I was able to attend the 19 December 2002 Hilda Hensley/Patsy Cline auction at Profiles in History (PiH). PiH is near the heart of the financial district in Beverly Hills, CA USA. Located at 110 N. Doheny Drive, on the east side, PiH is half a block north of Wilshire Blvd., the main east-west road bisecting Los Angeles and its suburbs. The PiH building has no exterior windows facing Doheny and resembles a medical clinic, perhaps housing multiple D.D.S. or M.D.s. To its immediate north is a nice older residential neighborhood of smaller houses and large shade trees built during the post-World War II era.

The interior of PiH consists of multiple small rooms, again reminiscent of a medical office. Beyond the 2nd door to the left is the auction room. It was a fairly modest room, maybe 350 square feet, with Patsy Cline's items professionally displayed in a crescent shaped arrangement beginning behind and to the right (away from the door) of the auctioneer's stand beginning with Patsy's Carnegie Hall dress and along the right (furthest from the door) lateral wall and extending about 5 feet along the back wall, ending with Patsy's silver lamé ensemble.

The remainder of the auction room included a storage shelf high on the back wall where sold items were temporarily stored. There was a permanent glass storage case with multiple shelves along the lateral wall nearest the door. Inside the case were prominent items worn by stars such as Jimmy Stewart and Gary Cooper during their films. In the middle of the auction room were four rows of temporary chairs, 20-25 total, for visitors and bidders.

A Mac G-4 workstation was at the front left corner, to the auctioneer's right, from his perspective. PiH Internet/Auction associate, Fong Sam, entered floor and telephone bids into an Internet based server during the live auction. Mr. Sam also conveyed to the auctioneer any Internet bids.

In front of the far lateral wall, toward the back of the room, was a table with 4 mini-PBX type telephones, each of which could handle multiple outside telephone calls. During the auction, PiH's Acquisition/Consignment and Portfolio Manager Brian Chanes and General Manager Lorna Hart called telephone based bidders before their desired lot was due to be bid to include them in the bidding process.

PiH allowed a personal inspection of the lots on Wednesday afternoon 18 December 2002. All of the dresses were displayed on mannequins and the black stretch Capri pants were on a hanger. Interestingly, the mannequins did not have heads, but a convenient handle above the neckline. This allowed a viewer to easily pivot the mannequin to readily observe the back and sides. It also minimized possible damage from having to grab any fabric to move the unit.

PiH had a small, yet effective overhead lighting system above the auctioneer's stand. PiH has sold numerous stage outfits worn by performing stars in differing musical genres. This concentrated lighting allowed a viewing of an outfit similar to how it would have appeared during a live stage show. From well known images of the Carnegie Hall dress, it always appeared as a tasteful dress a typical lady of that era would wear to a social setting or church services. But it was very surprising to observe how it responded under a standard white spotlight. The golden background under the black lace then glowed, or eerily radiated; very compelling! Unfortunately, its black lace was damaged or unraveling at the right armpit seams and also along the right side, close to where Patsy's hand would have been if at her side. If looking at it from the front at a slight distance, neither damaged area is noticeable, only upon closer inspection.

To the immediate right of the Carnegie Hall dress was the iridescent sequined sweater and skirt worn by Patsy during her late 1962 engagement at the Mint Casino in Las Vegas. This outfit was a visual explosion under any of the overhead lights! The sequins had a prism like characteristic as most of the colors visible to the human eye radiated under any of the lights. It reminded me of what it would look like if one could catch an energized comet in a large bottle.

To the right and in front of the sweater/skirt combo was the black sequin evening gown also worn by Patsy during the same engagement at the Mint. Under any of the lights, it also radiated, but not nearly as spectacularly as the sweater/skirt combo. Maybe I was more critical of it since its sales price range was so high, but up close it seemed more ordinary than anticipated. It was likely an instance where the previewing hype overshadowed reality.

To the right and behind the black Mint gown was the Maison Medessolle black sequin and bead gown worn by Patsy on the cover of the "In Care of the Blues" LP. It was captured within the image of her playfully looking over her right shoulder and smiling into the camera. This dress was too far removed from the overhead lights to fully show what it would have looked like on stage. Its most memorable feature was how wide the shoulder line was. On the sides, it looked like it would keep slipping off the shoulders, or I suspect there is a graceful, mostly lost art for a lady wearing such a dress.

