Huge Auction Stills The Voice Of Once Largest Radio Church
- by Michael Stillman
Garner Ted (left) and Herbert W. Armstrong later in life.
Herbert W's eviction of his son could be looked on as a murder-suicide. While Herbert W. managed along until his death in 1986 at the age of ninety-three, he had no real successor. With Garner Ted gone, the bland heirs to the Worldwide Church of God could not hold the faithful nor generate the tithes. Almost all of the property is now gone, with another chunk set to depart in this auction. The church which once commanded the Sunday night airwaves is but a shell of itself, an obscure, forgotten remnant of another era. The official Worldwide Church of God is essentially mainstream today anyway, having rejected most of Herbert's teachings. Those who still follow him broke off into a host of new even smaller splinter groups. Herbert W's hope for a legacy died when he kicked his son out the door.
Garner Ted fared even more poorly. Without the powerful church behind him, he was forced to start over with a new ministry of his own. He still had his voice, just as Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart had theirs, but the smell of scandal prevented his ever rising to the pinnacle again. To top that off, Garner Ted would later be thrown out of his own church for the same cause, too much interest in women to whom he was not married. He would have to start yet another new church, smaller still. He continued to lead this church in Tyler, Texas, ironically just a stone's throw from Big Sandy and Ambassador College, until his death in 2003 at the age of just 73. His obituary was barely a footnote, even in the Texas papers, so far had he fallen. However, his last ministry is still carried on by a son, an even smaller remnant than the tiny remains of his father's once great church.
The first two Friday and Saturday auction sessions took place in September, but the great majority of the sales are still to come. The sessions will be held Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons. National Book Auctions reports that the Ambassador College Library used Library of Congress classifications, and they will move through the library by categorization over the coming weeks. They state that there are a large number of "antique books including many landmark texts of significant value." Books will be sold in box lots, small groups, and individually. They have been posting the lots offered on their website, including thorough descriptions and photographs of the books. Someone has gone to a lot of effort to make such detailed information available on such a large collection.
Big Sandy is located in East Texas, near Tyler, roughly 100 miles from Dallas. It is oppressively hot in the summer, but fall is a fantastic time to visit the area. If you are interested in books, history, auctions, or travel, you have an excuse to go. However, if you can't make it, NBA has also provided for offsite bidding. The website address is nationalbookauctions.com, telephone number 607-269-0101. The online catalogue of listings can be found at http://nationalbookauctions.com/alertauctions.htm.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
