Stargazers will have the opportunity to get their hands on photos, charts, models and other space race relics from NASA missions thanks to an auction to commemorate the Apollo 11 moon mission
From Scientific American
As the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing approaches (on July 20), artifacts spanning a range of NASA's manned space exploration program—from Mercury and Gemini to Apollo and beyond—are being made available to the public as expensive keepsakes. On July 16, Bonhams & Butterfields New York will auction off about 400 lots that include astronaut apparel and equipment, components taken from Apollo lunar and command modules, and photos and charts chronicling the space program's early days.
The items are expected to fetch anywhere from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands of dollars, with the higher prices going to equipment that's actually been in space (even as far as the lunar surface). For example, Bonhams anticipates an attitude controller assembly from the Apollo 15 lunar lander Falcon, a joystick of sorts that used by the astronauts to maneuver the craft, could command as much as $300,000. A checklist worn by an Apollo 16 astronaut that was attached to the cuff of his spacesuit to help him remember the variety of assigned tasks while exploring the lunar surface could likewise sell for $300,000.
Many of the items have been autographed by the astronauts themselves and come from their personal collections.
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Monday, 13 July 2009
At Swoopo, Shopping's Steep Spiral Into Addiction
Shopping site Swoopo combines the addictiveness of auctions and the chance element of lotteries to entertain its users -- and reap a profit pennies at a time.
By Mark Gimein, The Washington Post.
Imagine for a second that you've set out to come up with an online shopping site that would take advantage of everything we know about consumer behavior.
Your goal is to separate people from their money as efficiently as possible. What would you do? You'd probably try to draw buyers in with bargain prices. You'd pit them against one another in an auction. You'd ask them to make snap decisions without taking much time to figure out just how much money they're spending. On top of that, you'd ask for only very small amounts of money at any one time, letting payments of a few cents build to hundreds of dollars.
But relax. Someone's beaten you to it: the folks at Swoopo.com. It's an online auction site that fiendishly plays on every irrational impulse buyers have to draw them in to what might be the crack cocaine of online shopping sites.
I discovered Swoopo through an online ad plugging its latest deal, a fancy desktop computer at more than 90 percent off. If you are already saying to yourself that there is a catch, you are right. Swoopo, which bills itself as an "entertainment shopping" site, combines the addictiveness of auctions and the chance of lotteries into what may be the most devious way to separate folks from their money yet devised.
At first glance, Swoopo.com -- which began in Germany as a phone and TV-based auction site called Telebid, migrated to the web as "Swoopo," and launched its U.S. site last year -- looks like an auction site patterned on eBay, with prices for most items starting at a penny and rising as members "bid" up the price. Like eBay, Swoopo has a full panoply of auction tools, such as comprehensive records of all completed auctions and an electronic bidding system ("Bid Butler") that will put in last-second bids to keep you in the auction. Unlike eBay, however, on Swoopo you pay 60 cents each time you make a bid.
Sixty cents? Sure doesn't sound like much when a $1,000-plus camera or computer is at stake. But consider the MacBook Pro that Swoopo sold recently for $35.86. Swoopo lists its suggested retail price at $1,799. But then look at what the bidding fee does. For each "bid," the price of the computer goes up by a penny, and Swoopo collects 60 cents. To get up to $35.86, it takes a stunning 3,585 bids -- and Swoopo gets its fee for each. That means that before selling this computer, Swoopo took in $2,151 in bidding fees. Yikes.
In essence, what your 60-cent bidding fee gets you at Swoopo is a ticket to a
lottery, with a chance to get a high-end item at a ridiculously low price. With each bid, the auction is extended for a few seconds to keep it going as long as someone in the world is willing to take just one more shot. This can go on for a very, very long time. The winner of the MacBook Pro auction bid more than 750 times, accumulating $469.80 in fees.
What makes Swoopo so fiendishly compelling is the tendency of people to think of the bids that they have already put in as a "sunk cost" -- money that they have already put toward buying the item. This is an illusion. The fact that you have already bid 200 times does not mean that your chance of winning on the 201st bid is any higher than it was at the very beginning. A new bidder can come in at any time and at the cost of a mere 60 cents jump into the auction in which you've already spent more than $100. The money you've put in has gotten you no closer to the goal than a losing raffle ticket.
Some of the ideas behind Swoopo have been explored in a theoretical way by game theorists. The reluctance of bidders to say goodbye to their "sunk cost" has been explored by economists such as Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky -- and has been found to draw bidders deeper into the game. Swoopo plays off those insights to efficiently get people to make bad choices. It's the evil stepchild of game theory and behavioral economics.
Another irrational impulse Swoopo plays off of is an urge to believe that there must be some strategy that beats the system. As Swoopo's own business development director, Chris Bauman, told one blogger: "Winning takes two things: money and patience. Every person has a strategy." Indeed, they undoubtedly do. The problem is that none of those strategies will actually work. Just remember that no matter how many times you bid, your chance of winning does not increase. And the bigger Swoopo gets, the worse it will be. The more people sign on to bid, the lower your chances become -- and the more Swoopo collects in bidding charges. The only winning strategy is not to play in the first place.
By Mark Gimein, The Washington Post.
Imagine for a second that you've set out to come up with an online shopping site that would take advantage of everything we know about consumer behavior.
Your goal is to separate people from their money as efficiently as possible. What would you do? You'd probably try to draw buyers in with bargain prices. You'd pit them against one another in an auction. You'd ask them to make snap decisions without taking much time to figure out just how much money they're spending. On top of that, you'd ask for only very small amounts of money at any one time, letting payments of a few cents build to hundreds of dollars.
But relax. Someone's beaten you to it: the folks at Swoopo.com. It's an online auction site that fiendishly plays on every irrational impulse buyers have to draw them in to what might be the crack cocaine of online shopping sites.
I discovered Swoopo through an online ad plugging its latest deal, a fancy desktop computer at more than 90 percent off. If you are already saying to yourself that there is a catch, you are right. Swoopo, which bills itself as an "entertainment shopping" site, combines the addictiveness of auctions and the chance of lotteries into what may be the most devious way to separate folks from their money yet devised.
At first glance, Swoopo.com -- which began in Germany as a phone and TV-based auction site called Telebid, migrated to the web as "Swoopo," and launched its U.S. site last year -- looks like an auction site patterned on eBay, with prices for most items starting at a penny and rising as members "bid" up the price. Like eBay, Swoopo has a full panoply of auction tools, such as comprehensive records of all completed auctions and an electronic bidding system ("Bid Butler") that will put in last-second bids to keep you in the auction. Unlike eBay, however, on Swoopo you pay 60 cents each time you make a bid.
Sixty cents? Sure doesn't sound like much when a $1,000-plus camera or computer is at stake. But consider the MacBook Pro that Swoopo sold recently for $35.86. Swoopo lists its suggested retail price at $1,799. But then look at what the bidding fee does. For each "bid," the price of the computer goes up by a penny, and Swoopo collects 60 cents. To get up to $35.86, it takes a stunning 3,585 bids -- and Swoopo gets its fee for each. That means that before selling this computer, Swoopo took in $2,151 in bidding fees. Yikes.
In essence, what your 60-cent bidding fee gets you at Swoopo is a ticket to a
lottery, with a chance to get a high-end item at a ridiculously low price. With each bid, the auction is extended for a few seconds to keep it going as long as someone in the world is willing to take just one more shot. This can go on for a very, very long time. The winner of the MacBook Pro auction bid more than 750 times, accumulating $469.80 in fees.
