The Atlanta Museum
James H. Elliott, Sr. -
Named the “The Confederate Millionaire” in this Life Magazine Article, 1953.
The collection known as the Atlanta Museum was started by James H. Elliott, Sr. (l892-l975) in the late l920's. Jim, Sr. started his career as a pioneer aviator in l9l9. He rented the Candler race track and the north end of the field at Hapeville, Ga. for a landing field from Asa Candler, Jr. He borrowed a road scraper from the city of East Point, hired mules to pull it and also hired several men to help - this created a landing field of approximately two and a half acres. He purchased a new J.N.4-D plane with an OX-5 motor for $5,000 from a dealer in Montgomery, AL. and began taking passengers up to see Atlanta and the surrounding country. There were many close calls and minor accidents and once he over-shot the field and ran into the embankment of the race track. In l920, his younger brother, Bob Elliott, went into business with him. They purchased a Curtiss Oriole 3-passenger plane with a self starter. A large WWI Army Hanger was purchased to protect the plane and store gasoline. Jim went into the extra business of selling planes and he staged several air shows. Mable Cody would wing walk between planes while Bob Elliott piloted one of them. Barney Rowe jumped from Jim's plane with a parachute from approximately 2 thousand feet. Finally, on a trip back to Atlanta from north Georgia, the plane ran out of gas and crashed. Mr. Elliott was badly hurt and was in the hospital for months. After recovering he continued flying passengers until l923 when he decided to go into the antique business.
Being a dealer was truly in its infancy here and he went to England and Europe many times to buy. He later decided that he could find wonderful things here in the States and he stopped going overseas about l935. His friends and family jokingly called him "Jim the Junkman". He operated out of space in the Biltmore Hotel and then moved to Peachtree St. to a home that stood where the Earlanger Theatre was later built. He moved to the R. M. Rose house at 537 Peachtree St. in l945. Mr. Elliott began to appraise estates and homes as well as dealing in antiques. He met all the early dealers in this country. The showman in him was never far below the surface and in the early 30's he finally opened his museum at 16 1/2 Walton St. where it remained until l945 when it was moved to the R. M. Rose house. He also ran a museum at Indian Springs, Ga. in the McIntosh home and he bought the contents of the Crane House at Jekyll Island, Ga. and ran that home as a museum until it was bought by the State of Georgia. He never tired of meeting people and talking with them - and finding out if they had anything rare and unusual to sell. Mr. Elliott was written up in Life Magazine as "the Confederate Millionaire" because he purchased so much Confederate money.
James H. Elliott, Jr. was born in l929 and he began going with his father to search out items and help with appraisals when he was 8 or 9 years old. He worked with his father until Jim, Sr. died and then he continued the business until his own death in l998. He became one of the most respected appraisers in the United States. He kept the Museum collection virtually the same collection Jim, Sr. amassed from l938 until the last showing in l996. Truly "something for everyone" to see.
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