Hong Kong: Bruce Lee Memorabilia - dynastyauctions.net · Hong Kong: Bruce Lee Memorabilia Hong Kong's Most Famous Son - ... initially trained in Wing Chun, but he later rejected

Hong Kong: Bruce LeeMemorabilia

Hong Kong's Most Famous Son - Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; 27 November 1940 –20 July 1973) was a Chinese American and HongKong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, filmdirector, film producer, screenwriter, and founder ofthe Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement. He iswidely considered by many commentators, critics,media and other martial artists to be the mostinfluential martial artist of modern times, and acultural icon.

Lee was born in San Francisco to parents of HongKong heritage, but was raised in Hong Kong until hislate teens. Lee emigrated to the United States at theage of 18 to claim his U.S. citizenship and receive his higher education. It was during this time that hebegan teaching martial arts, which soon led to filmand television roles.

His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced filmselevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim, and sparked a

major surge of interest in Chinese martial arts in theWest in the 1970s. The direction and tone of his filmschanged and influenced martial arts and martial artsfilms in Hong Kong and the rest of the world, as well.He is noted for his roles in five feature-length films:Lo Wei’s The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury(1972); Way of the Dragon (1972), directed andwritten by Lee; Warner Brothers’ Enter the Dragon(1973), directed by Robert Clouse: and The Game ofDeath (1978), directed by Robert Clouse.

Lee became an iconic figure known throughout theworld, particularly among the Chinese, as heportrayed Chinese Nationalism in his films. Heinitially trained in Wing Chun, but he later rejectedwell-defined martial art styles, favoring instead toutilize useful techniques from various sources in thespirit of his personal martial arts philosophy, whichhe dubbed Jeet Kune Do ("The Way of theIntercepting Fist").

An announcement was made that Bruce Lee’s HongKong residence has been acquired by cityauthorities to install a museum, located in KowloonTong at 41 Cumberland Road, the 5,700 footmansion was where the star spent the last years ofhis life.

We are most honored to offer the following thirteen(13) original items from various elements of Bruce’slife including two extraordinary items: a long handwritten letter, probably one of the most importantcontextually relating to his impact and legacyprovided to martial arts and film making and a longChinese-style fur lined coat that he wore at a photosession prior to his untimely death. The other itemsincluding name cards, and an annotated book are alltestaments of his life and accomplishments. Wetruly hope that you will enjoy and embrace theseitems with as much enthusiasm and care that wehave had in presenting them to you.

Dynasty Auctions Company Ltd. www.dynastyauctions.net Sale 2 - Aug. 6, 2011 113

Second Session

Saturday, August 6, 2011 at 10:00 AM

Lots 1001-1318

Bruce Lee Compelling and Important Letter

1001 ALS, March 25, 1966, Ref er enc ing"Green Hor net" and oth ers. Among the fin estknown Bruce Lee let ters: "I'm look ing for ward forthe T.V. se ries of 'Green Hor net' to come out so that Gung Fu will catch on … I have my script with me -the Green Hor net and one scene in which Britt (theGreen Hor net) turned to Kato and yelled 'GungFu!!!' ---- Of Course Kato moves in and fin ishes thecrooks … work ing on the pri vate les son … pro spec -tive stu dents are:- Steve McQueen, James Gar ner,Don ald Gordon, Lloyd Thaxton, Paul Newman …tak ing act ing les son from a drama Coach, a Mr. JeffCory … this Cat is very Zen-ish…"

Au to graph Let ter Signed "Bruce," 2.5 pages, 8.5" x11", on two sheets of three-hole lined looseleaf pa -per, front & verso of sec ond sheet. [Los An geles,Cal i for nia], March 25, 1966. To Taky [Kimura]. Finecon di tion.

