Hake Star Wars Collection of Russell Branton

Black and red text with yellow halo surrounded by photographic images of Star Wars products on a black background with white stars. Top has the Hake's logo in red, white, yellow, and blue.

Ted Hake is a collector of pin-backed political campaign buttons who turned his hobby of collecting into a business which led to the founding of Hake’s Auctions in 1967. The business expanded beyond political campaign buttons and includes comic-book, vintage toys, and pop culture collectibles up for auction. In the following four decades, Ted authored 17 collectibles price guides, with those devoted to presidential campaign items, pin-back buttons, character collectibles, and Disneyana considered to be the authoritative references by collectors nationwide. Ted continues with work with Hake’s Americana as a full-time consultant. In 2012, Ted launched his personal website, tedhake.com, to offer buttons and other pop culture collectibles at fixed prices from his personal collections.

In November 2017, Hake’s Americana and Collectibles announced they were presenting Russell Branton’s Star Wars collection up for auction. Russell Branton’s Star Wars collection, one of the most extensive collections of Star Wars memorabilia assembled for a decade, contained roughly 700 to 800 pieces and included many rare and valuable items, mostly consisting of rare toy figures, figures, and playsets. Hake’s Americana & Collectibles began selling Branton’s collection over several auctions, beginning with Auction #222, which went online on October 24, 2017 and closed on November 14-16, 2017.