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More 'museum' items set for sale

Harrisburg's mayor spent millions on artifacts for a Wild West tribute that was scrapped.

HARRISBURG - A Texas auction house is set to sell off more artifacts that were slated for the Wild West museum once planned for Harrisburg.

Mayor Stephen Reed collected about 10,000 artifacts in hopes of creating the museum in central Pennsylvania. He had to scrap the idea and is selling off many of the pieces.

In November, the city collected about $1.4 million when it sold off items such as a Gatling gun and a Wells Fargo coach.

This time, the items consist mostly of photos, maps and other documents that will be sold Friday at Heritage Auction's showrooms in Dallas. Such items tend to cost less than $5,000 and could generate more interest from smaller collectors, auction officials said.

"We did very well with photography in the first sale," said Jeb Stuart, the city consultant who manages the artifacts.

Reed amassed the collection with nearly $8 million in nontax city money from the Harrisburg Authority, which owns the city's utilities. His expenditures were approved by officials he had appointed.

Officials estimate that 3,500 Western items remain in city warehouses.

Reed shelled out close to $30 million on Old West, Civil War and other collectibles over 15 years.