In full, "Re ceived your reg is tered let ter. Thank youfor your trou ble. It is al ways nice to hear from you,Taky. You are the se nior stu dent, my top stu dent.You are the most trusted one and your loy alty is be -yond com pared with any one here or in Hong Kong.I'm look ing for ward for the T.V. se ries of 'GreenHor net' to come out so that Gung Fu will catch on.Af ter that, you will be an im por tant part of my In sti -tute plus be ing the Wash ing ton State rep re sen ta -tive of the In sti tute. I'm still work ing on the pri vateles son - so far the pro spec tive stu dents are:- SteveMcQueen, James Gardner [sic, Gar ner], Don aldGordon, Lloyd Thaxton, Paul Newman, ---- thesesuck ers don't like to be pushed in to it, so I have toabide by the right time. Oh Yes, Vic Damone ispretty sure of tak ing, and so is Carrol Shelby, the In -dus tri al ist of Ford rac ing car. The fees will be$25.00 an hour strictly pri vate les sons - VicDamone is ar rang ing a five man group for me in Las Ve gas to teach (the first hour is $50.00 an hour). Vic is cur rently ap pear ing in Sands and this sucker isyell ing Gung Fu all over the place and Bill Jee to allhis friends." [Note: Bill Jee is a form of at tack de -signed for fin ger strikes.]

"By the way, I've bought a Chevy II Nova 1966,Linda's mother [Bruce's mother-in-law] helped usput the down pay ment. She is re ally nice about thewhole thing. As you know a car is in dis pens able,es pe cially here in Los An geles. Cur rently, I'm tak -ing act ing les son from a drama Coach, a Mr. JeffCory [sic, Corey]. This man is cred ited to be thebest in the movie in dus try. I be lieve 20th Cen turyFox is pay ing him like $70 an hour. I meet him for

around three times a week. It's in ter est ing be causethis Cat is very Zen-ish. I have my script with me -the Green Hor net and one scene in which Britt (theGreen Hor net) turned to Kato and yelled 'GungFu!!!' ---- Of Course Kato moves in and fin ishes thecrooks. The apart ment needs to be cleaned up yet -of course there is the iron ing --- and man like ev ery -thing -----

"I still re mem ber the 8mm movie which I will shootthe first chance I have --- like the Tai Kik (Tai Chi);the tech niques; and what ever you have inMindelheim & Kirchheim Write me about it. I'm tell -ing you! My old lady in Hong Kong is some thingelse! I've just writ ten her to rush her to rush thewooden dummy [used by Lee in train ing]. The rea -son is one of the sis ter of my fa ther died re cently.Still, the dummy should be here long time ago! Imean like it was com plete when I left Hong Kongand that was quite a time ago. Lucky you know meso well ---- other per son might think I did n't even or -der it.

"At any rate, drop me a line more of ten and let meknow how things are. If you have any ques tion re -gard ing Gung Fu - tech ni cal or administrational -feel free to ask. Take good care of your self." Af tersign ing, he adds, "P.S. If Tosh, Chris or John likesto drop me a line, give them my ad dress. When willChris [Kent] be com ing down this way again?"

Taky Kimura was 36 when he first met 18-year-oldBruce Lee in Se at tle in 1959. Kimura even tu ally be -came head in struc tor of Se at tle's Jun Fan Gung FuIn sti tute, Bruce Lee's first Gung Fu school. Kimurawas best man at Linda and Bruce Lee's wed ding in1964 and one of the pall bear ers at Bruce Lee's fu -neral nine years later.

It was not un til April 29, 1966, five weeks af ter thislet ter was writ ten, that ABC an nounced the sign ingof Van Wil liams to play the ti tle role in "The GreenHor net" (Britt Reid). Film ing of the se ries be gan onJune 6, 1966. It pre miered on ABC on Sep tem ber 9, 1966, and re views were not fa vor able. "The GreenHor net" was cancelled af ter one sea son, 26 ep i -sodes, be cause of its low rat ings par tially due, ac -cord ing to Bill Dozier, its pro ducer and nar ra tor, tothe suc cess of "Bat man" (aired 1966-1968) whichhis Greenway Pro duc tions also pro duced. "It maybe be cause we turned Bat man into a camp char ac -ter that peo ple re fuse to buy Green Hor net or any -one else in a mask, who is n't treated that way," saidDozier in an ar ti cle pub lished in the March 19, 1967edi tion of "The Los An geles Times." The last new

