It seems most of the artists I know have really cool stuff; original art, collectibles and swag that they have collected through out the years. As a matter of fact, when you visit an artist in their studio, the first fifteen to twenty minutes is spent getting a tour of their cool stuff.

I’m not really one of those guys. I don’t own a lot of cool stuff and the stuff I do own is rather shabby and without much more than sentimental value. So, when the call was put out to donate cool stuff for the Help the Hodges auctions on eBay, my wife, Beth, and I were convinced that we had only one item that could bring a substantial bid for the cause.

But, after finding out that our signed bottles of limited edition Pixar Toy Story 2 and Monsters Inc. wine (given to Beth by John Lasseter himself) were against the eBay rules for selling alcohol, we were very disappointed and at a loss for any alternative ideas. But then we were reminded of some items, packed away and forgotten, that just might be equally as cool. In fact, they are a couple of the coolest things that I have ever owned and they will soon be found at the Help the Hodges charity auction on eBay later today.

The first is my crew gift from Disney’s Tarzan. The studio gave us a reproduction of the Tarzan maquette, slightly smaller than the actual working maquette that the animators used but equally as cool. The original was sculpted by master sculptor Kent Melton based on drawings by Tarzan’s Supervising Animator Glen Keane. This was one of my favorite things from my days at Disney. I guess they pop up on eBay from time to time, but to make this auction sweeter, Chad Frye got the maestro himself, Glen Keane, to autograph the base with a black Sharpie.

Second is a super cool find an old friend of mine made on Disney property and it was essentially found in the bargain bin! Two of Walt Disney’s famed Nine Old Men, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston (responsible for characters such as Captain Hook, Smee, Doc, Pongo, Bambi, Baloo, Tramp, Pinocchio, Alice, Prince John, Mowgli, and many more) wrote the essential bible of animation: The Illusion of Life. Hyperion Publishing reprinted their book in 1995 and to celebrate their first edition, they produced 3,500 copies specially bound with a fold out of sixteen of Frank & Ollie’s favorite drawings, and both men hand-signed each of these individually numbered books! Before the auctions were interrupted on a couple of weeks ago, the bids on this book were rapidly climbing!

So, if you like really cool stuff, why are you still here? Both of these items go up on the auction today, so be sure to get your bid in!