Founded in 1985 by Joe Maddalena, Profiles in History (profilesinhistory.com) is the nation’s leading dealer in guaranteed-authentic original historical autographs, letters, documents, vintage signed photographs and manuscripts, and has also established itself as the world’s largest auctioneer of original Hollywood memorabilia. Thanks to Joe's diligence we've had the good fortune to witness some of the most important auctions featuring classic comic and illustration artworks over the past several years. From the two Frank Darabont Collection auctions to The Property of a Distinguished American Collector, Profiles in History has continued to impress us with their ability to unearth and bring to market some of the most important historical works of art from comics and popular culture in recent memory. Profile in History's auction for Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein wrap-around cover artwork - which sold for and astounding $1,200,000 in 2019 - was one of the most highly publicized and followed auctions by original art collectors from the last 10 years.
Joe Maddalena has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, organizing the first baseball card show in Rhode Island in the mid-1970's at the age of 12. After attending Pepperdine University on the west coast, where he spent weekends scouring Hollywood bookshops for letters and rare books, Joe established himself as a full-time dealer of rare, historical documents and in 1985 opened his first office. Time in Hollywood and a life-long love of movies ultimately lead him to include all facets of entertainment and memorabilia to his offerings, a category that took on a life of its own, evolving to establish Profiles in History as the premiere auction house of Hollywood memorabilia.
This Thursday, November 5th at 9PM EST, join Bill Cox (www.comicartfans.com) and Mike Burkey (www.romitaman.com) while they chat with Joe about his career, his upcoming auctions, and his views on the future of original comic book and illustration art collecting.