114 Dynasty Auctions Company Ltd. [email protected] Sale 2 -Aug. 6, 2011

Hong Kong: Bruce Lee Memorabilia



Ex 1001 (Page 1 of 3)

116 Dynasty Auctions Company Ltd. [email protected] Sale 2 - Aug. 6, 2011


Ex 1001 (Page 2 of 3)

ep i sode of "The Green Hor net" was tele vised on March 24, 1967. Pop u lar in Hong Kong, "The Green Hor net" wasknown as "The Kato Show."

Estimate HK$ 200,000 - 300,000

This letter is pictured and published, with commentary by Kimura, in "Regards from the Dragon Seattle" by TakyKimura, Compiled by David Tadman (Los Angeles: Empire Books LLC, 2009) on pages 60-63. In the foreword,Bruce's widow Linda and daughter Shannon describe Taky Kimura in a letter "using Bruce's voice to express histhoughts: Taky, I am grateful to you for your loyal friendship from the time I met you until I had to leave in 1973.You were my best friend because you were always real and genuine. No pretense, no guile, no ulterior purpose.Just genuine love, respect and appreciation between us…".



Ex 1001 (Page 3 of 4 - top portion only)

Long dark fur-lined Chinese costume jacket, circa 1973

1002 Coat worn by Bruce Lee. This dark blue fur-lined Chi nese-styled long jacket was cre ated and madefor Bruce Lee's up com ing movie "name unkown" he was to make af ter "En ter the Dragon." He wore the jacket to aphoto ses sion to test the cos tume dur ing a pre-pre-pro duc tion photo shoot prior to his un timely death.

Estimate HK$ 100,000 - 150,000

I have kept this jacket among his personal items that I received after his death in 1973. This is a very special relicrelated to my brother. Accompanying signed Certificate of Authenticity by Robert Lee, Bruce's brother.

118 Dynasty Auctions Company Ltd. [email protected] Sale 2 - Aug. 6, 2011


Bruce Lee Memorabilia, Framed

1003 A Stun ning Col lec tion! Bruce Lee'sad vice to the man ager of his first Jun Fan Gung FuIn sti tute on how to keep stu dents: “Write at leastone per sonal let ter ev ery two weeks to praise, ad -vise, ap pre ci ate his prog ress ---- [feed ing his ego]… in di rect praise to his as so ci ates & close friends [it will even tu ally go back to him]…”--- with BruceLee's per sonal call ing card and the unique re tainedcopy of the In sti tute's 1964 Busi ness Tax Quar terlyRe turn, and a pair of nunchucks, while these arenot Bruce Lee's they are of the ex act style and de -sign that he used in "En ter the Dragon", a rare se -lec tion of items, a stun ning group whichin di vid u ally would be of im por tance but are evenmore-stun ning as pre sented.

Estimate HK$ 100,000 - 150,000

Rare "Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute" studentmembership card signed by Bruce Lee

1004 Mem ber ship Card as Pres i dent withrare ALS send ing it to his friend and protégé,Taky Kimura, in Se at tle., Rare Au to graph Let terSigned “Bruce,” one page, 8.5” x 11”. N.p., n.d.(orig i nal en ve lope was post marked from CulverCity, Cal i for nia, Sep tem ber 11, 1967). In full, “Taky, Quar terly Card for Win ter (Sept. 21 - Dec. 21 1967)Fill in the rest with Type writer and sign your nameon (In struc tor) / Bruce.”

In cluded is an ex ceed ingly rare orig i nal 3.5" x 2.5"Jun Fan Gung Fu In sti tute “red stripe” stu dentmem ber ship card signed "Bruce Lee" as Pres i dent, not filled out. Bruce Lee's Chi nese name was LeeJun Fan. Ac cord ing to Kimura, only a few “redstripe” cards were signed by Lee. Bruce Lee's firstGung Fu school was in Se at tle. Kimura was Lee'sas sis tant in struc tor at Se at tle's Jun Fan Gung FuIn sti tute. Both letter and card are in fine condition.

