Chance meetings with the world's greatest athletes or entertainment personalities are few and far between for most, but at Gartlan USA, the company provides the next best thing: limited-edition, autographed collectibles featuring the biggest names in the sports and entertainment galaxies. Such collectibles include, but are not limited to: collector plates, figurines, lithographs, canvass transfers, baseballs, ceramic trading cards and much, much more.

The company was founded in May 1985, by Robert Gartlan; a bit of Gartlan's own history yields incredible insight to the company's quality and grit -- grit in bringing the big names to us little people. No small fete in today's world of top-priced entertainment and multi-million dollar contracts.

But Gartlan gets it done.

Originally from Springfield, NJ, Gartlan was a stand-out high school baseball player, earning All-State honors. As a catcher in his junior year, he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves. Deferring instead to attain a college degree, he graduated from Springfield's Jonathan Dayton Regional High School in 1967 and attended Belhaven College, Jackson, MS, on a full baseball scholarship. Having lost interest in professional baseball and vice versa - "Actually, my knees gave out," Gartlan says - he accepted a sales position with Great Britain's Royal Doulton, a china and giftware manufacturer.

During an 11-year span with Royal Doulton, Gartlan traveled the country -- learning what collectors' wanted, and as importantly, what they didn't want. He serviced Texas, California, New Jersey, back to California and ultimately as Marketing Director out of New Jersey, Gartlan returned to California, leaving Royal Doulton to become Vice President of Hackett American in 1982.

Hackett American, a Huntington Beach ceramics concern, is credited with creating the first limited-edition sports collector's plate. Gartlan says, "I proposed the idea to Reggie Jackson. His response? 'What is this, kid? A big button?'" Eventually sold on the concept, Jackson autographed the plates and Gartlan, marketing for Hackett American, began pedaling the products. A Steve Garvey program ensued and soon a host of other athletes signed aboard, but the programs proved precocious, and Gartlan left Hackett American for Armstrong's, a Pomona, CA supplier to the gift and collectibles industry.

There, Gartlan began coordinating a ceramic baseball card program with several athletes, including Pete Rose. Baseball History Launches Company Business differences stimulated Gartlan to fulfill a lifelong dream - opening his own enterprise in 1985. In anticipation of Pete Rose becoming baseball's all-time hit king, breaking Ty Cobb's career mark of 4192 hits, Gartlan produced a series of limited-edition collectibles, including a personally autographed figurine, collector's plate, the first ceramic card ever produced, signed and unsigned, and a ceramic plaque.

Contacting retail outlets familiar with Gartlan's background at Royal Doulton, he built initial sales, albeit slowly. During the course of the next two years, revenue was reinvested into subsequent programs with Roger Staubach, Reggie Jackson, George Brett, Mike Schmidt and more. Today, those first Pete Rose pieces trade for more than 1,600 percent above their initial retail price -- a trend easily recognized among all Gartlan USA signed figurines, plates, and prints.

The business continued gaining momentum with the introduction of such superstars as Johnny Bench, Carl Yastrzemski, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wayne Gretzky, John Wooden, Ted Williams, Steve Carlton, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Luis Aparicio, Johnny Bench, and many more through February 1995. It was in 1995 that the company embarked on a parallel, yet exciting new enterprise: the entertainment arena. Gartlan USA had become premiere among all limited edition sports collectibles brands and companies. Its image was, and is, unparalleled in the sports marketing industry -- having commemorated more than 40 of the greatest athletes on the planet.

Now that image expands well beyond the arenas and fields of athletic endeavor, "We knew that if our concept worked in sports,'' Gartlan says in his trademarked understated style, "it was destined for even bigger success in the entertainment industry." Initial entertainment introductions have included Jerry Mathers, the title character from the 1950s and '60s hit television series, "Leave It To Beaver," and The Beatles' Ringo Starr. "Our Mathers product has enjoyed tremendous momentum at the announcement of MCA/Universal's motion picture celebrating the television series' debut 40 years ago. Music Appreciation: Who's Bigger than The Beatles? ``And who's bigger than the Beatles?'' Gartlan quips. "Ringo's product has received tremendous response. It's the first program ever featuring autographed collectibles from the most popular and influential recording artists of our lives."

The company has announced a new program for 1998 featuring the artwork of John Lennon himself captured on limited-edition collectors' plates, as well as a series of figurines and collector plates featuring the late singer/songwriter/peace activist. Proceeds from all the Lennon products benefit John and Yoko Ono's Spirit Foundation. ``The Lennon project is particularly exciting because not only do we get the chance to develop funds for a worthy cause, but pewter figurines will include embedded metal from melted hand guns, which were originally confiscated from criminals or voluntarily surrendered to law enforcement officials,'' Gartlan says. The company has also endeared itself to Dead Heads and recruits in the KISS Army.

