Vampire-Killing Kit Among Oddities Included In Harrisburg Auction

Source: Dateline Zero 

Up for auction: Gloves that may or may not have belonged to Buffalo Bill. A wanted “dead or alive” poster for Jesse James. A horse’s hoof, complete with shoe, from the battle of the Little Big Horn. Gorgeous French duelling pistols. A bag full of undertaker’s equipment.

If the above items fail to interest you, perhaps you’re looking for something to kick-off your personal cabinet of curiosities? A vampire-killing kit, complete with pistol, stake, mirrors, crosses and a jar of garlic, is also up for auction.

Harrisburg, a town that’s been struggling under a pile of debt andleadership woesfor years is auctioning off oddities that had been collected by it’s longest-serving former mayor.

In recent years, the town has been holding smaller auctions selling off various items collected by Former mayor Stephen Reed in an effort to recoup public funds he spent during his time in office. In 2007, the city sold about 3,000 artifacts for about $2 million, according to Business Week.

Reed dreamed of creating a series of museums to attract tourists, and managed to build up unique collection of U.S. history. He wasn’t able to accomplish his entire vision; Reed left behind a Civil War museum. He also left behind a mountain of financial trouble.

An unfortunate monument to Reed’s 28 years in office is in the form of an unfinished “Capitol View Commerce Center” that gobbled up $17.5m in public money before it ground to a halt three years ago.

“He never met a bond he didn’t like,” Harrisburg’s city controller, Dan Miller, told BBC News. “He happened to be someone who believed in borrowing money.”

The items being auctioned off were being held by Reed for a Wild West Museum. Obviously the museum will never see the light of day. Maybe Reed’s western-themed museum might have caught on better if Pennsylvania was a western state?

The city spent $26 million acquiring the 8,000 items for the museum that will never open. (I wonder if that includes whatever was spent warehousing that stuff?) Naturally, the council does not expect to fully recover the $26 mil.

The city began looking for a company to manage the auction in September. According to The Patriot-News, selling off all 8,000 items “looks to be a multi-year process.”