Fred Oman '56 is Bullish on Memorabilia

Entering the Dallas office of Frederick Oman without forewarning is like stepping into a well-furnished time warp. There are many-crannied rolltop desks crammed with mail, glass-domed stock tickers, old-time stockbrokers' cages and, on every wall and in every available space, there are valuable stock certificates, original advertisements from vintage magazines like Harper's Weekly, rare prints, and countless other items that only hint at the incredible collection of Wall Street memorabilia Oman houses in his workplace. As owner of The Investors Gallery, Fred Oman '56 has turned a penchant for collecting things past into a very modern-day business.

A vice president and institutional broker for Morgan, Olmstead, Kennedy, and Gardner, Oman says the concept for The Investors Gallery began taking shape in 1966, soon after he formed Investment Information, Inc., a Denver-based firm offering investment research, products, and services. While searching for new clients in banks, brokerage offices, and other financial institutions, Oman remembers, "I realized there was nothing on the walls that had anything to do with the stock market or Wall Street history." A self-confessed pack rat, Oman had started a personal collection of Wall Street memorabilia years before and felt that this was the time to dip into it: He began making gifts of the handsomely framed certificates and advertisements to prospective clients. So successful was this unusual approach to salesmanship that word of Oman's wares quickly spread, and soon brokerages and institutions were calling on him to supply items for awards and personal gifts, as well as for office furnishings.

Oman's move to Dallas in 1970 prompted his purchase and renovation of the old warehouse that is now The Investors Gallery. Located in a restored section of Dallas, the large brick building houses every conceivable kind of Wall Street paraphernalia, but it is primarily the signed stock certificates that have taken on the most value and comprise the market in which Oman finds himself faced with the most competition. Where he once was the primary source of these documents, Oman is now one of approximately 15 dealers across the country, a growth he credits in part to the recently-developed interest in American stock papers exhibited by European dealers.

Oman explains that stock certificates are collected for a variety of reasons, including their age, their affiliation, and their visual beauty, but that it is the signature itself that establishes greater worth. Along these lines, Oman has certificates signed by financial tycoons like J.P. Morgan and John D. Rocke- feller, as well as historical figures including Thomas Edison, Millard Fillmore, and Grover Cleveland the latter a certificate Oman believes to be one of a kind, and, at approximately $2,500, the most valuable of his current collection.

Despite the ever-increasing number of dealers to contend with, Oman says "business is good with the exception of the certificates, I have very little competition in the Wall Street area." Oman does all of his own buying for the gallery, and though he does some of it by mail and through other retail operations, he still spends a considerable amount of time scouting out Wall Street treasures in places that require some travel. "When I go on a trip, I always plan it so I can attend auctions and book fairs."

In addition to his stock market memorabilia, Oman is an ardent collector and profitable distributor of antique sports items. Captain of the golf team when at Darmouth, Oman has taken particular pleasure in gathering together antique golf clubs and ceramic golfing figures, as well as treasures from other sports. Though Oman does a small amount of retail business with his sports items, they are primarily used in golf and country clubs, offices, and in bars and restaurants. Clients can pick from an enormous display of old tennis rackets, from autoraphs by Bill Tilghman, Jack Kramer, and Hellen Wills Moody. "Well, you just have to see it all" is Oman's frequent statement. One celebrity to take him up on his offer was tennis star Pam Shriver, who recently visited Investors Gallery and "bought a ton of stuff."

A past president of the Dartmouth Club of Dallas and a frequent contributor of awards to Dartmouth sports teams, Oman, who majored in philosophy and religion at Dartmouth, remains active in alumni organ- izations. His son, Carl Oman, is a member of Dartmouth's class of '86, but, says his father, will most likely limit his fascination with things past to his major: art history.

That is fine with Oman. He describes how his home "looks sort of like a museum," how his wife, Mary Jane, "lives with it and works with it it's everywhere! You can really go collecting crazy!"

Fred Oman '56 decorates the walls of his Dallasoffice, and those of his many clients, with WallStreet memorabilia, vintage magazine advertise-ments, and rare prints.