1939 - 1941 Fur Rendezvous & Ice Carnival Pennants
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APPRAISER:
From what I'm told being in Alaska, come February, the Fur Rendezvous is the iconic staple event.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Have you been every year to the Fur Rendezvous?
GUEST:
As kids, we went every year. It was a big deal. My stepfather gave my mother the pins, or pendants, in this case. She passed them on to me. I collect the Rendezvous buttons and pins throughout the years.
APPRAISER:
The Fur Rondy, as known today, started in about 1936, but in '36, it was just a three-day sporting competition. Mm-hmm. Skiing, hockey, anything you could-- it was a athletics competition. So the pennant we have in the middle, that is our star of the day. That is from the 1939 Fur Rendezvous in Anchorage. That would happen every year in February. 1939 was the first year they introduced the pins and pennants.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Fun souvenir take-home items. Now, when I look over the events, I mean, it is incredible. Outhouse races...
GUEST:
(chuckles): Yes, uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
My favorite one: a Mr. Fur Face competition.
GUEST:
Oh, yeah.
APPRAISER:
I mean, I'm not just going to volunteer myself, but I'm pretty sure I already win the Furriest Appraiser Award...
GUEST:
(chuckles)
APPRAISER:
...so I would have no problem growing out this beard...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...to compete in Mr. Fur Face competition.
GUEST:
Yes, yeah.
APPRAISER:
But all jokes aside...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...the Fur Rendezvous is very important...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...because it was a symbolic marking of the end of winter for Alaska.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
You have trappers and miners coming down, taking the fruits of their labor from working through winter.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
And it's this big, rip-roaring festivity of a lot of fun games.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
I mean, there was even a trappers' and miners' ball. The two pennants on the outside are from the Dog Derby and Ice Carnival, which took place in Fairbanks, this one from 1940, and the other one on the side from 1941.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
These pennants have actually come up for sale before.
GUEST:
Hm, oh.
APPRAISER:
And they only achieve in the maybe $200 to $300 for the pair.
GUEST:
Oh, wow.
APPRAISER:
This pennant in particular...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...is extremely rare. From what we've done in research, and talking to our local experts here, when I showed him your pennant, his eyes lit up. It was incredible. He had never seen a 1939 pennant like this.
GUEST:
Hm. Sweet.
APPRAISER:
For the 1939 Fur Rendezvous pennant, I think conservatively at auction...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...you could see that achieve between $8,000 and $12,000 today.
GUEST:
Ooh, thank you-- oh, sweet. (laughs) Yeah, very exciting.
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