Martin Johnson~Author of 10 books,
Photo from New Mural

In 2019 the museum conducted an extensive renovation of our first floor portion of the historic Santa Fe Depot. Included in the renovation was the design of large to life size murals for our new main entrance and our new Oceania Gallery.

As a nod to our neighbors, the Chanute Public Library, this image as a mural plus one of Osa with all her books, are on display in the common area of the depot lobby.

The murals are also a reminder of how prolific both Martin + Osa were as authors. Today, Osa's I Married Adventure is often the only book fans remember, but between 1909 and 1967, Martin + Osa had 20 books published, plus they authored hundreds of articles, scientific journal entries and comic books.

This photo shows Martin typing away in 1929 in his home office in Nairobi, Kenya, with his "co-author," Snowball the Baby Gorilla in his lap. It also shows a sampling of dust jackets from his own 10 novels, plus one of the comic strips written by Martin that starred Osa, Danger Trails: The True Adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Johnson.

This photo is approx. 10 x 13 inches. It will come framed in an 11 x 14 inch, clear archival, Mylar sleeve for immediate display.

It would pair perfectly with Osa's Author Mural Photo...check out Auction Item #22!

Camel Saddle Art Piece

This Camel Saddle was created in Oman and stands approximately 29 inches tall and about ten inches wide. It was donated to support our museum that is filled with images of camels from almost every African safari Martin and Osa made between 1921-1934.

This item was donated by Comforts of Home, an amazing antique and home decor shop that once graced the main street in Chanute, Kansas. We hated to see the store close, and we deeply appreciate owner Martha McCoy donating more than a few items to our Osa's Ark Museum Store and this auction to support the museum!

Martha and her husband Jim Cornish are Gold Level Sponsors for this event.

2 Photos of the Three Boy Scouts in Africa

Three Eagle Scouts were chosen from over 600,000 boys to go on a summer safari in 1927 with Martin and Osa Johnson in the "Wild Game" country of Africa. The scouts David Martin, Douglas Oliver, and Robert "Dick" Douglas, Jr. sailed from New York on June 9 and were met in early July at the Nairobi train station by Martin and Osa Johnson. On July 11 they accompanied the Johnsons on safari to the Serengeti in Tanganykia (now Tanzania). After 5 thrilling weeks on safari, they left Nairobi for home The boys wrote the story of their trip on board ship and "The Three Boy Scouts in Africa" was published in 1928.

"One of the Waccoma (Ikoma) chiefs took a great fancy to the Boy Scouts. He stands here on an ant-hill pointing out to them a nearby donga in which he declares they will find lions. The Chief was right."
~Martin Johnson, LION 1929.

This auction includes an 11 x 14 inch photo of the boy scout image described above plus an 11 x 14 inch collage of historic news clippings and images related to the boy scouts from our collections.

They come individually framed in thick, archival, clear display mylar sleeves for immediate display, either together or separately.

Photos of items below, grouped together and individually for details.

Rhino Chasing Planes Poster

In 2019 the museum conducted an extensive renovation of our first floor portion and public areas of the historic Santa Fe Depot. Included in the renovation was the design of large to life size murals for our new main entrance and our new Oceania Gallery.

This image was slected to be the wayfaring sign for our visitors accessing the museum's second floor galleries via the external stairs or elevator. It is one that Martin and Osa Johnson selected as a postcard to send to their friend and fellow Vaudevillian/Broadway actor Chic Sale. The original postcard is in our collection and Martin's caption on the back was "We're Coming Home!!"

This poster image is approx. 12" x 20" and will come printed on a 16" x 24" high quality matt poster sheet to be cut or framed to the buyers preference.

Shipping is included in the auction thanks to our Shipping Sponsors Dave and Heather Guernsey. This poster will come rolled in a heavy tube for the most secured mailing option.

Antique W.M.L. Gilbert Clock

This Gingerbread Wooden Antique Mantle Clock measures 14" wide at the base and 21" tall. Manufactured at the W.M.L. Gilbert Clock Company in Winstead, Connecticut, it was donated by Martha McCoy. Value is $150.

Martha has generously donated many items from her Comforts of Home Store for our annual auctions and to our Osa's Ark Museum Store.

Martha and her husband Jim Cornish are Gold Level Sponsors for this event.

Woman With Wares

Paper maché, believed to be from South America or Mexico. This Figure stands approx. 18 inches high.

This item was donated by Comforts of Home, an amazing antique and home decor shop that once graced the main street in Chanute, Kansas. We hated to see the store close, and we deeply appreciate owner Martha McCoy donating more than a few items to our Osa's Ark Museum Store and this auction to support the museum!

Martha and her husband Jim Cornish are Gold Level Sponsors for this event.