What makes Swoopo so fiendishly compelling is the tendency of people to think of the bids that they have already put in as a "sunk cost" -- money that they have already put toward buying the item. This is an illusion. The fact that you have already bid 200 times does not mean that your chance of winning on the 201st bid is any higher than it was at the very beginning. A new bidder can come in at any time and at the cost of a mere 60 cents jump into the auction in which you've already spent more than $100. The money you've put in has gotten you no closer to the goal than a losing raffle ticket.
Some of the ideas behind Swoopo have been explored in a theoretical way by game theorists. The reluctance of bidders to say goodbye to their "sunk cost" has been explored by economists such as Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky -- and has been found to draw bidders deeper into the game. Swoopo plays off those insights to efficiently get people to make bad choices. It's the evil stepchild of game theory and behavioral economics.
Another irrational impulse Swoopo plays off of is an urge to believe that there must be some strategy that beats the system. As Swoopo's own business development director, Chris Bauman, told one blogger: "Winning takes two things: money and patience. Every person has a strategy." Indeed, they undoubtedly do. The problem is that none of those strategies will actually work. Just remember that no matter how many times you bid, your chance of winning does not increase. And the bigger Swoopo gets, the worse it will be. The more people sign on to bid, the lower your chances become -- and the more Swoopo collects in bidding charges. The only winning strategy is not to play in the first place.
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Auctioneering can be a tough business
Auctioneering can indeed be a tough business, see the story below of what happened to an Oregon auctioneer. I liked the bit "The auction continued with another man working as the auctioneer while the victim was taken to a hospital and deputies searched for the attacker" - true professionals, 'the show must go on!'
Auctioneer's Throat Slashed During Auction
Deputies Seeking Man In Woodburn Attack
WOODBURN, Ore. -- An auctioneer had his throat slashed at a Woodburn auction yard on Tuesday, sheriff's deputies said.
Witnesses said a man got into an argument with the auctioneer during an auction just before noon and cut his neck with a box cutter.
One witness, Pete Hoogenbasch, said the guy seemed to think the auctioneer, whose name is Chuck, was ignoring him, so suddenly he attacked Chuck.
"He flipped out over something real simple, nothing major. And then the guy came up and he was cussing at him like a trooper. Then Chuck made a crack about that and the guy came up on the cart and cut him," Hoogenbasch said.
Marion County sheriff's spokeswoman Lt. Sheila Lorance said the auctioneer was taken to a hospital but his condition is unknown at this time.
Several people started chasing him and yelling at others to catch him and that's when Michael Melbye stepped in.
"I tried to grab him over there because I thought he stole something," Melbye said.
He said he didn't see the attack but noticed the man frantically trying to get away. He said the guy tried to hitch a ride with a passing driver, but Melbye got a hold of him.
"He backed up and he says, 'Get away from me or I'm going to cut you.' And he opened up his box knife and I said, 'Man, that's not going to do you any good. What the heck, you know? Why you want to get in trouble over something you stole?' Well, I didn't know he cut Chuck," Melbye said.
The man who slashed the auctioneer's throat jumped over a fence on the north side of the auction yard and ran toward a nearby mobile home park, Lorance said.
The auction continued with another man working as the auctioneer while the victim was taken to a hospital and deputies searched for the attacker.
Deputies said they found and arrested Jeremiah D. Thomasson, 22, at about 3 p.m. on charges of first-degree assault, attempted murder and unlawful use of a weapon. They said they found Thomasson about a mile away in the mobile home park.
According to the auction yard's Web site, it auctions general merchandise, poultry, vehicles and nursery stock every Tuesday. The Woodburn Auction Yard is located on S Pacific Highway.
Auction regulars said they want the man who attacked Chuck to be punished for what he did.
"I know there's a lot of Chuck's friends out here who'd like to take him behind the barn and teach him lessons about how to treat people," Hoogenbasch said.
Auctioneer's Throat Slashed During Auction
Deputies Seeking Man In Woodburn Attack
WOODBURN, Ore. -- An auctioneer had his throat slashed at a Woodburn auction yard on Tuesday, sheriff's deputies said.
Witnesses said a man got into an argument with the auctioneer during an auction just before noon and cut his neck with a box cutter.
One witness, Pete Hoogenbasch, said the guy seemed to think the auctioneer, whose name is Chuck, was ignoring him, so suddenly he attacked Chuck.
"He flipped out over something real simple, nothing major. And then the guy came up and he was cussing at him like a trooper. Then Chuck made a crack about that and the guy came up on the cart and cut him," Hoogenbasch said.
Marion County sheriff's spokeswoman Lt. Sheila Lorance said the auctioneer was taken to a hospital but his condition is unknown at this time.
Several people started chasing him and yelling at others to catch him and that's when Michael Melbye stepped in.
"I tried to grab him over there because I thought he stole something," Melbye said.
He said he didn't see the attack but noticed the man frantically trying to get away. He said the guy tried to hitch a ride with a passing driver, but Melbye got a hold of him.
"He backed up and he says, 'Get away from me or I'm going to cut you.' And he opened up his box knife and I said, 'Man, that's not going to do you any good. What the heck, you know? Why you want to get in trouble over something you stole?' Well, I didn't know he cut Chuck," Melbye said.
The man who slashed the auctioneer's throat jumped over a fence on the north side of the auction yard and ran toward a nearby mobile home park, Lorance said.
The auction continued with another man working as the auctioneer while the victim was taken to a hospital and deputies searched for the attacker.
Deputies said they found and arrested Jeremiah D. Thomasson, 22, at about 3 p.m. on charges of first-degree assault, attempted murder and unlawful use of a weapon. They said they found Thomasson about a mile away in the mobile home park.
According to the auction yard's Web site, it auctions general merchandise, poultry, vehicles and nursery stock every Tuesday. The Woodburn Auction Yard is located on S Pacific Highway.
Auction regulars said they want the man who attacked Chuck to be punished for what he did.
"I know there's a lot of Chuck's friends out here who'd like to take him behind the barn and teach him lessons about how to treat people," Hoogenbasch said.
Sunday, 28 June 2009
Nelson's hair makes £2,500 at auction.
A lock of Lord Horatio Nelson's hair has been auctioned for £2,500 in Lincolnshire.
The hair, which is encased in a brooch, is thought to have been cut from Lord Nelson's head after his death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
It was sold to a private buyer at the auction held at Brown & Co in Brigg on Saturday.
The lock previously belonged to a woman from Worksop in Nottinghamshire whose family had links to the famous admiral.
The hair, which is encased in a brooch, is thought to have been cut from Lord Nelson's head after his death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
It was sold to a private buyer at the auction held at Brown & Co in Brigg on Saturday.
The lock previously belonged to a woman from Worksop in Nottinghamshire whose family had links to the famous admiral.
Monday, 22 June 2009
Billionaire Buffett auctions off another lunch
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Last year's winning bid for lunch with legendary investor Warren Buffett topped $2.1 million, but given the economic turmoil, it's questionable this year's bidding will approach that level.
Yet Buffett has built a devoted following, as demonstrated by the crowd of 35,000 people at his recent Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting, and he offers only one lunch per year.
The online bidding begins at $25,000 Sunday in a charity auction that benefits the Glide Foundation, which provides social services to the poor and homeless in San Francisco. The bids will likely escalate significantly before the auction closes Friday evening at 10 p.m. EDT.
Glide's founder, Rev. Cecil Williams, said last year's big bid arrived just in time because demand for Glide's programs jumped roughly 20 percent in the past year with the recession. Glide relies on donations for most of its $17 million budget, so Williams is hoping for another big bid.
"We depend greatly on these people and their bidding," Williams said.
Buffett's late first wife, Susan, introduced the billionaire investor to Williams and the Glide Foundation. Buffett says he enjoys being able to help Glide with the lunch.