Estimate HK$ 75,000 - 100,000

This item was sent to me by Bruce Lee after he left to live in Oakland, California. It is in excellentcondition and I verify they are authentic pieces ofBruce Lee history that have remained in mypossession for the last 45 years, separateCertificates of Authenticty each signed by TakyKimura, dear friend of Bruce Lee.



Bruce Lee owned and inscribed

1005 "Choy Lay Fut Kung Fu" book, circa1963, Book, “Six Road Short Fist” by Wu Zhi Ching,40 pages, 5” x 7.25”. Peo ple's Sports Pub lish ing:1958. In Chi nese. Soft cover. On the cover, abovethe ti tle, Bruce Lee has pen ciled “Tan Tui Sect” inChi nese. Tan Tui be longs to the fam ily of Chi nesemar tial arts known as Jiao Men or “Sect Fight ing.” Itorig i nated in the Hui (Mus lim) com mu nity of north -west China, one of the larger mi nor ity groups. Overthe cen tu ries, the Hui peo ple spread across Chinaand many great mas ters of many styles have beenHui. Estimate HK$ 70,000 - 90,000

Penned by Bruce Lee on the title page, in English,"The Six Forms from the darted foot Clan" is a long range Gung Fu. It is practiced and used to againstmore than one opponent, and is noted for itsspeed of foot work and the kicking technique.”Fine condition. Accompanied by a Certificate ofAuthenticity, one page, 8.5” x 11”, March 26, 2008, signed “Taky Kiruma.” In full, “Bruce Lee inscribedthis book in his own handwriting in ink. He writes abrief note how practical and important the martialarts style Choy Lay Fut is against multipleattackers, also known as the Fook [sic] Clan. Choy Lay Fut was investigated by Bruce almostconstantly, he had a real interest in learning themartial art. This book was given to me by BruceLee before he left to live in Oakland California foruse as an instructor in his Seattle school. It is inexcellent condition and I verify it is an authenticpiece of Bruce Lee history that has remained in my possession for the last 45 years.” Also on the COA is information about Kiruma: “I was a student of the martial arts master and legend, Bruce Lee. I knewBruce Lee from his early days in Seattle,Washington in 1960 to the time of his untimelypassing in 1973. We were very close friends, andas I developed as a martial artist, I eventuallyassumed the role as the head instructor of the JunFan Gung Fu Institute.” Kiruma was best man atLinda and Bruce Lee's wedding in 1964 and one of the pall bearers at Bruce Lee's funeral nine yearslater.



1005

1006 Ter rific Jun Fan Gung Fu In sti tuteGold stripe mem ber ship card, signed "BruceLee, Bruce Lee's Chi nese name was Lee Jun Fan.His first Gung Fu school was in Se at tle. The cardbears Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do logo in cor po rat ingthe ying/yang sym bol with his motto, “Us ing no wayas way, hav ing no lim i ta tion as lim i ta tion," in Chi -nese. Jeet Kune Do is the mar tial art con cept cre -ated by Bruce Lee. This signed card was sent byLee to Taky Kimura who was 36 when he had firstmet 18-year-old Bruce Lee in Se at tle in 1959.Kimura even tu ally be came head in struc tor of Se at -tle's Jun Fan Gung Fu In sti tute. Af ter he moved toCal i for nia in 1964, Lee would sign the cards andsend them to Kimura to fill out and dis trib ute tomem bers. Kimura was best man at Linda andBruce Lee's wed ding in 1964 and one of the pall -bear ers at Bruce Lee's funeral nine years later.

Estimate HK$ 40,000 - 50,000

Accompanied by Certificate of Authenticity fromTaky Kimura. In part, “I, Taky Kimura, state thatthis business card was given to me by the late andgreat Bruce Lee, my close friend andteacher…This…card is an original card…it hasbeen in my possession for 40 years.”.

