[ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] im jamie colby, and im driving into portales, new mexico, along the texas border and near the Cannon Air Force base. You know, the welcome sign here says it all 17,000 friendly people and three or four old grouches . Im here to meet a man whose strange inheritance certainly called for that kind of sense of humor. My name is john wall. My mother, irene wall, passed at 90 years old. She had left me with a very large collection that meant a lot to her, but i didnt know what to do. Great. So nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Welcome to my home. Well, so, what do think of all these dolls . Wow this is kind of the way it was in my moms house, only there were so many more. Johnny, i feel like im 8 years old again with all these dolls. Well, i have the reputation around here as the doll boy but i dont know anything about them. Looking around, you have earned that reputation. What are you going to do . The goal of my moms and mine was to find a
Me about her strange inheritance and how it turned her into a sort of time traveler, right back to her fathers harrowing past. My name is Miriam Friedman morris. My father, David Friedman, a painter and holocaust survivor, left me a diary, tagebuch fuer Miriam Friedman. As i read it, the diary led me on a remarkable journey that continues to this day. Miriam, im jamie. Hi. Welcome. Miriam wrote us an email that said. It was so impassioned, i had to meet her. My goodness. Look at all of this. I feel like im in fineart gallery or a museum. Tell me about your parents. My parents were both holocaust survivors, and in 1954, we moved from israel to new york. In her minds eye, little miriam sees only gauzy pictures of her fathers past. He doesnt tell her all that much. She knows he was a painter, who, in world war i, drew combat scenes on the russian front and was decorated for bravery. But shes in the dark about the full scope of his artistic career, including hundreds of drawings of top per
[ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] im jamie colby, and im driving into portales, new mexico, along the texas border and near the Cannon Air Force base. You know, the welcome sign here says it all 17,000 friendly people and three or four old grouches . Im here to meet a man whose strange inheritance certainly called for that kind of sense of humor. My name is john wall. My mother, irene wall, passed at 90 years old. She had left me with a very large collection that meant a lot to her, but i didnt know what to do. Great. So nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Welcome to my home. Well, so, what do think of all these dolls . Wow this is kind of the way it was in my moms house, only there were so many more. Johnny, i feel like im 8 years old again with all these dolls. Well, i have the reputation around here as the doll boy but i dont know anything about them. Looking around, you have earned that reputation. What are you going to do . The goal of my moms and mine was to find a
Im jamie colby, and today im in tampa, florida, to meet a man whose strange inheritance, a massive autograph collection, began with a chance encounter. One thing led to another and then, well, ill let him tell you. My name is juan carlos saucedocampos, and in 2012, my dear friend jack kuster left me his estate, including a collection that nobody has ever seen. Come in. Hi, juan carlos. Hi, jamie. How are you doing today . Thank you for inviting me to your home. Its my pleasure. Thank you for coming. It looks like youve been busy. Ive been working on putting everything together. Elvis presley, james dean. Wow. Marilyn monroe. Vivien leigh, paul newman even. Paul newman. Most of these photos are original pictures that juan carloss friend jack kuster snapped with his own camera, then collected an autograph for each one of them. Oh, look at jane fonda when she was just a teenager. So he took all these pictures and on top of it got the autographs . Yes. How did this all get started . Well,
To a strange inheritance which includes, believe me, one of the most unique collections. And my marker . Its a giant beetle. Hi, jamie. How are you . Im fine. How are you . My names rj steer. In 2007, my grandfather john may passed away and left the largest privately owned collection of insects in the world. At the time i didnt know what the rest of the family might want to do with it. Its housed in this little museum. Nestled in a small canyon, its one of those classic american roadside attractions. Of all the strange things you might like to inherit one day. Wow . A few thousand drawers, canisters, and cases full of bugs is probably not on your list. Would it change your mind if i told you its been appraised for millions . [ record scratches ] somebody tells you youre sitting on how much in terms of value of this collection of insects . There are some insects that have never been seen since, there are some insects that are thought to be extinct but not confirmed, but the collection w