Buffett, who is Berkshire's chairman and chief executive, is primarily known for his investing success. Berkshire owns more than 60 subsidiaries including insurance, furniture, clothing, jewelry and candy companies, restaurants, natural gas and corporate jet firms and has major investments in such companies such as Coca-Cola Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.
But Buffett is also known for his philanthropy.
In 2006, he announced his long-term plan to give away the bulk of his roughly $36 billion fortune. Most of his shares of Berkshire stock will go to five charitable foundations, with the largest chunk going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The auction's winner and up to seven friends will lunch with Berkshire's chairman and chief executive. The owners of the Smith and Wollensky restaurant in New York contributed $10,000 to Glide and will again host the lunch.
Last year's winner, Zhao Danyang of the Hong Kong-based Pureheart China Growth Investment Fund, is scheduled to collect his prize by dining with Buffett on Wednesday.
"I am looking forward to enjoying lunch with Warren Buffett," Zhao said. "This is truly the chance of a lifetime."
Last year's winning bid on lunch with Buffett was the most expensive charity item eBay had ever sold.
Previously, the most expensive charity item ever sold on eBay was a letter from Democratic senators blasting conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh for using the phrase "phony soldiers" on his program. The letter signed by 41 senators sold for $2.1 million on eBay in October 2008.
The proceeds from Limbaugh's auction went to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, which provides scholarships to children of Marines or federal law enforcement personnel who were killed while serving their country. And he matched the bid.
Buffett has been auctioning off lunches online for seven years but began auctioning the lunches for Glide off-line in 2000.
Yet Buffett has built a devoted following, as demonstrated by the crowd of 35,000 people at his recent Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting, and he offers only one lunch per year.
The online bidding begins at $25,000 Sunday in a charity auction that benefits the Glide Foundation, which provides social services to the poor and homeless in San Francisco. The bids will likely escalate significantly before the auction closes Friday evening at 10 p.m. EDT.
Glide's founder, Rev. Cecil Williams, said last year's big bid arrived just in time because demand for Glide's programs jumped roughly 20 percent in the past year with the recession. Glide relies on donations for most of its $17 million budget, so Williams is hoping for another big bid.
"We depend greatly on these people and their bidding," Williams said.
Buffett's late first wife, Susan, introduced the billionaire investor to Williams and the Glide Foundation. Buffett says he enjoys being able to help Glide with the lunch.
Buffett, who is Berkshire's chairman and chief executive, is primarily known for his investing success. Berkshire owns more than 60 subsidiaries including insurance, furniture, clothing, jewelry and candy companies, restaurants, natural gas and corporate jet firms and has major investments in such companies such as Coca-Cola Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.
But Buffett is also known for his philanthropy.
In 2006, he announced his long-term plan to give away the bulk of his roughly $36 billion fortune. Most of his shares of Berkshire stock will go to five charitable foundations, with the largest chunk going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The auction's winner and up to seven friends will lunch with Berkshire's chairman and chief executive. The owners of the Smith and Wollensky restaurant in New York contributed $10,000 to Glide and will again host the lunch.
Last year's winner, Zhao Danyang of the Hong Kong-based Pureheart China Growth Investment Fund, is scheduled to collect his prize by dining with Buffett on Wednesday.
"I am looking forward to enjoying lunch with Warren Buffett," Zhao said. "This is truly the chance of a lifetime."
Last year's winning bid on lunch with Buffett was the most expensive charity item eBay had ever sold.
Previously, the most expensive charity item ever sold on eBay was a letter from Democratic senators blasting conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh for using the phrase "phony soldiers" on his program. The letter signed by 41 senators sold for $2.1 million on eBay in October 2008.
The proceeds from Limbaugh's auction went to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, which provides scholarships to children of Marines or federal law enforcement personnel who were killed while serving their country. And he matched the bid.
Buffett has been auctioning off lunches online for seven years but began auctioning the lunches for Glide off-line in 2000.
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Lack of posts.
Readers will note the lack of posts over the last few months. That was because, as Coordinator of the London Green Party, I was deeply involved in the Euro election campaign.
We were pleased with the result. We held our seat which had been under attack. It was also pleasing that the fascist BNP fell back, in London, by over 50,000 votes on last year's election.
Nationally, the Green Party vote was up by 44% beating Labour in the South East and South West regions. Our vote in Brighton and Norwich were particularly exciting as it is in those areas that we expect to make breakthroughs in the next General Election.
Now back to auctions......
We were pleased with the result. We held our seat which had been under attack. It was also pleasing that the fascist BNP fell back, in London, by over 50,000 votes on last year's election.
Nationally, the Green Party vote was up by 44% beating Labour in the South East and South West regions. Our vote in Brighton and Norwich were particularly exciting as it is in those areas that we expect to make breakthroughs in the next General Election.
Now back to auctions......
'Peanuts' strip sells for $17K at auction
LOS ANGELES, June 15 (UPI) -- A 1983 Charles Schulz "Peanuts" comic strip has sold for $17,080 at an entertainment memorabilia auction in Los Angeles, Bonhams & Butterfields said.
The pen and ink illustration, which shows Sally asking Charlie Brown to help her with a report on Charles Dickens, was the top-selling lot at Sunday's auction, the memorabilia dealer said.
The comic strip had been expected to bring between $10,000 and 15,000.
The sale also featured rare photos of Marilyn Monroe, in addition to a contract she signed; the handbag Estelle Getty carried as her character Sophia on "The Golden Girls," as well as the Emmy and Golden Globe awards she won for the role; and costumes from the private collection of actress Debbie Reynolds. Original works from The Peter Golding Collection of Rock 'n' Roll Art were also sold at the auction.
"It was a fun summer sale that showed the strength and continuing interest in animation, Hollywood and music memorabilia. We saw strong participation from around the globe," Margaret Barrett, department head of entertainment memorabilia at Bonhams & Butterfields, said in a statement.
The pen and ink illustration, which shows Sally asking Charlie Brown to help her with a report on Charles Dickens, was the top-selling lot at Sunday's auction, the memorabilia dealer said.
The comic strip had been expected to bring between $10,000 and 15,000.
The sale also featured rare photos of Marilyn Monroe, in addition to a contract she signed; the handbag Estelle Getty carried as her character Sophia on "The Golden Girls," as well as the Emmy and Golden Globe awards she won for the role; and costumes from the private collection of actress Debbie Reynolds. Original works from The Peter Golding Collection of Rock 'n' Roll Art were also sold at the auction.
"It was a fun summer sale that showed the strength and continuing interest in animation, Hollywood and music memorabilia. We saw strong participation from around the globe," Margaret Barrett, department head of entertainment memorabilia at Bonhams & Butterfields, said in a statement.
Monday, 1 June 2009
Elderly left at risk by NHS bidding wars to find cheapest care with reverse auctions
Top story in Community Care mag's online round-up of today's newspapers:
Elderly left at risk by NHS bidding wars to find cheapest care with reverse auctions
An online auction system developed for councils to buy cheap wheelie bins and stationery is being used to buy end-of-life and dementia care for vulnerable elderly people.
The NHS in London has held a series of 30 “reverse e-auctions”, where bids are driven down instead of up, for £195 million worth of contracts for palliative and dementia care for patients leaving hospital.
Elderly left at risk by NHS bidding wars to find cheapest care with reverse auctions
An online auction system developed for councils to buy cheap wheelie bins and stationery is being used to buy end-of-life and dementia care for vulnerable elderly people.
The NHS in London has held a series of 30 “reverse e-auctions”, where bids are driven down instead of up, for £195 million worth of contracts for palliative and dementia care for patients leaving hospital.