New projects featuring Jerry Garcia and the rock band KISS have furthered elevated the company throughout the entire entertainment industry. The Jerry Garcia collection captures the essence of the Grateful Dead's leader and driving creative force. More than just an accomplished musician, however, Jerry's own artwork has developed a home among avid collectors. "Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to introduce a Jerry Garcia before his untimely death in 1995,'' Gartlan laments. "This is the first project the company has developed posthumously. It is also the first such collection Garcia's estate has ever approved.'' Personalities' Involvement Comprises More tan Just Autographs Much of the detail and quality inherent in Gartlan USA product is a function of working closely with the family, friends, associates of its subjects and the personalities themselves.

Such was the case with the Garcia project. Garcia's widow, Deborah Koons Garcia was instrumental in the art direction on the plates -- a unique blend of charcoal study and integrated water color and oil. She also wrote the back stamp copy for the collector's plate. The same was true with the Ringo Collection and the KISS program. ``During the plate signing for Ringo's limited series of collector's plates,'' Gartlan recalls, "we discussed the design for a Christmas ornament featuring his likeness. "After discussing the intricacies of a second edition, he took a pen and sketched the concept on the table cloth where we were signing,'' Gartlan says.

Today that piece of cloth, and the signatures of those in attendance at the historical autograph session, hangs in Gartlan USA's New Jersey corporate offices. In the case of KISS, guitarist Paul Stanley, himself an artist by vocation and training, took time from the band's record-setting 1996-'97 world tour to sit down with members of the Gartlan USA development team and provide insight, direction and constructive criticism that elevated the nuances of this exciting collection.

The KISS Kollection includes personally hand signed figurines and collector plates by the original members of the band -- Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons.

And the KISS Kollection exemplifies why new and long-time Gartlan USA collectors' find the company's products of impeccable value. Specifically, there are incredible rewards in the company's products: Actual hand autographs. When the company pitches its products as personally autographed, a collector can rest assured that, as in the KISS product, each member of the band sat and autographed all 1,000 of the collector plates in the collection. (Which, by the way, represents the first time any plate has featured four personal autographs.) Limited Editions. Gartlan USA's editions are strict sizes. The company does not employ such techniques as firing days, or other nebulous editions. It declares the edition size of any item and then hand numbers the series to ensure authenticity Certification. Gartlan USA certifies its plates on the back stamps and its figurines with additional accompanying certificates of authenticity. But there is more behind the authenticity of Gartlan USA collections. The company's intricate licensing relationships and review processes, including its own development team, the actual personality, a licensing agent, leagues (when appropriate) and other individuals, ensures the accuracy and detail in each Gartlan USA piece. Company Orchestrates New Products, Too.

Moreover, one of the fun new items in the KISS Kollection is the KISS Kommemorative Baseball. The pad-printed faces of the four band members and foil stamped KISS logo stand out on the black and silver panels of this unique product. "The KISS baseball is a nice hybrid of our sports past and our entertainment future,'' Gartlan says. "We have been amazed how popular this item has become...almost taking on a life of its own.'' The baseball notwithstanding, clearly the company's most exciting area of new product development features its personality Christmas Ornaments. "Our first ornament introduction, which was a 1996 annual featuring Ringo Starr in our Crystalline process, sold out before we even received our factory orders,'' Gartlan says. Gartlan says he anticipates the same type of performance for 1997's Jerry Garcia ornament. Gartlan USA's "New" Collectors' League Offers New Products, Benefits Alike Created by the demand for its autographed items, Gartlan USA launched in 1989 its Collectors' League.

Today the league enjoys membership worldwide; it has brought Gartlan USA collectors around the globe exclusive new pieces for its duration. Most recently, it featured the 1997 members-only figurine: a Bath Silver Ringo Starr miniature figurine. Measuring approximately four inches, the figurine is the first in a series of Bath Silver figurines and portrays Ringo's famous Abbey Road crossing. In addition to such special members-only pieces, every member gets a free 8 1/8'' collectors plate when they join. The 1997 gift features a charcoal study of Grateful Dead's own Jerry Garcia. Crafted by noted Gartlan USA artist Michael J. Taylor, the study is offset by a blue wash background, emblematic of his musical diversity. "Processes like cold-cast Crystalline and Bath Silver combined with such new products as Christmas Ornaments, provide collectors incredible opportunities to recall and appreciate, on a daily basis, the enjoyment athletes and musicians have provided them and, now, their collections,'' Gartlan says.

And that's Gartlan, and Gartlan USA for you, always thinking about the collectors...and, of course, how to make more history for collecting.