LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- If you're looking for unique pieces of Louisville history to add to your collection, thousands of items from one of the city's most famous antique shops are going up for auction.

But collectors should be warned: get your wallets ready.

If you go to an auction in the Derby City, you're sure to find plenty of bourbon memorabilia. But where else can you find a book on the rivalry between Male and Manual that was written in 1940? Joe Ley has it. 

Joe Ley's Antiques auction 2-23-24

Hundreds of items from Joe Ley Antiques will be up for auction on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (WDRB photo)

"Joe was a Louisville legend, a Louisville icon," said auctioneer Hunter Harritt, with the Harritt Group.

A man, and a shop known by any collector.

"If you had an interest in anything in the antique business, anything unusual, you certainly knew who Joe Ley Antiques were," Harritt said.

Everything on the floor was either in Ley's antique store on Market Street in NuLu, or one of his many warehouses.

Citing health battles, Ley closed up his beloved shop in 2019, and died in 2022. The Harritt Group, a full-service auction team, has spent the past couple of years working with the Ley family and going through all of Joe's warehouses.

"We would keep finding and finding stuff," said Harritt. "Joe would just get stuff out of everywhere."

Pieces of the city's past dating back decades. From catalogues from the old Belknap Hardware Company, to coffee tin cans from Louisville companies, Joe Ley's is full of hand-picked items from his 60 years in business. Other items include rugs, vintage toys, art, autographed celebrity photos, furniture and lighting. 

IMAGES | Hundreds of items from Joe Ley Antiques up for auction this weekend

"You got these painted chalk statues, which were from the famous Fontaine Ferry Amusement Park," Harritt said. "Anybody's basement, home bar, those are really neat."

Dice from Indiana casinos, and old posters from Falls City Beer also among the treasures. There are also plenty of bourbon signs, labels and bottles, all of which can be yours on Saturday.

Harritt said this is the last of the Ley collection.

"A big party to send him off in style," he said.

If you want a piece of it, the auction is being held at a warehouse located at 1726 Mellwood Avenue. Harritt's advice? Bid fast, and bid last.

"If you're unfamiliar with auctions, all you gotta do is put your bid number up and don't put it down," said Harritt.

The first online auction was held in October 2022. Ley's daughter, Sheila, spoke to WDRB News at the time and described her father as "eccentric," and "a character" whom she was proud to work alongside for several decades.

"He came from nothing, he was an orphan, and if he's not a rags to riches story, I don't know what is," she said. "I don't know how anybody couldn't be proud of that." 

Joe Ley Antiques on Market Street in NuLu once boasted more than 2 acres of collectible antiques.

Saturday's auction starts at 9 a.m. Those who are hoping to have a place to bid are encouraged to arrive early.

For more information, photos, lists of items that will be available, and an address, click here.

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