Deja Vu: It’s Howdy Doody Time Again

Once, the phrase “It’s Howdy Doody time” signaled an idyllic half-hour of children’s television. Fifty years after America’s first visit to Doodyville, those same words have come to mean “Get out your checkbook.”

Vintage memorabilia from the classic kiddie show goes on the auction block this month, with everything on sale from an Air-O-Doodle Rocket Beanie (minimum bid $200) to an original Howdy marionette (minimum $5,000, expected to bring $25,000).

There’s already extraordinary interest in the auction of 104 Howdy collectibles, which Roger Muir, executive producer of the show, said reflects the show’s enduring legacy.

Leland’s of New York is in charge of the auction. Bids by phone and by mail will be accepted until 9 p.m. on Oct. 24, when the auction ends with no live bidding. The first day of bidding was Wednesday.