1007 Rare early “Chi nese Gung Fu” In tro -duc tion Card! Printed Card, 3.5” x 2”. Printedacross the top “In tro duced by” with a dot ted line forthe in tro ducer to put his name. In the cen ter isBruce Lee's “ying/yang” sym bol in red and gold with “CHINESE GUNG FU” above it and “Philo soph i calArt of Self De fense” be low. In the lower left: “Pri vate Les sons / Group Les sons / Class Les sons.” At theright: “Phone.” Fine condition.

Estimate HK$ 10,000 - 12,000

“Chinese Gung Fu: The Philosophical Art ofSelf-Defense” (Oakland, California: Oriental BookSales, 1963) was Bruce Lee's first book. This cardmay date from 1963 when Bruce Lee opened hisfirst Gung Fu school in Seattle; in 1964, he opened his second Gung Fu school in Oakland.



1008 Jun Fan Gung Fu In sti tute Mem ber -ship Card signed twice by Bruce Lee with hischop mark stamp in di cat ing first rank, PrintedBook let, 2.5” x 3.5”, four pages, on pale bluecardstock. Bruce Lee's ying/yang sym bol in red and gold is in the up per cen ter. “Jun Fan Gung Fu In sti -tute” and “Mem ber ship Card” are printed in Eng lishand Chi nese. Fine con di tion.

On the sec ond page, the mem ber would fill in“Name” and “Ad dress” and signed next to “Sig na -ture.” The stone chop, or name stamp, with BruceLee's given Chi nese name (left of the de sign) wasplaced by Bruce Lee as his sig na ture above theword “(Pres i dent).” The trans la tion of the chopreads: “By the Name of Jun Fan Lee.”

The mem ber's num ber “0086” is stamped atop thethird page which is headed “Per ma nent / Mem ber /Rank.” There is room for eight chops. Bruce Leehas signed with his name chop in box “1” in di cat ingthe first rank. This card was never issued.

Estimate HK$ 7,000 - 8,000

While attending the University of Washington inSeattle, 1961-1963, Bruce Lee trained students inthe art of the Chinese Gung Fu. In 1963, heopened his first school, Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute, in Seattle. He later opened schools in Oakland(1964) and Los Angeles (1967).

1009 Jun Fan Gung Fu In sti tute Mem ber -ship Card signed twice by Bruce Lee with hischop mark stamp in di cat ing first rank., PrintedBook let, 2.5” x 3.5”, four pages, on pale bluecardstock. Bruce Lee's ying/yang sym bol in red and gold is in the up per cen ter. “Jun Fan Gung Fu In sti -tute” and “Mem ber ship Card” are printed in Eng lishand Chi nese. Fine con di tion.

On the sec ond page, the mem ber would fill in“Name” and “Ad dress” and signed next to “Sig na -ture.” The stone chop, or name stamp, with BruceLee's given Chi nese name (left of the de sign) wasplaced by Bruce Lee as his sig na ture above theword “(Pres i dent).” The trans la tion of the chopreads: “By the Name of Jun Fan Lee.”

The mem ber's num ber “0086” is stamped atop thethird page which is headed “Per ma nent / Mem ber /Rank.” There is room for eight chops. Bruce Leehas signed with his name chop in box “1” in di cat ingthe first rank. This card was never issued.

Estimate HK$ 7,000 - 8,000




1010 Bruce Lee's Name Card, PrintedCard, 3.5" x 2". At the left is Bruce Lee's Jeet KuneDo logo in cor po rat ing the ying/yang sym bol with his motto, "Us ing no way as way, hav ing no lim i ta tionas lim i ta tion", in Chi nese. "Bruce Lee" is printed inscript in the lower right.

