If you could believe Al Capone's business card, he was a secondhand furniture dealer, not the most bloodthirsty gangster in Chicago's history.

Capone did, in fact, stock a storefront on South Wabash Avenue with junk in the 1920s. But he never sold any of it, and if you called to find out store hours you most likely heard, "We ain't open today."

The place was a perfect cover for Capone's seedy activities which grew to include smuggling, brothels, bootlegging, horse and race tracks, nightclubs and general gun-slinging.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Capone began his career there before moving to Chicago and heading up what was called the "Chicago Outfit" during the Prohibition era.

Capone was often trailed by gunmen. One winter afternoon Capone's chauffeur, Sylvester Barton, drove him and two bodyguards to a restaurant at State and 55th Street.

Capone stepped out of the car and into the restaurant just as a black limousine drove slowly by. Clutching shotguns and automatics the sharpshooters inside the limo let loose, flooding Capone's vehicle with bullets.

"They let it have everything but the kitchen sink," a policeman later said. The bodyguards ducked in time, but the chauffeur took a bullet in the back. He later recovered.

That was all Capone had to see. At the cost of $30,000, he ordered a custom-built Cadillac sedan. As you might expect it wasn't any ordinary Cadillac.

The car doors in Capone's car were reinforced with quarter-inch steel armor and bulletproof window glass. The side windows had round ports cut into them that weren't designed for ventilation. Under the dashboard and above the front passenger seat rested a police band radio. Behind the rear seat was a gun compartment.

Capone's new vehicle was a mobile arms depot. He also rarely traveled, even for a few blocks, without a small scout car in front and a touring car behind full of armed men. When Capone crossed the street, bodyguards two or three deep on all sides moved with him.

Many attempts were made on Capone's life, but none succeeded. He was never tried for most of his crimes. In 1931, Capone was indicted for income tax evasion, failure to file tax returns and conspiracy to violate Prohibition laws from 1922-31. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

A complex character, Capone was known for killing men with his bare hands. He was also the first person to open soup kitchens in Chicago after the 1929 stock market crash. He ordered merchants to give clothes and food to people in need at his expense, too.

Capone's 1930 Cadillac Series 452 V-16 armored Imperial Sedan is probably the most modified and detailed Cadillac of its kind. It went up for sale on Aug. 14 at Bonham's auction house in a sale held at Quail Lodge in Carmel, California.

The Cadillac sold for $309,500 in the Motorcars and Automobilia auction. The car was based on a seven-passenger Imperial Sedan by Fleetwood. Here are current values for other vehicles in the auction that had a celebrity connection:

• Diet guru Jenny Craig's 1979 Clenet Series1 Roadster, classically styled, $17,550.
• Cowboy star Tom Mix's 1937 Cord 812 Supercharged Phaeton, a quintessential Art Deco design, $155,500.
• Frank Sinatra's 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, the superlative automobile of the 1950s, a coach-built luxury car, $117,000.
• Dean Martin's 1962 Ghia L6.4 Coupe, $117,000.
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt's campaign parade car used for appearances around Los Angeles, a 1935 Lincoln Model K V-12 Phaeton, $348,000.
• Hopalong Cassidy's 1933 Duesenberg Model J Torpedo Convertible Victoria, $1,437,000.

Rosemary McKittrick has provided information and analysis on thousands of antiques and collectibles sold at auction since her LiveAuctionTalk column started 18 years ago. She received her training in the trenches, as a professional appraiser. Visit her Web site at www.liveauctiontalk.com.

A cowboy rode into the show arena just ahead of the sharpshooter tossing small glass balls into the air. A short, slender woman rode in after him. She aimed her rifle and shattered all three balls from a horse that never slowed down.

Every seat in the house was filled and the crowd exploded. The star of Buffalo Bill's 1885 Wild West Show was in rare form and that was only the beginning of her act.

"Ladies and gentleman, Miss Annie Oakley, the little girl of the Western Plains," the ringmaster yelled.

Part of Annie's act included, George, her standard poodle. The dog sat patiently on a pedestal with an apple on his head, as his master shot it off his head. At the end of the performance, the poodle took a bow along with Annie.

Born to entertain, the room shifted when Annie rode into it. Her personality filled the arena like electricity and she was only five feet tall and about 110 pounds.

