I generally have a very high opinion of my business associates in the auction world. It's fun but tough business at times and many times Auctioneers get an unfair rap for circumstances beyond their control. Usually if you hear both sides of the story that involves a no-good, dirty scoundrel of an auctioneer, or a corrupt auction house, you'll find that the dispute is usually some form of mis-communication, or ignorance on the upset party's part.

The reason for this is that an auctioneer's is a very word of mouth sensitive occupation and most of us go out of our way to protect our most valuable asset, our reputation.That being said, let me get to the point of this article.

It's with great sadness today that I report as I write this article, on October 25th, 2007, this evening the Heritage Galleries of Dallas Texas will be offering a 3 inch lock of hair taken from Che Guevara's head, and a map used to hunt him down.

The consignor is the former CIA op Gus Vilodo, who claims he is the rightful owner of these items. What a guy.

Now I'm not going to get into the politics of Che, or whether or not he was a hero or a villain. Quite frankly, I don't know the history of the situation to know which he was, and am not myself qualified to say.

In the court of popular opinion, this seems to be a 50/50 split, so obviously he was a hero to many and a villain to many. Again, not my point.

My point is, I think this is abhorrent behavior on the part of the consignor, the auction house and anyone that does actually bid on these lots.

What kind of world do we want to live in? Is this acceptable behavior to bid on dead body parts from assassinations? I do consider hair a body part, after all it does carry the human DNA. When I contacted Heritage Auction Galleries, I was told they intended to go through with the auction and that there had been other Auctions of locks of hair, Elvis, Napoleon, Lincoln. I pointed out to the gentleman on the phone that none of those auctions were protested against by the widows or family of the deceased.

Except for Lincoln, they were not assassinated, and none were assassinated by a US Govt. CIA OP. In defense of the Gallery, I must say the gentleman on the phone was polite and respectful. I wish the person making the final decision were as thoughtful and considerate of Che Guevera's Widow, the people he meant so much to and the auction world in general. In the end, I think this will end up costing, the Heritage Gallery a lot more money than it makes them, to me it puts them in the same league as grave robbers, and punk kids that desecrate tombstones in graveyards. Maybe you agree or maybe not, but as an auctioneer with 25 years in the business, I felt I had to weigh in on this one.

I was previously on the mailing list for the Heritage Auction Gallery and have asked them to take me off.

If you care to voice your opposition or your support for this auction, here is the contact info for the Heritage Galleries.
Mailing Address:3500 Maple Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75219
Phone: 1-800-872-6467Fax: 214-443-8425

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