CGC-certified Video Games from William Selander Collection Featured in a Series of Heritage Sales

The William Selander Collection is one of the finest collections of 8-bit video games known. Assembled by William Selander in the 1970s and 1980s, this collection boasts an impressive catalog of obscure and rare third-party Atari, ColecoVision and Intellivision titles. Dozens of these games were available for sale in Heritage Auctions’ Pioneers of Home Console Video Games Showcase Auction, and more are being offered later this year.

Among the top highlights of the October 3 Heritage sale were:

• a sealed Mario Bros. for the Atari 2600 graded CGC 9.2 A+ (lot 80037), which realized $13,750
• an unopened Tapper for the Atari 2600 graded CGC 9.2 (lot 80076), which realized $3,250
• a sealed Q*bert’s Qubes for ColecoVision graded CGC 9.8 A++ (lot 80106), which realized $1,937.50
• an unopened non-sealed Gust Buster for ColecoVision graded CGC 9.4 (lot 80098), which realized $1,875

William Selander was a bookseller by trade. In 1979, he founded THE ASSOCIATES Rare Books, a Washington, D.C.-based bookstore. Selander specialized in modern literary first editions as well as hard-to-find books on American popular culture and the Vietnam War. He became a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers of America in 1983, helped to publish various catalogs about rare books, exhibited at book fairs throughout the northeastern United States and sustained partnerships with numerous university libraries.

Books were not the only thing William Selander was passionate about. He was also an avid arcade enthusiast. According to his wife, family trips to Pizza Hut always began with a few rounds of table-top Pong before ordering. At one point, Selander purchased a full-size cabinet of Tempest, one of his favorite games. Arcades and video gaming were at the forefront of pop culture at the time, and it is understandable that this scholar of cultural movements took a keen and active interest in them.

When Atari released its Video Computer System (VCS) in 1977, Selander immediately purchased one. Over the next few years, he amassed a sizeable collection that comprised hundreds of games and expanded beyond the Atari VCS to include other 8-bit consoles like ColecoVision and Intellivision.  The collection grew further after 1985, when Selander purchased the new Nintendo Entertainment System. However, the core of the collection was the impressive assortment of 8-bit games.

A distinguishing characteristic of the collection is the variety of retail store stickers affixed to many of the games. This indicates that Selander personally shopped for many of these titles himself. Some of the most recognizable stores are represented, including Electronics Boutique, Lionel and Montgomery Ward. There are also many games that originated from Kay-Bee Toys, demonstrated by both Kay-Bee price stickers and stamps shaped like the Kay-Bee toy soldier logo.

Selander’s affection for obscure publishers transferred from his book dealing to his video game collecting. The bulk of his game collection consisted of titles from less-known third-party publishers. Companies such as Apollo, CBS Games, Panda, SpectraVision, Telesys, Tigervision, Xonox and Zimag are well represented. These companies often had smaller catalogs than other, more-well-known third-party publishers such as Activision or Parker Brothers, and their games remain some of the rarest in 8-bit collecting.

Several of these games are among the first to be professionally certified by any grading company, while others have extremely low population numbers. Some of the Atari standouts include Miner 2049er, Miner 2049er Volume II, Springer, Spy Hunter and Star Wars: The Arcade Game. There are also nice examples of Swordquest: EarthWorld and Swordquest: FireWorld, both of which feature stickers for the Swordquest Challenge, one of the earliest national eSports competitions. Other prominent titles include Q*bert’s Qubes for ColecoVision and River Raid for the Intellivision.

What makes the William Selander Collection so remarkable is the condition. Many of the games remain brand-new and unused. A large number of the games were never sealed at the factory, and CGC experts have confirmed that many are unopened. There is also a large amount that are factory sealed with near perfect plastic wrap. Of the 157 games from the collection currently certified by CGC Video Games, nearly 85% of them received a grade of CGC 9.0 or higher, with the average grade being 9.2. Similarly, nearly 85% of the factory-sealed games have a seal grade of A++.

It is unlikely another 8-bit collection like that of William Selander’s will be discovered any time soon. The list of hard-to-find titles is nearly unparalleled and the preservation of the games’ condition over nearly 50 years is a testament to the collection’s uniqueness. The William Selander Collection is without a doubt one of the finest collections yet certified.

More games from this collection will be offered in upcoming auctions, including a sealed Frogger for Atari 2600 graded CGC 9.9 in Heritage Auctions’ Video Games Signature Auction on November 22-23, 2024. Some other CGC-certified video games from the William Selander Collection offered in upcoming Heritage Auctions sales include:
 

• an unopened Carnival for the Atari 2600 graded CGC 9.4 in Auction 312447 on November 12
• a sealed Wizard of Wor for the Atari 2600 graded CGC 9.4 A++ in Auction 312447 on November 12
• an unopened Space Fury for ColecoVision graded CGC 9.4 in Auction 312447 on November 12
• an unopened Backgammon for the Atari 2600 graded CGC 9.4 in Auction 312448 on November 19
• a sealed Mission X for Intellivision graded CGC 9.6 A++ in Auction 312448 on November 19
• an unopened Deadly Duck for the Atari 2600 graded CGC 9.4 in Auction 312448 on November 19