When Buffalo Bill brought Annie to the mess tent and introduced her to the other members of his Wild West Show for the first time he said, "This little missie, here, is Miss Annie Oakley. She is to be the only white woman with our exhibition. And I want you boys to welcome and protect her."

"Li'l Missie," as Cody called her, didn't need protecting. She could take care of herself better than most men. She could also handle a gun better than most men and even sew her own costumes.

Audiences watched in amazement as the Wild West star shot the cork off a bottle, the flame off a candle and the ash off a lit cigarette. One her most famous stunts included aiming at a target in the mirror and nailing it without ever turning around.

"I would like to see every woman know how to handle (firearms) as naturally as they know how to handle babies," she said. Annie encouraged women to learn how to defend themselves. She also believed women should have the right to fight for their country if they chose to.

Annie was a trailblazer at the turn-of-the-century, succeeding in a job usually done by males. In doing so she raised the sights of women worldwide and became the most famous woman of the American West.

For 17 years she traveled off an on with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

"Her entrance was always a very pretty one," said Dexter Fellow, a press agent for the show. "She never walked. She (skipped) in, bowing, waving, and wafting kisses. Her first few shots brought forth a few screams of fright from the women, but they were soon lost in round after round of applause."

It wasn't possible to really relive the early frontier days. If the truth be told, most of the people who lived though it wouldn't want to. But Buffalo Bill and Annie gave audiences a taste, a fantasy if you will, of life in the "Wild West."

On June 27, Cody Old West Auction featured a selection of Oakley items from the Don Blakeley collection in its Denver, Colo., auction. Here are some current values:

Annie Oakley:

• Real Photo Postcard - Annie with her dog together with friend and another dog, 5 3/8 inches by 3½ inches, $288.
• Photograph - Annie on horseback holding fox, 1917, 4 inches by 6 inches, $518.
• Photograph - Annie in show costume shooting with mirror, 4 inches by 6 inches, $1,035.
• Plant stand - three-legged modified Mission-style, from Annie's front porch, $2,300.
• Cabinet Photo - Annie and the Baker girls, (daughters of another performer), 7 3/8 inches by 8 7/8 inches, $2,875.
• Oak Rocking Chair - modified Mission-style, Annie's porch chair, $3,795.

Rosemary McKittrick is a storyteller. She has provided information on thousands of antiques and collectibles since her LiveAuctionTalk column started 18 years ago. She received her training in the trenches, as a professional appraiser. Visit her Web site at www.liveauctiontalk.com.

Michael Jackson stood center stage, unquestionably the star of the show in his white-sequined glove and shirt. The group started off the set in Kansas City with Wanna Be Startin' Something.

They started something alright.

At first it was hard to tell if the music or the screaming crowd was the loudest. After the 1-hour and 45-minute set ended, the Jacksons' ruled.

Between Michael's dance moves, his singing and the visual effects the audience was in a frenzy. Michael kicked showmanship up to a whole new level that night.

The Victory Tour was the final one for the Jackson brothers in 1984. It would be the last time Michael, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Randy performed together. It was the first time in eight years Jermaine joined his brothers on stage.

The 55-city show began in July and ended in December in Los Angeles. The concerts entertained about 2 million fans.

The tour was named after the newly released Jacksons' "Victory" album. Interestingly enough none of the songs from the album were on the tour's set list.

The concerts reportedly earned $75 million and established a new record for the then-largest grossing tour. Michael reportedly donated his $5 million share to charity.

At the last show in Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Michael announced his split from The Jacksons. He would be going it alone from here on out.

Heroes show up in all kinds of guises. The American showman P.T. Barnum was one of Michael's big heroes, which is no surprise really. In the 19th century Barnum understood more than most how to thrill an audience and command a room.

Michael gave members of his staff copies of Barnum's autobiography. He said he wanted his career to be the greatest show on earth just like the grand showman. Michael also fell on hard times like Barnum.

Musically, Michael just may have pulled off his quest to be the greatest show on earth. In video after video he'll remain alive and vital for people to judge for themselves.

He was a study in contrasts, more exaggerated than most, perhaps. His was a story without a happy ending.

No matter what you think of Michael's life off stage there was no denying the man's talent on stage. When he sang and danced there was a shift. He transformed into someone else: a less tormented someone, a master of showmanship. Michael Jackson was born to entertain.