Estimate HK$ 7,000 - 8,000

1011 Jun Fan Gung Fu In sti tute Rec om -men da tion Card signed by Bruce Lee with hischop mark stamp., Printed Card, 4” x 2.5”,rounded cor ners, on pale or ange pearl shim mercardstock. In the cen ter is Bruce Lee's Jeet KuneDo logo in cor po rat ing the ying/yang sym bol in redand gold, with his motto, “Us ing no way as way,hav ing no lim i ta tion as lim i ta tion,” in Chi nese. “JunFan Gung Fu In sti tute” is printed at the top in Eng -lish and Chi nese. His motto is printed in Eng lish be -neath the logo. Di ag o nal fold in blank up per rightcor ner. Small tear into the “s” of “As” at the loweredge. Fine con di tion.

On verso, the holder of the card would fill “Ad dressof In sti tute,” “Phone,” “Rec om mended by,” and“Re marks.” Stamped in the lower right by BruceLee. The stone chop, or name stamp, with BruceLee's given Chi nese name (left of the de sign) wasplaced by him on the cer tif i cates that he is sued tohis stu dents as well as other doc u ments and cor re -spon dence. The trans la tion of the chop reads: “Bythe Name of Jun Fan Lee.” Printed at the bot tomedge: “Please Bring This Card with You.” Ev ery -thing on this card was printed in English andChinese. Estimate HK$ 7,000 - 8,000




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1012 En ve lope ad dressed by Bruce Leefrom the “birth place of Jeet Kune Do” to hisbest friend, Taky Kimura, in Se at tle., Em bossed8¢ Air mail en ve lope, 9” x 4”. Ad dressed by BruceLee to “Mr. Taky Kimura / 908 - 8th Ave. / Se at tle 4,Wash.” Re turn ad dress penned by Lee in up per left: “3039 - Monticello Ave. / Oak land 19, Ca lif.” Post -marked Oak land, Cal i for nia, Jan u ary 31, 1966. En -ve lope torn open at right edge. Fine condition.

Estimate HK$ 2,400 - 3,600

January 12, 1966, the “Batman” television serieshad premiered. It was produced by William Dozierwho had told Bruce that if the show were a hit, hewould begin working on “The Green Hornet” forthe 1966-1967 season, with Bruce Lee as Kato.“Batman” was a ratings success and “The GreenHornet” premiered in September.

A photograph of a house in Volume 1 of GreglonYimm Lee and Sid Campbell's "The Dragon andthe Tiger: The Birth of Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do"(Berkeley, California: Frog Ltd., 2003) is captioned "The birthplace of Jeet Kune Do. James YimmLees home on 3039 Monticello Avenue inOakland, California. Bruce and Linda Lee livedhere for more than two years while they developed the concept of Jeet Kune Do.” When Bruceopened his second Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute inOakland in 1964, James Yimm Lee was his seniorinstructor.

1013 “Time” mag a zine of fer sent to col -lege stu dent Bruce Lee in Se at tle., Brown en ve -lope, 7.75” x 3.75”, type ad dressed by la bel to “MrBruce J Lee / 908 8th Ave / Se at tle 4, Wash” with“To The Par ents Of…” printed to the left of the la bel. - the ad dress was his friend Taky Kimura's ad dress. Re turn ad dress is “Time” mag a zine in Chi cago.Printed postal mark ings. Opened at back flap. Con -tents: Printed “Dear Par ents” let ter, 7.25” x 11”, with spe cial rates “For a son or daugh ter at col lege” anda 7” x 3.25” printed “Busi ness Re ply Mail” postcard.Fine condition. Estimate HK$ 800 - 1,000

Taky Kimura was 36 when he first met 18-year-oldBruce Lee in Seattle in 1959. Kimura eventuallybecame head instructor of Seattle's Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute, Bruce Lee's first Gung Fu school.Kimura was best man at Linda and Bruce Lee'swedding in 1964 and one of the pallbearers atBruce Lee's funeral nine years later.



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Hong Kong: Bruce Lee Memorabilia - dynastyauctions.net · Hong Kong: Bruce Lee Memorabilia Hong Kong's Most Famous Son - ... initially trained in Wing Chun, but he later rejected