On Sept. 21, an art gallery in Cleveland, Ohio, is set to auction off items from the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s former corporate headquarters, which were, until recently, located down the road in Akron. It's a significant auction event that will draw people from around the world interested in cartography, art and even some odd bits of western Americana.

Cartography headlines the auction
While there are a number of items that will garner strong interest among the many bidders expected to attend, Goodyear's collection of maps will probably be the highlight of the auction. Featuring antique maps from world locales as exotic as The Maltese Islands to more common, yet beautiful drawings of France and the British Isles, the auction is full of cartographic classics dating back to the 17th century.

"The Goodyear collection of maps demonstrates the finest in antique cartography, both in artistry and in methodology," the art gallery said in a press release. "Curated by the late Janet Schirn of Chicago with researchers from the British Museum, the University of Leyden, and the Bibliotheque Nationale, the collection documents the ever-changing views of the world during the age of discovery and into the industrial age, from the 17th through the 20th centuries."

More than just maps
Of course, maps aren't the only thing on the block. There will also be beautiful pieces of antique advertising for Goodyear products, artwork by American illustrator Dean Cornwell and oil paintings by John Clymer. And those are just some of the items that make up an esoteric array of auctionable goods.

Office accoutrements from the corporate headquarters, many of which date back decades, will be available. Jars, vases and other artwork from around the world, including a set of Maori wood carvings, will also be up for sale, along with a staggeringly large collection of dolls and figurines.

Odds and ends
Maps, art and kitsch might make up the bulk of the sale, but there is one iem – or rather, a set of four items – that should be especially appealing to anyone with an interest in odd Americana. Standing out in the midst of this art, antiques and collectibles auction are four shadow-boxed stuffed squirrels mounted in different boxing positions. Each one represents a different round of the match, with one squirrel gradually pummeling and ultimately knocking out his opponent in the final round.

iCollector.com is the online hub for everything from jewelry to necessities for coin collecting to odd items you can't find anywhere else, even if your tastes run to things like pugilistic squirrels.