Thursday, 7 May 2009
Torture devices from 16th century for auction
By RICHARD PYLE –
NEW YORK (AP) — For sale soon: a variety of torture devices from the 16th century, including shame masks to enforce silence, a 14-foot table-like rack to stretch the victim's body, and a tongue tearer to punish blasphemers and heretics. Even an executioner's sword.
New York's Guernsey's auction house plans to auction the privately owned collection, with proceeds to go to Amnesty International and other organizations committed to preventing torture in today's world, said Guernsey's president, Arlan Ettinger. "That is clearly the seller's intent," he said.
Ettinger described the items Wednesday as possibly the world's most extensive collection of historical torture devices — some 252 items — plus rare books, documents and other related artifacts.
He declined to identify the owner, beyond saying it is a family living in the northeastern U.S., within three hours of New York. No date has been set for the auction.
Of German origin and acquired in the late 19th century by England's earl of Shrewsbury, the torture collection has been in private American hands since last publicly shown in 1893 in New York and at the Chicago World's Fair. Its owner for many years after that was Arne Coward, a Norwegian-born survivor of the Holocaust. His descendants are the present owners, Ettinger said.
On Nov. 26, 1893, an article in The New York Times described what was then a 1,300-item collection, noting that "thousands of people have gazed upon these terrible relics of a semi-barbarous age," all of which "have been in actual use."
As if to underscore the relevance of the exhibit to modern times, Ettinger said, the lead story on the front page of Wednesday's New York Times was headlined: "Torture Memos: Inquiry Suggests No Prosecutions."
The 252 devices include iron masks, boots, thumbscrews, foot squeezers, ropes, leg irons, chains, rings, manacles and "witch-catchers."
Notably absent is what the Times in 1893 called the "justly-celebrated iron maiden," a coffin-like case with deadly spikes on the inside. Ettinger said the fate of the iron maiden and other items is unknown, but they may have been lost in a fire that destroyed many buildings at the end of the Chicago world's fair.
The diabolical devices are a unique, but not unlikely, offering by the Manhattan-based auctioneer, noted for its sales of the offbeat.
Guernsey's auctioned off Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball in 1998 for a record $3 million, and it plans what Ettinger says will be the world's first "tennis auction" at this year's U.S. Open in New York, selling an array of sport-related items from antique rackets to trophies and historic contracts. "So it's not all painful," he said.
Ettinger said there was no way to tell what the torture collection is worth or how much it may fetch at auction. In the 1970s, he said, an obscure magazine "read only by historians" estimated its value at $3 million — about the same as Mark McGwire's home run ball.
NEW YORK (AP) — For sale soon: a variety of torture devices from the 16th century, including shame masks to enforce silence, a 14-foot table-like rack to stretch the victim's body, and a tongue tearer to punish blasphemers and heretics. Even an executioner's sword.
New York's Guernsey's auction house plans to auction the privately owned collection, with proceeds to go to Amnesty International and other organizations committed to preventing torture in today's world, said Guernsey's president, Arlan Ettinger. "That is clearly the seller's intent," he said.
Ettinger described the items Wednesday as possibly the world's most extensive collection of historical torture devices — some 252 items — plus rare books, documents and other related artifacts.
He declined to identify the owner, beyond saying it is a family living in the northeastern U.S., within three hours of New York. No date has been set for the auction.
Of German origin and acquired in the late 19th century by England's earl of Shrewsbury, the torture collection has been in private American hands since last publicly shown in 1893 in New York and at the Chicago World's Fair. Its owner for many years after that was Arne Coward, a Norwegian-born survivor of the Holocaust. His descendants are the present owners, Ettinger said.
On Nov. 26, 1893, an article in The New York Times described what was then a 1,300-item collection, noting that "thousands of people have gazed upon these terrible relics of a semi-barbarous age," all of which "have been in actual use."
As if to underscore the relevance of the exhibit to modern times, Ettinger said, the lead story on the front page of Wednesday's New York Times was headlined: "Torture Memos: Inquiry Suggests No Prosecutions."
The 252 devices include iron masks, boots, thumbscrews, foot squeezers, ropes, leg irons, chains, rings, manacles and "witch-catchers."
Notably absent is what the Times in 1893 called the "justly-celebrated iron maiden," a coffin-like case with deadly spikes on the inside. Ettinger said the fate of the iron maiden and other items is unknown, but they may have been lost in a fire that destroyed many buildings at the end of the Chicago world's fair.
The diabolical devices are a unique, but not unlikely, offering by the Manhattan-based auctioneer, noted for its sales of the offbeat.
Guernsey's auctioned off Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball in 1998 for a record $3 million, and it plans what Ettinger says will be the world's first "tennis auction" at this year's U.S. Open in New York, selling an array of sport-related items from antique rackets to trophies and historic contracts. "So it's not all painful," he said.
Ettinger said there was no way to tell what the torture collection is worth or how much it may fetch at auction. In the 1970s, he said, an obscure magazine "read only by historians" estimated its value at $3 million — about the same as Mark McGwire's home run ball.
Friday, 1 May 2009
Charity Auction.
Did a charity auction last night in Finsbury Town Hall.
Here are some of the results:
60 new classical & jazz CD's - £170.
Admission for two to a chocolate making workshop - £110.
Bottle of 2006 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fume Silex - £140.
Two tickets for the Roundhouse theatre - £90.
Design Museum Patron membership - £120.
Tea for two at the House of Commons with Jeremy Corbyn - £140.
Two tickets to Sadler's Wells - £130.
Salsa Rapido course - £80.
A week's stay in a cottage in Wales £460.
This came this morning:
Dear Noel,
It was a pleasure to meet you last night. I want to say an enormous thank you for running the auction at our Supporters' Party. You were absolutely fantastic and it is thanks to your generosity and support that the auction was a great success. We are really pleased with the amount raised at auction and are still waiting to find out the total sum raised on the night.
Many thanks, and the best of luck for election preparations,
Harriet
The Medical Foundation for Torture Care.
Here are some of the results:
60 new classical & jazz CD's - £170.
Admission for two to a chocolate making workshop - £110.
Bottle of 2006 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fume Silex - £140.
Two tickets for the Roundhouse theatre - £90.
Design Museum Patron membership - £120.
Tea for two at the House of Commons with Jeremy Corbyn - £140.
Two tickets to Sadler's Wells - £130.
Salsa Rapido course - £80.
A week's stay in a cottage in Wales £460.
This came this morning:
Dear Noel,
It was a pleasure to meet you last night. I want to say an enormous thank you for running the auction at our Supporters' Party. You were absolutely fantastic and it is thanks to your generosity and support that the auction was a great success. We are really pleased with the amount raised at auction and are still waiting to find out the total sum raised on the night.
Many thanks, and the best of luck for election preparations,
Harriet
The Medical Foundation for Torture Care.
Saturday, 25 April 2009
Gallantry medal given to dog in Second World War sells for £24,000
The mongrel, called Rip, was awarded a Dickin Medal in 1945 after sniffing out dozens of air raid victims during the blitz.
The founder of veterinary charity PDSA, Maria Dickin, began awarding the medals in 1943 to recognise animals which showed "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty".
The Dickin Medal became known as the animal version of the Victoria Cross. Since its introduction 62 have been awarded to dogs, pigeons, horses and a cat.
Rip was found homeless and starving after an air raid in 1940.
An air raid warden working at Southill Street Air Raid Patrol in Poplar, east London, adopted the dog and Rip began sniffing out people trapped in the rubble.
The warden found the dog, which had no official training, was always on duty, never got in the way and was quick to locate casualties.
During the Blitz he helped to find and rescue more than 100 air raid victims.
It was partly due to Rip's success that towards the end of the war the authorities decided to train dogs officially to trace casualties.
