale will be many personal items that once belonged to the late Amanda Blake, known to millions of fans as "Miss Kitty" on the television series Gunsmoke. Amanda lived with Pat and Ed during the last few years of her life.
There is no fee to attend this sale, but you must RSVP using the link at the bottom of this page, or email Debbie Casey at dcasey@pawsweb.org if you plan to attend.
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The small house that Pat and Ed shared is located on a hilltop overlooking the elephant habitats at PAWS' ARK 2000 sanctuary. It is a home filled with items that Pat loved. Every wall is covered with prints, paintings and framed photographs of animals — elephants in particular. Furniture and antiques belonging to Ed and Pat,
as well as many that used to belong to Amanda Blake, fill every room. Closets and drawers are brimming over with little treasures; bookcases and shelves house Pat's collectibles, "knick knacks" and books — including her large collection of cookbooks.
"Pat was a collector of all kinds of things," Ed reminisced. "In her spare time, which didn't happen very often, she loved to browse through antique stores, especially in the Gold Rush towns near our home. She was always looking for the next 'great find.' She loved books and things for our kitchen. And she loved cooking for friends and having people in for tea. Pat always set a nice table, so we had a lot of dishes and glassware. People loved to give Pat gifts — I think she saved every one of those gifts. And she loved 'all things elephant.'
"I never knew Pat to part with anything in the 37 years we were together," Ed mused, "unless we needed extra money for the animals. Then she would sell a few more of her parents' antiques, or a couple of the personal items Amanda Blake had wanted us to keep. Anything for the animals!
"It's time for me to downsize. I'm keeping items that are special to me, and those that are of historical significance to PAWS, and putting the rest into the estate sale."
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The sale will feature antique and newer furniture, lamps, rugs, art, mirrors, collectibles, old African baskets and carved wooden pieces, lots of "elephant everything", stained glass, collectible glass, crystal, pottery, china, porcelain, silver, silver plate, pewter, brass, copper, table linens, dishes, kitchen items, books, holiday decorations, costume and fine jewelry and decorative garden items. Some of these items belonged to Pat's parents and were shipped to her from England by her mother. Many of the collectibles, pottery, china, crystal, silver, silver plate, African baskets and carved wooden pieces, Chinese and European pieces were part of the personal items given to Pat and Ed by Amanda Blake during the time she lived with them at the Galt Sanctuary. Also included are several pieces of furniture belonging to Amanda, including a side table made by Milburn Stone who played Doc on Gunsmoke ("Mil" and the date he made the piece are etched on the bottom of the table).
Click here to view a slide show featuring some of the items included in the sale.
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Amanda Blake ("Miss Kitty")
Pat Derby met Amanda Blake in 1967. At that time, Pat was working as a wild animal trainer in Hollywood and was often called on to work with animal "guest stars" on the set of the Gunsmoke television series where Amanda was starring as "Kitty Russell", owner of the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City. Pat and Amanda became best friends — more like sisters, really — because of their mutual love of all animals and their desire to protect them.
Throughout her life, Amanda made frequent trips to Africa where she had fallen in love with the natural beauty and wildness of the Maasai Mara Reserve and with national parks such as Amboseli and Serengeti. During her final years, Amanda lived with Pat and Ed in their home at the Galt, California sanctuary where she could be close to animals. She was there for the arrival of baby "71", PAWS’ first elephant, and Pat and Ed were at her side when she passed away on August 16, 1989. The majority of Amanda's estate was left to Pat, Ed and to PAWS. It was used to build the first African elephant barn and habitat at the Galt property.
Most of Amanda's Gunsmoke memorabilia, African and wildlife art, furniture, jewelry, and other miscellaneous items, were sold during estate sales held in San Francisco and Hollywood following her death. Many personal items and pieces of furniture that Amanda wanted Pat and Ed to have are included in this estate sale. They are too numerous to mention, but include art, china, crystal, pewter, silver, jewelry, linens, as well as collectible pottery, wood carvings, porcelain and glass items. There are silver, silver plate and pewter pieces and many are engraved. Two items of note include an engraved silver-plated platter from The Love Boat given to Amanda when she guest-starred on the popular television show, and service for six of Towle's "D'Orleans" sterling silver flatware that belonged to Amanda's mother.All place settings and serving pieces are engraved with an "N." Amanda Blake was born Beverly Louise Neill in Buffalo, New York, the only child of Jesse and Louise Neill.
Amanda Blake's spirit lives on at PAWS. In 1997, PAWS opened the Amanda Blake Memorial Wildlife Refuge and Museum, located in Herald, California, in Ms. Blake's memory. The refuge once housed eland and fallow deer (they have all passed away) and is now a refuge for a herd of scimitar-horned oryx and a flock of emu. Through this sanctuary, PAWS continues Amanda's commitment to the protection of animals in captivity as well as in the wild. The museum houses many of Amanda's awards, photographs and personal items.
The Amanda Blake Memorial Wildlife Refuge is located at the Rancho Seco Recreation Area operated by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. For more information on park hours and admission, visit PAWS' website at www.pawsweb.org/amanda_blake_memorial.html. The museum is open by special appointment only. Please call PAWS representative Kim Gardner at (916) 539-5305, or email kgardner@pawsweb.org for information.
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Click here to view a sample of items included in the estate sale.
Items not shown in the photo slideshow include: miscellaneous books, cookbooks, Waterford crystal, Edinburgh crystal brandies in the "Thistle" pattern, Roland Ward "Safari" crystal wines w/green base, Steuben glass cat, several French Quimper pottery pieces, many vintage Limoges boxes, Halcyon boxes, small Herend rabbits, Arthur Court elephant trays, bowls and serving pieces, more elephant collectibles, Staffordshire egg coddlers, dishes, glassware, fine linens, table cloths, placemats, costume and fine jewelry, Bing & Grondahl plates, collectible wildlife plates, old blue sandwich glass 5-piece condiment set w/silver accents, vintage blue and white French cannisters, vintage "blue onion" cannisters and spice jars, Amanda's collection of vintage Chinese Foo Dogs (small to extra large in ceramic, soapstone, and different metals), and several pieces of furniture.
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Please RSVP/Register using the link at the bottom of this page if you plan to attend. It's important for the estate sale venue to have an idea of how many people will be attending.
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This is an estate sale, not an auction. THERE IS NO FEE TO ATTEND. There will be no advance sales and no prices will be quoted over the phone before the sale. Prices are set by Schiff Estate Sale Services. On the day of the event, all sales will be on a first come, first served basis. All sales are final. You must be prepared to take your items with you on the day of the sale. Arrange transportation ahead of time. Large items such as furniture cannot be left overnight.
Shipping of purchased items (large or small) can be arranged with the Schiff Estate Services for a fee to be agreed upon by both parties.
Schiff Estate Services accepts cash, debit cards, and MasterCard, Visa and Discover credit cards only. If you have questions regarding this sale please contact Debbie Casey at dcasey@pawsweb.org.
This sale is not a benefit for the Performing Animal Welfare Society, but Ed Stewart will be donating 25% of the proceeds to PAWS in memory of Pat.
Purchases are NOT tax deductible.
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PARKING IS FREE
www.schiffestateservices.com
Bring your own boxes, bags and packing material.