On June 26-27, Julien's Auction, West Hollywood, Calif., featured a selection of Jackson memorabilia in its summer sale. Michael's long-sleeve Victory tour costume shirt covered in small pearls and Swarovski crystals sold for $52,500. It was designed by Bill Whitten.

The following are other Michael Jackson lots sold in the auction and prices realized:.

• Concert promotional poster, Sept. 7, 2001, celebrating Michael's solo career; 34 inches by 22 inches, $3,520.
• Art print, signed, featuring four portraits of Michael from various moments in his life, by Brien Stymest, 18 inches by 20 inches, $8,000.
• Tribute Program Proof, from two concerts held at Madison Square Garden in 2001, 20 inches by 26 inches, $9,375.
• Costume piece and signed CD, forearm cuff with six leather straps; worn as part of his "Bad" costume; 9 inches by 5 inches, $10,240.
• Letter, handwritten, single sheet, signed "M. Jackson," 11 inches by 8 1/2 inches, $18,750.

With God on Our Side was the third track on singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's third album, The Times They Are a Changin' in 1964.

The antiwar song showed up at just as thousands of young people were trying to make sense of the Vietnam War and grappling with the possibility of their own deployment.

It was a wake-up call, a rethink anthem. How much sense does any war make? That was the underlining argument. Don't we ultimately move from one battlefield to the next convinced that God's on our side?

Never their side. Always ours.

Dylan performed the song for the first time during his debut appearance at The Town Hall in New York City on April 12, 1963. It was his first important solo concert. The show didn't sell out but it was an undeniable success.

Some say it was the venue where Dylan shifted from being a newbie folksinger to a seasoned professional. The evening ended with Dylan reading a tribute to his hero Woody Guthrie. He was asked to write 25 words about what Guthrie meant to him. He wrote five pages and read them on stage.

Everything crystallized for Bob Dylan that night.

The Newport Folk Festival was the next big gig on July 26-28. As Peter, Paul and Mary took the stage to begin singing Blowin' in the Wind, Peter Yarrow announced, "This song was written by the most important folk artist in America today."

He was talking about Dylan.

Dylan performed after the trio finished and was welcomed on stage with a thunderous reception. Then the other concert performers joined Dylan for a touching rendition of We Shall Overcome. On Sunday evening of the Newport Festival Dylan and Joan Baez teamed up and sang a duet of With God on Our Side.

"That was a big, big breakout festival for Bob," said singer Tom Paxton. "The buzz just kept growing exponentially and it was like a coronation of Bob and Joan. They were king and queen of the festival."

Dylan's music was leap of faith for the 1960s youth culture. Whether Dylan intended it or not, his lyrics were an invitation to take a deeper cut on life beyond the spoon-fed values young people inherited. An invitation to recreate oneself.

Hour after hour, song after song, Dylan's albums blasted on stereos in college dorms and inner city walkups all over the country. It was a hefty dose of truth, a deep breath.

"He not busy being born is busy dying," Dylan offered up in one song.

Leather cap. Curly hair. Soiled blue jeans. Scruffy desert boots. He looked like any stranger in the bus station.

As a social commentator it was impossible to pigeonhole Bob Dylan and also impossible to ignore him.

On June 23, Christie's, New York featured a selection of Bob Dylan memorabilia in its Pop Culture auction. Handwritten, partial working lyrics for the song With God on Our Side from the Times They Are A-Changin' album sold for $25,000.

The manuscript features half the seventh, the complete eighth and ninth verses to the song, along with numerous corrections, words scratched out, and Dylan's signature.

Here are current values for other Dylan lots sold in the auction:

• Concert handbill for the Bob Dylan and Joan Baez 1965 February-March U.S. tour, $1,250.
• Harmonica, Hohner Marine Band (B), concert-used and signed in black marker, $4,000.
• Yearbook, 1958 Hibbing High School Hematite yearbook signed and inscribed copy by Dylan in blue ballpoint pen, using his birth name Bob Zimmerman, $7,500.
• Lyrics; handwritten to Hank Snow song Little Buddy by the teenager Bob Dylan as a camper in Northwestern Wisconsin during the mid-1950s for publication in camp newspaper; two-pages; signed Bobby Zimmerman, $12,500.

Rosemary McKittrick has provided information and analysis on thousands of antiques and collectibles sold at auction since her LiveAuctionTalk column started 18 years ago. She received her training in the trenches, as a professional appraiser. Visit her Web site at www.liveauctiontalk.com.