Rip wore the Dickin Medal on his collar for the rest of his life.
He died in 1948 and was the first of 12 "supreme animal heroes" to be buried in the PDSA cemetery in Ilford, Essex.
His headstone reads: "Rip, D.M., 'We also serve', for the dog whose body lies here played his part in the Battle of Britain."
The winning bidder at the Spink auction in central London wanted to remain anonymous.
The founder of veterinary charity PDSA, Maria Dickin, began awarding the medals in 1943 to recognise animals which showed "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty".
The Dickin Medal became known as the animal version of the Victoria Cross. Since its introduction 62 have been awarded to dogs, pigeons, horses and a cat.
Rip was found homeless and starving after an air raid in 1940.
An air raid warden working at Southill Street Air Raid Patrol in Poplar, east London, adopted the dog and Rip began sniffing out people trapped in the rubble.
The warden found the dog, which had no official training, was always on duty, never got in the way and was quick to locate casualties.
During the Blitz he helped to find and rescue more than 100 air raid victims.
It was partly due to Rip's success that towards the end of the war the authorities decided to train dogs officially to trace casualties.
Rip wore the Dickin Medal on his collar for the rest of his life.
He died in 1948 and was the first of 12 "supreme animal heroes" to be buried in the PDSA cemetery in Ilford, Essex.
His headstone reads: "Rip, D.M., 'We also serve', for the dog whose body lies here played his part in the Battle of Britain."
The winning bidder at the Spink auction in central London wanted to remain anonymous.
Realtor offers free divorce with home
HUELVA, Spain - A Spanish real estate company is offering a free divorce lawyer as an incentive to couples who purchase three-bedroom homes in Huelva province. Officials with Geimsa realtors said the deal is aimed at couples who have been postponing divorce because they can't afford new homes, Britain's The Daily Telegraph reported. "A divorce is very expensive," said Vanesa Contioso of Geimsa. "So we are offering new clients the free use of our lawyers to handle the process." The deal applies to married couples who purchase three-bedroom homes for at least $89,000 in Huelva province.
Friday, 24 April 2009
Hitler paintings sold for £95,589
LONDON (AFP) — A series of watercolours by Adolf Hitler were sold at a British auction house on Thursday for over 100,000 euros.
The 13 paintings, most of them landscapes and found in a garage earlier this year by the seller, went for 95,589 pounds at auctioneers Mullock's.
An apparent self-portrait showing a man with a side-parting sitting on a stone bridge, and signed with the initials A.H., sold for 10,000 pounds at the auction at Ludlow.
Richard Westwood-Brookes of the auctioneers -- who had earlier said the pictures "are hardly Picasso" -- said the final price, which included buyer's premium, was a surprise.
"I am very pleased. I thought they would go for between five and six thousand," he said.
The paintings date back to between 1908 and about 1914, when the former German leader was a young man trying to earn a living as an artist in Vienna.
"Unfortunately for the world, he was not accepted into the Vienna Academy, which was where he wanted to be," Westwood-Brookes said.
"Of course, if he had been accepted, then we would have known him today as an artist and not as an evil tyrant."
Westwood-Brookes said the seller bought them from someone who found them in 1945.
Many of the works are signed with the initials "A.H." The sale also included a collection of official Nazi magazines for schoolboys and women, featuring knitting patterns and recipes.
In 2006, 21 of Hitler's works were sold in Britain for 118,000 pounds.
The 13 paintings, most of them landscapes and found in a garage earlier this year by the seller, went for 95,589 pounds at auctioneers Mullock's.
An apparent self-portrait showing a man with a side-parting sitting on a stone bridge, and signed with the initials A.H., sold for 10,000 pounds at the auction at Ludlow.
Richard Westwood-Brookes of the auctioneers -- who had earlier said the pictures "are hardly Picasso" -- said the final price, which included buyer's premium, was a surprise.
"I am very pleased. I thought they would go for between five and six thousand," he said.
The paintings date back to between 1908 and about 1914, when the former German leader was a young man trying to earn a living as an artist in Vienna.
"Unfortunately for the world, he was not accepted into the Vienna Academy, which was where he wanted to be," Westwood-Brookes said.
"Of course, if he had been accepted, then we would have known him today as an artist and not as an evil tyrant."
Westwood-Brookes said the seller bought them from someone who found them in 1945.
Many of the works are signed with the initials "A.H." The sale also included a collection of official Nazi magazines for schoolboys and women, featuring knitting patterns and recipes.
In 2006, 21 of Hitler's works were sold in Britain for 118,000 pounds.
Sunday, 5 April 2009
Mafeking siege notes in mint condition sold in Bury St Edmunds
I find this article interesting as we have two copies of The Mafeking Gazette for sale in The Green Room. These single page newspapers ("Issued daily, shells permitting") were issued during the siege and must be quite rare. We have priced them at £50 each which must be a bargain
From the Antiques Trade Gazette:
Today Robert Baden-Powell is best known as the founder of the Boy Scout movement in 1908, but in the Edwardian era his name was synonymous with the Boer War, and specifically the 217 wretched days from October 1899 to May 1900.
The resistance of the town of Mafeking, an overnight stop on the vital rail link between the Cape Colony and mineral-rich Bechuanaland, has gone into legend as a great game of bluff, with the burying of fake landmines, erecting of non-existent barbed wire fences and moving of the small number of cannon around each night.
But equally important for the Commander of the Rhodesian forces was the continuation of daily life for the white English community of 1200 men, women and children as well as the 1250 armed men at his disposal. Under Baden-Powell’s command, the besieged population of Mafeking published a morale-boosting newspaper, made stamps for the town mail and – as normal commerce broke down – issued their own banknotes.
Siege notes are among the most tangible survivors of the Mafeking ordeal.
They were printed on ordinary writing paper in five denominations of one, two, three and ten shillings and one pound from January to March 1900 in an underground shelter. The town auctioneer Edward Ross, who penned one of the many accounts of the siege, aided in the process. He noted: “I had a little signboard made, Mafeking Mint. No Admission.”
Lacy Scott & Knight offered a dozen numbered Mafeking Siege notes in near-mint condition for sale in Bury St Edmunds on December 13. The vendor had acquired them in a house clearance in Bury in the 1970s.
The simple one-, two- and three-shilling notes took the form of vouchers to be used in the canteens for a daily ration of hard-baked oat bread and horse meat. These lower-value notes carry a facsimile signature for the Army Paymaster, Captain H. Greener.
For obvious reasons these notes are the most commonly encountered, although the three-shilling note survives in lesser numbers. While a one-shilling note dated February 1900, No.B6382 provided the lowest bid at £260, a three-shilling banknote, dated January 1900 and numbered A3628, commanded £1000.
In his memoirs, Baden-Powell recalled his personal input in the design of the ten-shilling and one-pound siege notes:
“The design for the one-pound note I drew on a boxwood block, made from a croquet mallet cut in half, and this I handed to a Mr Riesle, who had done wood engraving. But the result [two rudimentary images of soldiers with cannon] was not satisfactory from the artistic point of view, so we used that as a ten-shilling note and I drew another design which was photographed for the pound note.”
Several examples of both higher denomination notes were seen at LS&K. Early issues of the ten-shilling note include a typographical error: Issued by authority of Col R.S.S. Baden-Powell, Comman[d]ing Frontier Forces.
Examples sold here for up to £750 each: a later issue, No.6354, with the error corrected, sold at £350.
The blue one-pound siege note, complete with Baden-Powell’s competent sketch of Rhodesian troops under the Union flag, was signed in ink by Robert Bradshaw Clarke Urry, the manager of the Mafeking branch of the Standard Bank of South Africa, and by Paymaster Greener who gave each issue of notes authority by depositing a cheque of an equivalent amount into the Standard Bank. The examples here, all in superb condition, sold for up to £1600.
