Rare item sets off historic scramble

This is a tale of a historian's pursuit of a missing treasure and the role Internet auction giant eBay played in its discovery.

It began this year while researching the centennial history of the Tempe Chamber of Commerce for a special edition of The Tempe Republic.

In the course of my detective work, I discovered the roots of today's chamber go back 115 years.

But 1908 was important because, after several previous attempts to establish a board of trade, it was the first time the organizational effort was officially recorded with the then Territory of Arizona.

Also of significance was a promotional booklet published by the board to entice more people, agriculture and business to Tempe - described as "The Gateway to the Salt River Valley."

It was the knowledge of the existence of the pamphlet that set me on a quest to find a copy.

What did it look like? What insights to early 20th-century Tempe might it provide? Did it contain any unknown photographs?

Regrettably, not even prestigious institutions such as the Tempe Historical Museum, Arizona State University, State Archives or any other source could locate such a document in their collections - leaving me to only speculate on what it might contain.

So the chamber's history was written without the benefit of ever having seen this illusive piece of history.

Moving on to other projects, the memory of my failed pursuit began to fade.

Until . . . one fateful day I was exploring eBay to see what treasures were being offered. Yes. I confess it. I am an eBay junkie.

Looking under my favorite subject, "Tempe," the following listing appeared: VERY RARE 1908 TEMPE ARIZONA PROMO BKLET.

Could it be? I held my breath as I read the following:

"This marvelous . . . lot is a . . . rarely seen publication . . . published by the Tempe Board of Trade in 1908. (This 24-page booklet) with 26 wonderful photos . . . shows how Tempe was competing for . . . tourist and business dollars. . . .

"I would think that every Arizona historian or buff would be interested in this incredible item so we suggest that you bid early and bid often! You may be sure it is very rare to the point that I think even highly knowledgeable and extremely advanced Arizona collectors should be interested in it!"

Hah! He didn't know the half of it. The description had me dancing around my computer.

Not knowing that I would hock my house to acquire this piece, the seller generously started the auction off with a modest opening bid of $9.99 - where it remained for several days.

I have bought lots of things on eBay. So you would think that I wouldn't be so naïve as to believe that I could actually buy this document for only 10 bucks. But I did.

Every experienced eBayer knows that all the action occurs in the minutes and seconds before the auction's end.

It turned out that I wasn't the only one competing for this valuable piece of Tempe history.

As bidding topped $100, I found myself locked in a do-or-die battle. With the clock ticking down and bidding rising . . . did I get it?

Oops. Outta time. I'll finish the story next week.

Contributed by Jay Mark, a Tempe historian. Reach him at jaymark@twtdbooks.com.