Eric Alberta This is Me

 View all 6 references Web References

1. 1. Basement serves as museum to 'final frontier'

   ww.space.com/news/ladwig_space - [Cached]

   Published on: 9/20/2001   Last Visited: 6/26/2002

   Earlier this month, an auction of a robot toy collection at Sotheby's pulled in $1.4 million, the most successful toy auction in the history of the New York auction house, said Sotheby's vice president Eric Alberta.
   
   Ladwig's collection is not in that same stratosphere - he has only a vague idea of the value of his collection, although he said it's likely worth at least $10,000.
   
   "I don't want to think too much about what I've spent," he said. "Only in my wildest rationalization can I think of it as an investment."
   
   Ladwig began his collection about 20 years ago with a few toy space shuttles he collected while he worked at NASA.
   
   Surprisingly, Ladwig has built his collection without the help of the Internet. In fact, Ladwig said he specifically avoids eBay - which listed 1,411 space collectibles up for sale recently - and similar auction sites.
   
   "It would be like an alcoholic finding a free happy hour," he said.
   
   Although Ladwig said he's trying to put the brakes on his collection, it has achieved its own critical mass, drawing other toys into its orbit by sheer volume. Friends know about his collection, and frequently add their own contributions.
   
   Ladwig's wife, Debbie, who works at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., says she's just as guilty as her husband when it comes to buying new space toys.
   
   "We have pretty much the same taste," she said. "I could do with a lot fewer things."
   
   FUTURE SPACE Spacewatch Friday: Learn how the Little Dipper can tell you how dark your sky is -- whether you can see it or not!

2. 2. Sotheby's Preview - Tin Titans

   www.sothebys.com/liveauctions/ - [Cached]

   Published on: 12/9/2000   Last Visited: 4/9/2002

   [Eric Alberta is vice president of the Collectibles department, Sotheby's New York.]
   
   Back to Top
   
   >

3. 3. Calling All Collectors Radio Archive

   www.allcollectors.com/realaudi - [Cached]

   Published on: 11/1/2000   Last Visited: 11/22/2001

   • Special guest Eric Alberta of Sothebys