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PRESS RELEASE SOURCE: HERITAGE AUCTIONS
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DALLAS, Texas (March 7, 2023) — For many collectors, who you know can be every bit as important as what you know.
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Consider the case of Jeff Ferreira. The owner of Who’s On First, a collectible cards shop in Dublin, California, took his girlfriend and some of his staff to the Magic: The Gathering World Championship in San Francisco in 2004; his staffers already were immersed in the trading card games community, and he wanted his now-wife to see another part of his life. While there, the group met Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield and an artist named Christopher Rush.
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“I went over and talked to him and him and I just started talking and hanging out,” Ferriera said, “and we realized that we just kind of grew up in different places, but we had the same interests. He loved comic books. He loved fantasy. He worked on Dungeons and Dragons … way back.”
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From that initial interaction grew a friendship that lasted until Rush died in 2016. The two became close friends; Ferreira also became Rush’s agent. Locals who frequented Who’s On First sometimes encountered the artist signing autographs or painting in Ferreira’s shop.
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Rush became the preeminent artist for Magic: The Gathering, and over the years, Ferreira acquired a selection of his friend’s works — 268 of which will be up for grabs March 24-25 at Heritage Auctions in The Jeff Ferreira Collection Featuring Christopher Rush Collectibles Trading Card Games Signature® Auction. The decision to part with Rush’s art was not easy for Ferreira.
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“I have such an emotional attachment to so much of this, and I’m not letting go of everything,” he said. “There’s some stuff that I’m keeping — you know, it’s stuff that there’s no way that I can let go of right now. But I do believe I have a strong sense of community and I’m inundated with requests daily for people wanting to buy signatures, autographs, sadly, unlike, you know, like other other collectibles or stuff.”
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Among the highlights in Ferreira’s collection is a Magic: The Gathering Artist Proof Black Lotus Limited Edition (Beta) CGC Trading Card Game NM/Mint+ 8.5 (Wizards of the Coast, 1993) signed by Rush (estimate: $750,000+) that is being offered at public auction for the first time. The Black Lotus is the most powerful card in the game, and this example is signed by the artist, which only increases its potential as the centerpiece of any collection. CGC awarded this example a “blue” label by CGC and marked Signature Verified by Jeff Ferreira on the holder. CGC has awarded the following sub-grades: centering (8.5), surface (9), corners (8.5), and edges (8.5). The rarity of the card can not be overstated; the known population of the card is exceedingly small, and copies — especially signed copies — rarely become available.
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Also up for grabs is a Magic: The Gathering Black Lotus Limited Edition (Beta) BGS Trading Card Game GEM MINT 9.5 (Wizards of the Coast, 1993) Rare (estimate: $200,000+) from the Beta Edition, which indicates a print run of just 3,000 copies. The offered example is one of just 59 examples to earn a GEM MINT 9.5 grade (with only four higher) from BGS, and one of just 20 from that group that is “quad 9.5” or higher.
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Ferreira’s relationship with Rush adds a sentimental value to all of the lots in the auction, but when pressed, Ferreira admitted that one stands alone: a Magic: The Gathering The Unfinished Black Lotus Illustration Original Artwork (2015). “I have the last painting that Christopher was working on and it’s of the Black Lotus. He was painting it for my wife and (me),” Ferreira said. “Unfortunately it’s unfinished and in a way it’s got a beauty that others will never have because to me it’s an unfinished painting for an unfinished life… Chris died at 50, (and) he had so much more to give. I’m actually happy that it was unfinished. It’s really hard for me to let it go.” The unfinished painting carries a pre-auction estimate of $75,000+, as does a Magic: The Gathering Black Lotus Illustration Original Artwork (2014). Here the renowned artist illustrates the famed flower in this recreation illustration done in acrylic on 8-by-6-inch canvas. Rush initialed the front and signed and dated the back, April 2014.
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A Magic: The Gathering Antiquities Edition Sealed Booster Box (Wizards of the Coast, 1994) is one of 13 MTG booster boxesin the auction. The second expansion set to be released for the game, Antiquities was set around an artifact concept even though all five colors also were used. The box (estimate: $60,000+) contains 60 booster packs, each with eight cards, for a total of 480 cards.
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Other top lots in the auction include, but are not limited to:
• A Magic: The Gathering Legends Sealed Booster Box (estimate: $30,000+)
• Magic: The Gathering Saviors of Kamigawa Descendant of Kiyomaro Card Illustration Original Art (estimate: $15,000+)
• A Magic: The Gathering Mox Pearl Limited Edition (Alpha) BGS Trading Card Game EXCELLENT+ 5.5 (estimate: $10,000+)
• A Magic: The Gathering Mox Sapphire Limited Edition (Alpha) BGS Trading Card Game EX-MT+ 6.5 (estimate: $10,000+)
• A Magic: The Gathering Timetwister Limited Edition (Beta) BGS Trading Card Game NM-MT 8 (estimate: $10,000+)
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