Cameron Parks: Behind the Scenes	by William Moody
Central States Archaeological Societies 2026 January Journal	West Tisbury, Massachusetts

This issue of the Central States Archaeological 2026 January Journal can be purchased on-line after March 2027

Figure 4. Cameron Parks at left with Gilbert Dilley arriving at a Garth’s Auction in 1974.

When certain memorabilia are discovered, they can bring to light an interesting look at some of the famous old-time collectors. These personal items can also take us behind the scenes of special experiences in the artifact collecting community during those years gone by. Such was the case when Edson Bourn recently gifted me some copies of catalogs from Garth’s Auctions in the 1970s (see Fig. 1). Edson is a nephew of Cameron Parks, who became affectionately known throughout the collecting world of the Midwest as the “slate king.” What he loved most in prehistoric artifacts was almost anything made of banded slate.Here’s what we can learn from one of the Garth’s Auctions catalogs and from what Edson Bourn personally remembers about his uncle. One of the catalogs shows notes in Cameron’s own handwriting, with dollar amounts next to various artifacts pictured there (Figs. 2, 3). As his collecting career advanced, Parks became so well known that if he appeared at an auction and began bidding on any of the artifacts exhibited, it would immediately raise interest among the other participants. The bidding then undoubtedly would climb higher and higher. So, Parks sometimes marked up a catalog and indicated the highest bids he was willing to place. He would send that catalog to another acquaintance to do the bidding in his stead (see Fig. 4). That way, ...

Read other great columns in the Central States Archaeological Societies 2026 January Journal which can be purchased on-line after March 2024