In front of and a little to the right was the corral chiffon dress. I am not sure how PiH managed, but they selected a perfect mannequin to fill this dress. It stressed how petitie Patsy was at times, as her filling this dress would have been a major distraction in public and made Marilyn Monroe deeply jealous. A typical male would never forget the sight of Patsy in this corral chiffon! Its fabric seemed so fragile, much like fine tissue paper. I am not sure how one would preserve this dress or prevent it from disintegrating over time. Its similar fabric and cut sister dress, the green Helen Rose chiffon dress, was toward the back of the room between the black gabardine dress and faux fur coat. But green was showing how fragile it was, with a tear in both its neckline and the right shoulder seam.

Closely together among the far right corner of the room were the poster-print dress, blue cowgirl ensemble, orange cotton maternity dress with dice motif and the ivory silk dress with green lace overlay. PiH chose an interesting display approach for the pale apricot dress with knife-pleated skirt. Instead of using a standard stand-alone mannequin, they used an upper half of a mannequin, then placed the half mannequin and dress on a tabletop. This allowed a flowing or cascading effect of the skirt, which seemed to give it life. The skirt had its bottom hem line in a large circle both on and off the table, or think of Patsy crouching or kneeling while wearing it. It is difficult to describe it better, but it was a better presentation than the PiH pre-auction photos where the dress was on a full mannequin.

The tan buckskin jacket was on a mannequin to the right of and near the pale apricot dress. Its most interesting feature was the very long fringe on its back. It was next to the table used by PiH staff for communicating with the telephone-based bidders during the auction. On the other side of the telephone table was the black and golden brocade dress by Maison Medessolle. PiH chose to display it on a mannequin facing the wall with its backside toward the viewer. This highlighted its barebacked style.

Next to the brocade dress was the black gabardine dress with a wide silk leopard skin print belt around its waist. Notwithstanding the eye-popping appeal of the Mint sweater/skirt under the lights or the coral chiffon dress, this gabardine dress seemed maybe the most elegant and underrated of all the dresses. Plus it had the appeal of being 100% crafted by Mom Hensley. Next were the green chiffon dress, the faux fur coat and finally the silver lamé ensemble. PiH had the stage-worn white boots on special display near the their front door. They were inside a glass display case adjacent to a gold painted Batman utility belt worn by Michael Keaton during the 1992 filming of "Batman Returns."

I was able to briefly view a copy of the new "Remembering Patsy" hardcover book by Brian Mansfield. I am not an expert on all the photos of Patsy that other fans collect, but there were quite a few new ones, from my experience, included in this book. It appeared very much worth the $15 retail price. My only minor complaint is it is small, less than 100 pages.

The personal letters written by Patsy to friend Marie Flynt were also observed Wednesday. PiH prepared typewritten transcripts of all 21 letters. Each transcript contained a brief synopsis of the letter, followed by a typed copy of the letter's full content. The original hand-written letters were protected and enclosed in a temporary laminated cover. It was easier and much quicker to speed read through the typed transcripts rather than trying to handle each handwritten letter. PiH staff requested no disclosure of any of the details of any letter, to protect the rights and value to the eventual purchaser.

After reading the letters, it was time to leave the PiH offices. Glancing one final time that day at Patsy's wardrobe items, it was an exciting time, but also more than a little sad. There was as strong feeling that many of these keepsakes would not be together much longer, but scattered in the wind for indeterminate periods.

Rising before dawn the next morning, telephone calls were placed home and to a friend with an interest in that afternoon's auction. I then drove to Hollywood, parked and walked about five blocks to the intersection of Hollywood Blvd. at Gower St. Walking westward on the southern sidewalk of Hollywood Blvd., after only two blocks I arrived at the Patsy Cline star on the Walk of Fame. It was easy to spot as it looked brand new compared to any of the earlier ones viewed.

