A native of Puerto Rico, David moved to Chicago in 1993 to attend Prairie State College and the University of Illinois at Chicago. He moved to San Francisco in 1998 to continue his studies when he decided to apply for a summer Firearms position with Butterfield and Butterfield. He has remained in the auction business since. David travels extensively, representing Heritage at numerous gun shows throughout the country. He specializes in early Spanish Miquelet firearms along with his broad general knowledge of firearms and Latin America-related collectibles, including Mexican 50 pesos, Spanish-American War memorabilia and Roberto Clemente baseball cards.

Jemison Beshears, who received Masters’ Degrees in Graphic Design and Maritime Archaeology from San Francisco State and East Carolina University, brings 15 years of professional experience to his role as Antiques Firearms Specialist. He was part of the Arms & Armor department at Butterfield & Butterfield, before joining Greg Martin Auctions and coming with the Martin team when it joined Heritage in the spring of 2011.

Roger received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from San Jose State. He brings 40 years experience with sporting guns and 15 years of professional experience with three different auction houses to his position in the Heritage Firearms category, specializing in high grade shotguns and rifles. Roger has developed specialized and unique catalog descriptions that emphasize the technical aspects of high grade shotguns and has published a number of articles in Double Gun Journal and Shooting Sportsman. With David Baker he has written and published the book: PARADOX, The Story of G.V. Fosbery, Holland & Holland and the Paradox, a 12-year comprehensive study of the inventor and the revolutionary ball and shot gun made by Holland & Holland.

James (Jim) Walker has been intimately involved with mineral specimens ever since he first put one in his toothless little mouth.  When not building Tesla coils, zip guns, and proving that even small rockets can go through a garage roof, Jim led bicycle expeditions to explore local mines and places where cool rocks could be found.  He still has some of them. A caver, rock climber and surfer since the early Sixties, Jim has had an intimate relationship with various aspects of Natural History: everything from researching, extracting, preparing, and marketing.  Ultimately, this has led to a business devoted to finding and sharing the wonders of the natural world.  In order to do so, Jim has searched museum collections and databases for information about obscure mineral & fossil localities and subsequently recovered specimens from such forgotten places, sometimes having to battle hostile wildlife and hazardous conditions to do so.  

Jim has been a core member of institutional expeditions to recover specimens from restricted areas and, for variety, operated a commercial fossil quarry in Wyoming.  Jim has been a Natural History provider/consultant for over 30 years, handling a broad range of items including: fine minerals, fossils, meteorites, exotic gemstones and lapidary objects.  This experience base has led to consulting positions with a number of museums, auction houses, and private clients.  Jim is a member of a number of geologically related societies as well as ones having nothing to do with Natural History – he is interested in everything.

Don worked as an antique dealer in Ridgefield, Connecticut in the late 1970s  and issued mail auction catalogs of Americana in the late 1990s. He was a founder and president of The Association for the Preservation of Political Americana which operated for close to ten years and has maintained continuous membership in the American Political Items Collectors since 1964. In 1995, he helped found “The Rail Splitter”, a hobbyist organization for Lincoln collectors which issues quarterly journals and periodic auctions. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief.  He has written dozens of articles on American political history and collectibles which have appeared in a variety of publications. He helped organize  three public exhibits:  the Dr. John Lattimer Collection at the Metropolitan Book Exchange 1995, Grant memorabilia at the Re-Dedication of Grant’s Tomb 1997, and the bicentennial “Abraham Lincoln in New York” at Federal Hall.

Mary Fong/Walker earned her B.S. at Cal State Long Beach, and went on to obtain her MBA from UCLA.  But at the same time, she and her husband Jim decided to start their own business: selling mineral specimens from around the world to collectors and museums.  Eventually she retired from corporate America to work in the Natural History field full time.  She developed expertise in evaluating mineral specimens; became an expert in fossil preparation and restoration; and designed jewelry emphasizing rare and exotic gemstones.

Mary helped found Discovery Store: premiere nature stores that showcased fine mineral & fossil specimens, gemstone jewelry, and a multitude of natural history & nature related gift items.  Based upon that, and a long involvement with Natural History in general, Mary and Jim became Natural History consultants to a variety of museums, auction houses, and clients.  Over the years, she has worked side-by-side with Jim, participating in most of the adventures except for when he rappels into abandoned mine shafts in the search for exotic minerals (she’s also not fond of double-overhead waves either).

Mary is a Director of the Fallbrook Gem & Mineral Society, which seeks to expose children and adults to the wonders of fine minerals, fossils and gemstones, thereby broadening their knowledge of the associated geosciences.

Craig Kissick began his love affair with minerals early in life when he was given a mineral specimen and a book about minerals at age nine.  After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, he worked for two years in the financial industry then got a Master of Business Administration degree from Southern Methodist University.  He then went to work for The Discovery Store and headed their Geology Department for five years.  He later started his own company specializing in marketing fine mineral and fossil specimens to both the architectural and interior design communities as well as to individual collectors.  Craig is currently a member of the Retail Advisory Committee for the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas and is an active member of the Dallas Paleontological Society.  He has attended numerous gem and mineral shows over the years and has an intimate knowledge of the mineral community.  Craig is looking forward to helping develop the signature Fine Minerals Department for Heritage Auctions with Directors Jim and Mary Walker who are spearheading the new department.