MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. - Sept. 12, 2020 - The personal World War II flight jacket of Count and Colonel Ilya A. Tolstoy, the grandson of the renowned Russian author and Count Leo (Lev) Tolstoy (War and Peace), plus other items from the estate of Ilya Tolstoy, is an expected top lot in a two-session auction scheduled for Saturday, October 3rd, by EstateOfMind, live and online, at 11 am Eastern.
Ilya A. Tolstoy was an officer with the Office of Strategic Services (CIA) from 1942-1946. The size 42, type A-2 Army Air Force Flying Tigers flight jacket has a China-Burma-India theater insignia and retains a "Blood Chit" American flag with Chinese characters that reads, "This foreign person has come to China to help in the war effort. Soldiers and civilians should rescue and protect him." The jacket comes with a notarized document from the estate of Mr. Tolstoy.
Included with the flight jacket are 29 albums of Ilya A. Tolstoy's top-secret photos for the Office of Strategic Services' China-Burma-India theater mission, including approximately 1,860 land, sea and aerial photos, plus an index identifying the place and location of each, for years 1942-43.
Also from the Tolstoy estate is a large watercolor equestrian-themed scroll titled Dancing Horse, signed by Beihong Xu (Chinese, 1895-1953) with three seal marks and calligraphy. The scroll has an overall size of 80 inches by 25 inches. Beihong Xu (also known as Ju Péon) was famous for his ink paintings of horses and birds and for his huge oil paintings with epic Chinese themes.
Other items from the Ilya Tolstoy estate will be sprinkled across both sessions of the auction. These include important Tibetan bronze Buddha figures Mr. Tolstoy acquired during his travels.
The auction – over 750 lots – will be held outside, under several large open-air tents, on the grounds of EstateOfMind, located at 195 Derby Road in Middletown. "We're mindful of the health and safety of everyone in attendance and will be following strict CDC, state and local regulations and guidelines," said Darrell Dirr, owner of EstateOfMind. "There will also be a donation table for Veterans Memorial Park, staffed by Purple Heart recipient Michael Cody."
To learn more about EstateOfMind and the two-session auction planned for Saturday, October 3rd, please visit www.EstateOfMind.biz.
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Darrell Dirr
