Joe Maddalena of Profiles in History has joined Heritage
- by Bruce E. McKinney
Joe Maddalena has joined Heritage
Heritage’s news release explains it this way:
“Joe Maddalena, the founder and CEO of Profiles in History, has joined Heritage in the role of Executive Vice President. When Joe reached out to us to explore the possibility of working with us at Heritage, we were immediately excited by the potential to enlist this talented former rival as our new colleague.”
The auction business has been seeing significant change as changing tastes, Covid-19 and internet efficiencies have been turning a very traditional field into a quite different experience for buyers and sellers. Welcome to the new world. Many auction houses are thriving but the costs to stay up-to-date, with what is becoming principally a software experience, will thin the ranks of the leaders. Many Profiles in History sales were highly important and Mr. Maddalena’s contributions in particular created the Hollywood/Entertainment category. He’s a significant addition to Heritage’s already formidable resources.
How and whether Mr. Maddalena’s team at Profiles in History at Calabasas, in California will be integrated into Heritage’s plans remained to be clarified.
Heritage is becoming dominant in its many categories and has offices today in Dallas, New York, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong.
I’m sharing with you the announcement provided by Jim Halperin, Co-Chairman of Heritage Auctions:
Dear Bruce,
Nearly forty years ago, as two rivals in the rare coin business, Steve Ivy and I joined together to form Heritage. Drawing on the strength found in our different approaches to the same business, the energy we once expended in competition as rivals was quickly applied to creating an innovative auction experience for our clients. Ever since that initial partnership, we have applied the same principles to unlock the same potential: finding and developing colleagues and allies who possess a collector's passion in order to help us build Heritage into the best possible resource for collectors.
Since that time, Heritage Auctions has grown to become the third largest auction house in the world. As we've grown and developed new categories, we've done so under this guiding principle, always confident that the best possible results come from those who value relationships and who understand our business as collectors. Along the way, we have turned rivals into trusted colleagues and alliances across categories, from coins and currency, to comics and comic art, to historical memorabilia, to movie posters. Each of these new opportunities has brought not only new categories and expertise to Heritage but also more innovation across the company.
We are excited to announce that Joe Maddalena, the founder and CEO of Profiles in History, has joined us at Heritage Auctions in the role of Executive Vice President. When Joe reached out to us to explore the possibility of working with us at Heritage, we were immediately excited by the potential to enlist this talented former rival as our newest colleague. Throughout his thirty-five years at Profiles in History, Joe has demonstrated an infectious curiosity and passion for all kinds of entertainment, historical, and popular culture memorabilia. Joe has often been among the first to highlight new and emerging areas of collecting and is eager to grow the collecting community by sharing his knowledge, insights and discoveries with a broader audience.
Most of all, Joe will now be an invaluable addition to our team and resource to both bidders and consignors as we continue to innovate the auction marketplace and bring a better auction experience to our clients.
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Book of Hours.- Heures de nostre dame a l'usaige de Romme, Paris, Antoine Chappiel pour Germain Hardouin, [1504]. £6,000-8,000
Forum, May 28: Colonna (Francesco). La Hypnerotomachia di Poliphilo, second edition, Venice, Sons of Aldus Manutius, 1545. £15,000-20,000
Forum, May 28:The Christ Child holding a crystal orb and surrounded by banderoles with devotional exhortations, on a leaf most probably from a Book of Hours, [Southern Netherlands, last decades of the fifteenth century]. £2,000-3,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Jackson (Shirley). The Haunting of Hill House, first English edition, signed presentation inscription from the author to Claude Fredericks, 1960. £2,000-3,000
Forum, May 28: Lennon (John). In His Own Write, first edition, first impression, signed by the author, 1964. £3,000-4,000
Forum, May 28: Doves Press.- Keats (John). [Poems], one of 200 copies on paper, Doves Press, 1914. £5,000-7,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Rodrigues (João Barbosa). Sertum Palmarum Brasiliensium, 2 vol., first and only edition, Brussels, 1903. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Newton (Sir Isaac). Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica…editio ultima, auctior et emendatior, Amsterdam, Sumptibus Societatis, 1714. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Kepler (Johannes). Ad Vitellionem paralipomena, wuibus astronomiae pars optica traditur, first edition, Frankfurt am Main, 1604. £5,000-7,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Tagliacozzi (Gaspare). De Curtorum Chirurgia per insitionem, libri duo, first edition, Venice, Gasparo Bindoni, 1597. £7,000-10,000
Forum, May 28: Lootsman (Jacobsz). The Lightning Colomne, or Sea-Mirrour, containing the Sea-Coasts of the Northern, Eastern and Western Navigation..., 1670. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Ribelles y Helip (José), Attributed to. An album comprising 33 finely executed watercolours of Spanish costume, bull-fighting scenes, and other genre subjects, [circa 1830]. £10,000-15,000