In total, more than £5228 in notes and coupons was issued during the siege. However, little more than £638 worth of coupons were ever redeemed. The rest were kept as souvenirs or lost, and redemption of the notes ceased in September 1908.
Mr Ross was a prophetic fellow. “This note business is going to be a good thing for the Government as I am sure they will be worth much more than face value as curios after the siege, and people are collecting as many as they can get hold of now, to make money afterwards,” he wrote at the time.
The degree of his prescience can be judged from the fact that the face value of the 16 notes sold last month was £6 14s. The total for the 16 lots was £12,500, some 1865 times the original sum.
By Roland Arkell
From the Antiques Trade Gazette:
Today Robert Baden-Powell is best known as the founder of the Boy Scout movement in 1908, but in the Edwardian era his name was synonymous with the Boer War, and specifically the 217 wretched days from October 1899 to May 1900.
The resistance of the town of Mafeking, an overnight stop on the vital rail link between the Cape Colony and mineral-rich Bechuanaland, has gone into legend as a great game of bluff, with the burying of fake landmines, erecting of non-existent barbed wire fences and moving of the small number of cannon around each night.
But equally important for the Commander of the Rhodesian forces was the continuation of daily life for the white English community of 1200 men, women and children as well as the 1250 armed men at his disposal. Under Baden-Powell’s command, the besieged population of Mafeking published a morale-boosting newspaper, made stamps for the town mail and – as normal commerce broke down – issued their own banknotes.
Siege notes are among the most tangible survivors of the Mafeking ordeal.
They were printed on ordinary writing paper in five denominations of one, two, three and ten shillings and one pound from January to March 1900 in an underground shelter. The town auctioneer Edward Ross, who penned one of the many accounts of the siege, aided in the process. He noted: “I had a little signboard made, Mafeking Mint. No Admission.”
Lacy Scott & Knight offered a dozen numbered Mafeking Siege notes in near-mint condition for sale in Bury St Edmunds on December 13. The vendor had acquired them in a house clearance in Bury in the 1970s.
The simple one-, two- and three-shilling notes took the form of vouchers to be used in the canteens for a daily ration of hard-baked oat bread and horse meat. These lower-value notes carry a facsimile signature for the Army Paymaster, Captain H. Greener.
For obvious reasons these notes are the most commonly encountered, although the three-shilling note survives in lesser numbers. While a one-shilling note dated February 1900, No.B6382 provided the lowest bid at £260, a three-shilling banknote, dated January 1900 and numbered A3628, commanded £1000.
In his memoirs, Baden-Powell recalled his personal input in the design of the ten-shilling and one-pound siege notes:
“The design for the one-pound note I drew on a boxwood block, made from a croquet mallet cut in half, and this I handed to a Mr Riesle, who had done wood engraving. But the result [two rudimentary images of soldiers with cannon] was not satisfactory from the artistic point of view, so we used that as a ten-shilling note and I drew another design which was photographed for the pound note.”
Several examples of both higher denomination notes were seen at LS&K. Early issues of the ten-shilling note include a typographical error: Issued by authority of Col R.S.S. Baden-Powell, Comman[d]ing Frontier Forces.
Examples sold here for up to £750 each: a later issue, No.6354, with the error corrected, sold at £350.
The blue one-pound siege note, complete with Baden-Powell’s competent sketch of Rhodesian troops under the Union flag, was signed in ink by Robert Bradshaw Clarke Urry, the manager of the Mafeking branch of the Standard Bank of South Africa, and by Paymaster Greener who gave each issue of notes authority by depositing a cheque of an equivalent amount into the Standard Bank. The examples here, all in superb condition, sold for up to £1600.
In total, more than £5228 in notes and coupons was issued during the siege. However, little more than £638 worth of coupons were ever redeemed. The rest were kept as souvenirs or lost, and redemption of the notes ceased in September 1908.
Mr Ross was a prophetic fellow. “This note business is going to be a good thing for the Government as I am sure they will be worth much more than face value as curios after the siege, and people are collecting as many as they can get hold of now, to make money afterwards,” he wrote at the time.
The degree of his prescience can be judged from the fact that the face value of the 16 notes sold last month was £6 14s. The total for the 16 lots was £12,500, some 1865 times the original sum.
By Roland Arkell
Thursday, 26 March 2009
Hitler’s first self-portrait up for auction
A self-portrait of Adolf Hitler is to go under the hammer.
The Nazi leader is hardly recognizable with no moustache in the picture which is thought to be the first he ever painted.
But he identifies himself with the initials AH by his head.
The amateurish painting is among 13 works by the Nazi dictator, created back in 1910 when he was just 21.
The small portrait has no nose or mouth, but the side parting hairstyle is unmistakable.
All the pictures were found in Essen, Germany, in 1945 by Company Sergeant Major Willie J McKenna. He sold them to the current unnamed owner, who kept them hidden for decades.
The pictures are expected to fetch tens of thousands of pounds at Ludlow Racecourse, Shrops, on April 23.
“There’s absolutely nothing in them to suggest the monster he became. But one can see why he didn’t make it as an artist,” The Sun quoted Richard Westwood-Brookes of Mullock’s auctioneers, as saying.
The Nazi leader is hardly recognizable with no moustache in the picture which is thought to be the first he ever painted.
But he identifies himself with the initials AH by his head.
The amateurish painting is among 13 works by the Nazi dictator, created back in 1910 when he was just 21.
The small portrait has no nose or mouth, but the side parting hairstyle is unmistakable.
All the pictures were found in Essen, Germany, in 1945 by Company Sergeant Major Willie J McKenna. He sold them to the current unnamed owner, who kept them hidden for decades.
The pictures are expected to fetch tens of thousands of pounds at Ludlow Racecourse, Shrops, on April 23.
“There’s absolutely nothing in them to suggest the monster he became. But one can see why he didn’t make it as an artist,” The Sun quoted Richard Westwood-Brookes of Mullock’s auctioneers, as saying.
Sunday, 22 March 2009
Indian pearl carpet fetches $5.5 mln at Doha auction
www.chinaview.cn
NEW DELHI, March 21 (Xinhua) -- An unidentified buyer bought the famous Indian pearl Baroda carpet, which is regarded as an Indian national heritage, for 5.48 million U.S. dollars at Sotheby's auction in Doha, Qatar, this week, the official website of the auction house said Saturday.
Encrusted with 2.2 million Basra pearls, and weighing 30,000 carats, the Baroda pearl carpet was commissioned in 1865 by BarodaKing Khande Rao Gaekwad, as a gift for the Mausoleum of Prophet Mohammed at Medina.
Until 1947, the year of India's independence, Baroda was a city kingdom located in today's western India state of Gujarat.
The silk carpet also has three large diamond-filled rose designs in silvered gold, besides pearls. The carpet has been a part of the king's family collection.
Another piece of Indian collection by London-based Anish Kapoor, a painted stainless steel sculpture, fetched 974,000 U.S. dollars at the auction this week, said the website.
The Baroda pearl carpet already commanded a price of 5 million U.S. dollars before being auctioned.
This comes weeks after some items belonging to India's modern founding father Mahatma Gandhi were auctioned in New York.
In 1943, the then King of Baroda, Sir Pratap Sinh Gaekwad, married a woman known as Sita Devi, who took up her residence in Europe and soon, most of the Baroda treasures were transferred to her mansions in Monte Carlo in Monaco neighboring southern France.
