Mrkahuna: As I searched through my parents’ house and storage shed in the backyard I hoped to find maybe some original drawings or other such material related to the Lionstone decanters, but no such luck. Maybe the drawings, etc. became the property of Lionstone; I have no idea.  I know when my father passed away, my mother and sister (who also resided in SoCal, just 15 minutes away) dumped a *lot* of stuff, so who can say; I wasn’t around at the time. Aside from the bottles themselves and the two photos with the “Gunsmoke” cast, all I found was a framed certificate from the State of Kentucky and signed by both the Governor and Secretary of State, dated September 19, 1977, commissioning the “Honorable Al Halpern, Anaheim, California” a “Kentucky Colonel” with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities, there of….  At the time, Lionstone Distilleries was located in Kentucky, as was the Jim Beam company, for whom my father also did design work.

Thanks for your kind words.
Cheers,
- marty

That said, there’s a whole generation of craft that is about to be lost which is really sad.

mrkahuna: By “hand-designed” I’m referring to the fact that each bottle was personally designed by my father after extensive research; once the molds were manufactured, he then did the colors, etc. Some of these decanters required a dozen iterations until he felt they were perfect. They were not assembly-line/factory designed. And I have no illusions as to the value (or lack there of) of these bottles; they were highly collectible in the ’70s and ’80s but those times are long gone.

Zelda Lin, Syd, and Lobster: Thanks, especially, for the museum suggestions. I’ve already contacted the Autry National Center (formerly the Gene Autry Museum) and the Southwest Museum in LA is next on my list.

Cheers, all, and thanks again.
Marty Halpern

Take them to Pawn Stars… you’ll find out how much they’re really worth to someone else.  Just be prepared for your sentimental value to be much higher than what anyone will pay for it.