I was surprised to find it so quickly, as there are between 2,000 and 3,000 stars on the Walk of Fame. I could not stay long. I touched it, trying to think good thoughts, even rubbing it once or twice. I then took out a crisp two-dollar bill and a black Sharpie marker. On the bill's upper front side I wrote "PATSY CLINE" on one line and below it "19 DECEMBER 2002." I placed the bill over her star's bronze phonograph disc at its center, anchored in place by seven lucky pennies, although it was a perfectly calm morning. Then walked back in front of the Henry Fonda Theater, back to the parking area to start the drive to Beverly Hills.

After personal errands and lunch in Beverly Hills, I checked in about 20 minutes before the scheduled start of the auction at the PiH offices. Time went quickly and the auction started a few minutes before the scheduled 1:00 p.m. start with only six floor bidders seated and four PiH employees working the auction room. It was amazing how quickly the lots were auctioned. A few of the lots seemed to go in only 15 or 20 seconds. The auction started at 12:56 p.m. and was over by 1:12 p.m., or 21 lots in 16 minutes. Below is a listing of the lots and the results from the auction.

I was part of a joint venture of long-time Patsy Cline fans that was able to purchases the Carnegie Hall dress, the ivory silk green lace dress and the orange dice motif maternity dress at the 19 December 2002 auction. On 21 January 2003 we notified the appropriate people in Winchester, VA of our desire to loan these three dresses to the Patsy Cline Museum for viewing to the general public. We are hopeful of displaying these three dresses at a limited number of other USA based museums.

Results from the 19 December 2002 Hilda Hensley/Patsy Cline Auction

377 Cowgirl ensemble - 1 bid, $4,000; sold

378 Silver lamé ensemble - 2 bids, $3,000; $3,250; sold after auction for $4,000

379 Black sequin dress - 4 bids, $6,000; $6,500; $7,000; $7,500; pass, $9,000 reserve not met

380 The Mint Evening gown - 6 bids, $18,000; $19,000; $20,000; $22,500; $25,000; $27,500; pass, $30,000 reserve not met

381 Carnegie Hall dress - 7 bids, $4,000; $4,250; $4,500; $4,750; $5,000; $5,500; $6,000; sold

382 Buckskin jacket - 2 bids, $8,000; $8,500; pass, $9,000 reserve not met

383 Stage-worn western boots - 8 bids, $2,000; 2 Internet bids at $2,500 each; $2,750; $3,000; $3,250; $3,500; $3,750; sold

384 Coral chiffon dress - 2 bids, $5,000; $5,500; pass, $6,000 reserve not met

385 Poster print dress - 4 bids, $4,000; $4,250; $4,500; $4,750; pass, $6,000 reserve not met

386 Black/gold brocade dress - 4 bids, $4,000; $4,250; $4,500; $4,750; pass, $6,000 reserve not met

387 Green chiffon dress - 4 bids, $4,000; $4,250; $4,500; $4,750; pass, $6,000 reserve not met

388 Green lace dress - 7 bids, $4,000; $4,250; $4,500; $4,750; $5,000; $5,500; $6,000; sold

389 Dice motif dress - 6 bids, $5,000; $5,500; $6,000; $6,500; $7,000; $7,500; sold

390 Pale apricot dress - 6 bids, $4,000; $4,250; $4,500; $4,750; $5,000; $5,500; pass, $6,000 reserve not met

391 Black gabardine dress - 2 bids, $5,000; $5,500; pass, $6,000 reserve not met

392 The Mint sweater & skirt - 1 bid, $5,000; pass, $6,000 reserve not met

393 Yellow western blouse - 10 bids, $800; $850; $900; $950; $1,000; $1,100; $1,200; $1,300; $1,400; $1,500; sold

394 Plaid western blouse - 10 bids, $800; $850; $900; $950; $1,000; $1,100; $1,200; $1,300; $1,400; $1,500; sold

395 Black stretch Capri pants - 5 bids, $1,000; $1,100; $1,200; $1,300; $1,400; pass, $1,500 reserve not met

396 Personal faux fur coat - 4 bids, $4,000; $4,250; $4,500; $4,750; pass, $6,000 reserve not met

397 Archive of personal letters - 4 bids, $20,000; $22,500; $25,000; $27,500; pass, $35,000 reserve not met