In 1947, Baroda was merged with India. The Indian government deposed Gaekwad and forced him to return to India some of the most precious items, but the pearl carpet continued to be in the possession of Sita Devi.
NEW DELHI, March 21 (Xinhua) -- An unidentified buyer bought the famous Indian pearl Baroda carpet, which is regarded as an Indian national heritage, for 5.48 million U.S. dollars at Sotheby's auction in Doha, Qatar, this week, the official website of the auction house said Saturday.
Encrusted with 2.2 million Basra pearls, and weighing 30,000 carats, the Baroda pearl carpet was commissioned in 1865 by BarodaKing Khande Rao Gaekwad, as a gift for the Mausoleum of Prophet Mohammed at Medina.
Until 1947, the year of India's independence, Baroda was a city kingdom located in today's western India state of Gujarat.
The silk carpet also has three large diamond-filled rose designs in silvered gold, besides pearls. The carpet has been a part of the king's family collection.
Another piece of Indian collection by London-based Anish Kapoor, a painted stainless steel sculpture, fetched 974,000 U.S. dollars at the auction this week, said the website.
The Baroda pearl carpet already commanded a price of 5 million U.S. dollars before being auctioned.
This comes weeks after some items belonging to India's modern founding father Mahatma Gandhi were auctioned in New York.
In 1943, the then King of Baroda, Sir Pratap Sinh Gaekwad, married a woman known as Sita Devi, who took up her residence in Europe and soon, most of the Baroda treasures were transferred to her mansions in Monte Carlo in Monaco neighboring southern France.
In 1947, Baroda was merged with India. The Indian government deposed Gaekwad and forced him to return to India some of the most precious items, but the pearl carpet continued to be in the possession of Sita Devi.
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Super rare Superman comic sells for super auction: $317,200 for Action Comics #1
BY Caitlin Millat
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Saturday, March 14th 2009, 5:02 PM
A rare copy of Action Comics #1 has been sold at an Internet auction for $317,200.
Maybe they should call him Man of Gold.
Superman proved to be super-expensive when a rare copy of the first comic book featuring him sold late Friday for $317,200 in an Internet auction.
The drummer for the rock band System of a Down, John Dolmayan of rock band, placed the winning bid for the 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1, the first comic to feature Clark Kent and his heroic alter ego.
Dolmayan, a collector and a dealer of vintage comic books, reportedly bought the inaugural Superman issue for a client.
Auction site ComicConnect said the book's previous owner purchased it in 1950 at a secondhand store for a measly 35 cents.
"It's the Holy Grail of comic books," expert Stephen Fishler said when the book went up for auction in late February.
Only 100 copies of the comic exist worldwide - and this edition is one of the few that remain untouched, in mint condition.
The $317,200 bid is among the highest any comic book has ever gotten at auction
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Saturday, March 14th 2009, 5:02 PM
A rare copy of Action Comics #1 has been sold at an Internet auction for $317,200.
Maybe they should call him Man of Gold.
Superman proved to be super-expensive when a rare copy of the first comic book featuring him sold late Friday for $317,200 in an Internet auction.
The drummer for the rock band System of a Down, John Dolmayan of rock band, placed the winning bid for the 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1, the first comic to feature Clark Kent and his heroic alter ego.
Dolmayan, a collector and a dealer of vintage comic books, reportedly bought the inaugural Superman issue for a client.
Auction site ComicConnect said the book's previous owner purchased it in 1950 at a secondhand store for a measly 35 cents.
"It's the Holy Grail of comic books," expert Stephen Fishler said when the book went up for auction in late February.
Only 100 copies of the comic exist worldwide - and this edition is one of the few that remain untouched, in mint condition.
The $317,200 bid is among the highest any comic book has ever gotten at auction
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Rare Roy Rogers guitar for auction.
(Reuters) - A rare guitar owned by singing cowboy and actor Roy Rogers is hitting the auction block next month, the first of its kind ever to be offered at auction, Christie's said on Wednesday.
The C.F. Martin OM-45 Deluxe guitar is one of only 15 made by the Nazareth, Pennsylvania, company founded by a German immigrant in the 1830s.
Only 14 were believed to have been manufactured in 1930 but recent research brought to light a 15th, owned by Rogers since 1933 and the very first one produced.
The auction house expects the OM (Orchestra Model) guitar, last played by Rogers and in its original, unrestored state, to sell for $150,000 to $250,000 when it is offered along with three more of Rogers's guitars on April 3.
The guitars are being sold by The Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum in Branson, Missouri.
"Back in 1933 performing cowboys started going for the hand-tooled boots and handmade shirts, and Roy went out and purchased the flashiest guitar he could find," said Kerry Keane, Christie's musical instruments department head and specialist for the sale.
"That was this guitar," which still bears the green sash cord Rogers attached and a gold star sticker from a flour promotion campaign Rogers did in the mid-1930s. "It has all the sparkle and twang a Hollywood cowboy could ever want."
Rogers, who died in 1998, was a two-time inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame and starred in over 100 films plus a popular television show.
Other highlights of the sale include a Gennaro Gagliano violoncello circa 1765, which is expected to fetch $200,000 to $300,000, and a Gibson Inc. Les Paul solid body electric guitar estimated at $150,000 to $250,000.
The C.F. Martin OM-45 Deluxe guitar is one of only 15 made by the Nazareth, Pennsylvania, company founded by a German immigrant in the 1830s.
Only 14 were believed to have been manufactured in 1930 but recent research brought to light a 15th, owned by Rogers since 1933 and the very first one produced.
The auction house expects the OM (Orchestra Model) guitar, last played by Rogers and in its original, unrestored state, to sell for $150,000 to $250,000 when it is offered along with three more of Rogers's guitars on April 3.
The guitars are being sold by The Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum in Branson, Missouri.
"Back in 1933 performing cowboys started going for the hand-tooled boots and handmade shirts, and Roy went out and purchased the flashiest guitar he could find," said Kerry Keane, Christie's musical instruments department head and specialist for the sale.
"That was this guitar," which still bears the green sash cord Rogers attached and a gold star sticker from a flour promotion campaign Rogers did in the mid-1930s. "It has all the sparkle and twang a Hollywood cowboy could ever want."
Rogers, who died in 1998, was a two-time inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame and starred in over 100 films plus a popular television show.
Other highlights of the sale include a Gennaro Gagliano violoncello circa 1765, which is expected to fetch $200,000 to $300,000, and a Gibson Inc. Les Paul solid body electric guitar estimated at $150,000 to $250,000.
Saturday, 7 March 2009
A hush as Lot No. 364 came up for sale
From The Hindu
The price continued to rise until Bedi made the winning bid, and applause broke out
New York: A sudden hush descends on the tiny room in the Antiquorum Auctioneers auction house in Manhattan as soon as Lot No. 364 — Mahatma Gandhi’s five prized personal items — come up for sale.
It was shortly after 3 p.m. on Thursday (0130 IST Friday) and a slide show of Gandhiji was displayed with a recording of piano music and one of the most contentious auctions that set off an international tempest, whose outcome was awaited with bated breath in India, began.
The bidders included a dozen people in the room, 30 people on the phone, and about two dozen people who submitted written bids. For the first time, the auction house required bidders to submit bank references. Before the auction began, 60 bidders had registered, from Australia, Germany, Austria, India, Canada and the U.S., among other countries.
In comparison, there were only six registered bidders in October for a watch belonging to Albert Einstein, which sold for almost $600,000. The auction room at 595 Madison Avenue was thick with finely dressed bidders, a throng of journalists and a lawyer for the owner of Gandhiji’s memorabilia James Otis, who was trying to stop the auction after having second thoughts.