Man With Clay Pots

Paper maché, believed to be from South America or Mexico. This Figure stands approx. 18 inches high.

This item was donated by Comforts of Home, an amazing antique and home decor shop that once graced the main street in Chanute, Kansas. We hated to see the store close, and we deeply appreciate owner Martha McCoy donating more than a few items to our Osa's Ark Museum Store and this auction to support the museum!

Martha and her husband Jim Cornish are Gold Level Sponsors for this event.

Man With Water Jars

Paper maché, believed to be from South America or Mexico. This Figure stands approx. 18 inches high.

This item was donated by Comforts of Home, an amazing antique and home decor shop that once graced the main street in Chanute, Kansas. We hated to see the store close, and we deeply appreciate owner Martha McCoy donating more than a few items to our Osa's Ark Museum Store and this auction to support the museum!

Martha and her husband Jim Cornish are Gold Level Sponsors for this event.

Our museum hosts special exhibitions by international, national, as well as local and regional artists in our Stott Explorers Gallery. Often these artists are generous enough to donate select pieces from their shows and private collections to help support the museum.

Ivana Buttry is a Czech landartist specialized for landscape-architecture and designing gardens. She designed several successful projects and exhibited original photos of her premiere LandArt experience, LANDSCAPE THAT NEVER SLEEP as a fundraiser for the museum.

At the show's close, Buttry donated all 60 of the original photos to the museum to continue her support through sales in our Osa's Ark Museum Store and at auctions such as these.

This auction item is titled "Colorful Harmony" and measures 11 7/8" by 17 7/8."

Brief Background on the Artist:

During her studies in France, Buttry came across "landart" for the first time in 2004. She is inspired freely by the work of French artists such as Emmanuel Plume, Laurent Gerbouin, and Yoann Crépin. She creates installations in nature using a rather small scale, mainly because it better explains the uniqueness and singularity of each object. After every installation, the work itself is never preserved but in her photography. It is left to environmental conditions and gradually erodes from existence. The composition art of Ivana Buttry tells non-uttered stories hidden in the landscape of each of us.

Ivana cooperates with Czech broadcasting corporation and currently she is teaching Landscape architecture at Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague.

This new tote bag was designed to mark the 100th Anniversaries of both Martin + Osa's first expeditions to North Borneo + Africa.

The image was taken aboard the SS Glentara in 1921 as the Johnsons and their new "furbaby" children Bessie the Orangutan and Kalawatt the Gibbon Ape returned from North Borneo after their pioneering success at filming wildlife. Knowing they could accomplish this unprecedented field of filmmaking, the Johnsons were determined to head for Africa to capture the endangered and quickly vanishing animals and to record the last strongholds of their habitats.

Just home long enough to launch "Jungles Calling" their feature film of the North Borneo expedition, the Johnsons plus Kalowatt & Martin's father John Johnson stepped aboard the SS Oropesa in New York to leave for Africa on July 16, 1921. Bessie was at the dock to wish them safe travels. During their absence, the Central Park Zoo was her home, but as soon as they returned in 1922, one of the first things Martin + Osa did was to go and collect her to reunite the family!

Tote is lightweight but spacious and strong enough to hold many books...good thing since Martin + Osa authored 20 books, all of which remain great reads today!

New specially designed Osa's Ark Museum Store Tote featuring the first edition cover image of Osa Johnson's No. 1 book, I Married Adventure!

Osa Leighty was born in 1894 in Chanute, Kansas. She married Martin Johnson in 1910 and accompanied him on all of his expeditions until 1937, when Martin was killed in a commercial airline crash. In 1940 she published I Married Adventure, which became a worldwide best seller eventually published in more than 20 languages and whose first edition zebra striped covers are still highly sought after by collectors. This book and/or its cover image is frequently found in the background of photo shoots, fashion design, and weddings.

Tote is lightweight but spacious and strong enough to hold many books...good thing since Martin + Osa authored 20 books, all of which remain great reads today!

Wine Books and Cotes de Provence Decor

These items were donated by Martha McCoy, who owned Comforts of Home, an amazing antique and home decor shop that once graced the main street in Chanute, Kansas. We hated to see the store close, and we deeply appreciate Martha donating more than a few items from the store and her other collections like the pieces here to our Osa's Ark Museum Store and this auction to support the museum.

Martha and her husband Jim Cornish are Gold Level Sponsors for this event.

After the Burn Framed Photo

The sky takes on an extra orange glow after a prairie burn is conducted on the Red Buffalo Ranch near Sedan, Kansas.

5 x 7 photo matted and framed at 8 x 10 photo by Michelle M. Martin, Discovering History LLC

This item was donated by Martha McCoy.

Martha and her husband Jim Cornish are Gold Level Sponsors for this event.