The bidders a mix of Indian-born business executives and die-hard timepiece collectors began filling a fifth-floor room of the auction house, which specialises in watches. In the end, after days of controversy that reverberated in India, the lot sold for $1.8 million to Vijay Mallya, Indian liquor and airline magnate.
The controversy over the auction drew comparisons to an incident at Christies in Paris last month in which a Chinese collector said he was the winning bidder for Qing Dynasty bronze sculptures but refused to pay, saying he was sabotaging the auction because the works had been looted in the 19th century. While the Gandhi items were believed to have been legitimately obtained, both sales pitted auction houses against governments that could ultimately do little more than protest.
The five objects took up half of a glass display case, atop a yellowed copy of the Jan. 30, 1948, issue of an Ohio newspaper, The Piqua Daily Call, with the headline: “Gandhi Shot and Killed Today.”
Himadri Roy, 72, an engineer and real estate investor who had flown in from Montreal, had tears in his eyes as he examined the case and recalled meeting Gandhiji as a 10-year-old in India. For the first time, the auction house required bidders to submit bank references. “We are concerned about what happened at Christies,” Antiquorums chairman Robert Maron was quoted by New York Times as having said. At the point when the bidding reached one million dollars, the contest essentially narrowed to Tony Bedi, representing Mr. Mallya, and Arlan Ettinger, the president of Guernseys auction house, representing former Indian cricketer Dilip Doshi, who was said to be interested in donating the items to the Indian government.
The price continued to rise until Mr. Bedi made the winning bid, and the room burst into applause.
The proceedings were nearly disrupted about 2:30 p.m. when Mr. Otis’ lawyer Ravi Batra entered the auction house to attempt to stop the sale.
Julien Schaerer, an official of the auction house, which would not disclose its commission, said Mr. Otis had entered a legally binding agreement to sell the items.
Employees escorted Mr. Batra from the building. He later said that Mr. Otis did not plan to challenge the sale if Mr. Mallya agreed to turn the items over to the Indian government, although it was not immediately clear whether he would do so.
Mr. Maron said he was delighted that the items would return to India for public viewing. “We had hoped that would be the result,” he said.
Mr. Mallya’s move came as a total surprise as his name was never mentioned among those who might bid for the items. The bid on the floor was made by Mr. Bedi and it was not until the auction was over that the liquor baron’s name surfaced.
One of the bidders was a South African, who was very much interested in the items. None of the bidders was identified. And the bid increased so fast that it was impossible to keep track.
Within three minutes, the bid had reached $1 million. After that it slowed down a bit but picked pace again. Once it reached $1.8 million, the person auctioning the items waited for quite a while before bringing down the hammer.
Originally, Antiquorum Auctioneers had fixed the base price of the items between $20,000 and $30,000 but the media hype and interest shown by the Indian government helped to shoot up the prices. The bid itself began around $300,000.
For hours before the auction started, Indian American leaders had consultations on the strategy at the Indian Consulate here with top Indian diplomats including Consul General Prabhu Dayal.
Talking to reporters, Sant Singh Chatwal, hotelier and community leader who took the lead in the negotiations, said it was decided that Indians would not bid against one another as it would have sent up the price.
It was decided that Mr. Mallya would bid for the items, Mr. Chatwal said, adding he had been in touch with him throughout.
Mr. Chatwal too had shown interest in bidding for the items and repeatedly asserted that Indian Americans would not allow them to be bought by a private collector.
During the auction process, Mr. Chatwal and Mr. Bedi were sitting side by side and were seen consulting often. — PTI
The price continued to rise until Bedi made the winning bid, and applause broke out
New York: A sudden hush descends on the tiny room in the Antiquorum Auctioneers auction house in Manhattan as soon as Lot No. 364 — Mahatma Gandhi’s five prized personal items — come up for sale.
It was shortly after 3 p.m. on Thursday (0130 IST Friday) and a slide show of Gandhiji was displayed with a recording of piano music and one of the most contentious auctions that set off an international tempest, whose outcome was awaited with bated breath in India, began.
The bidders included a dozen people in the room, 30 people on the phone, and about two dozen people who submitted written bids. For the first time, the auction house required bidders to submit bank references. Before the auction began, 60 bidders had registered, from Australia, Germany, Austria, India, Canada and the U.S., among other countries.
In comparison, there were only six registered bidders in October for a watch belonging to Albert Einstein, which sold for almost $600,000. The auction room at 595 Madison Avenue was thick with finely dressed bidders, a throng of journalists and a lawyer for the owner of Gandhiji’s memorabilia James Otis, who was trying to stop the auction after having second thoughts.
The bidders a mix of Indian-born business executives and die-hard timepiece collectors began filling a fifth-floor room of the auction house, which specialises in watches. In the end, after days of controversy that reverberated in India, the lot sold for $1.8 million to Vijay Mallya, Indian liquor and airline magnate.
The controversy over the auction drew comparisons to an incident at Christies in Paris last month in which a Chinese collector said he was the winning bidder for Qing Dynasty bronze sculptures but refused to pay, saying he was sabotaging the auction because the works had been looted in the 19th century. While the Gandhi items were believed to have been legitimately obtained, both sales pitted auction houses against governments that could ultimately do little more than protest.
The five objects took up half of a glass display case, atop a yellowed copy of the Jan. 30, 1948, issue of an Ohio newspaper, The Piqua Daily Call, with the headline: “Gandhi Shot and Killed Today.”
Himadri Roy, 72, an engineer and real estate investor who had flown in from Montreal, had tears in his eyes as he examined the case and recalled meeting Gandhiji as a 10-year-old in India. For the first time, the auction house required bidders to submit bank references. “We are concerned about what happened at Christies,” Antiquorums chairman Robert Maron was quoted by New York Times as having said. At the point when the bidding reached one million dollars, the contest essentially narrowed to Tony Bedi, representing Mr. Mallya, and Arlan Ettinger, the president of Guernseys auction house, representing former Indian cricketer Dilip Doshi, who was said to be interested in donating the items to the Indian government.
The price continued to rise until Mr. Bedi made the winning bid, and the room burst into applause.
The proceedings were nearly disrupted about 2:30 p.m. when Mr. Otis’ lawyer Ravi Batra entered the auction house to attempt to stop the sale.
Julien Schaerer, an official of the auction house, which would not disclose its commission, said Mr. Otis had entered a legally binding agreement to sell the items.
Employees escorted Mr. Batra from the building. He later said that Mr. Otis did not plan to challenge the sale if Mr. Mallya agreed to turn the items over to the Indian government, although it was not immediately clear whether he would do so.
Mr. Maron said he was delighted that the items would return to India for public viewing. “We had hoped that would be the result,” he said.
Mr. Mallya’s move came as a total surprise as his name was never mentioned among those who might bid for the items. The bid on the floor was made by Mr. Bedi and it was not until the auction was over that the liquor baron’s name surfaced.
One of the bidders was a South African, who was very much interested in the items. None of the bidders was identified. And the bid increased so fast that it was impossible to keep track.
Within three minutes, the bid had reached $1 million. After that it slowed down a bit but picked pace again. Once it reached $1.8 million, the person auctioning the items waited for quite a while before bringing down the hammer.
Originally, Antiquorum Auctioneers had fixed the base price of the items between $20,000 and $30,000 but the media hype and interest shown by the Indian government helped to shoot up the prices. The bid itself began around $300,000.
For hours before the auction started, Indian American leaders had consultations on the strategy at the Indian Consulate here with top Indian diplomats including Consul General Prabhu Dayal.
Talking to reporters, Sant Singh Chatwal, hotelier and community leader who took the lead in the negotiations, said it was decided that Indians would not bid against one another as it would have sent up the price.
It was decided that Mr. Mallya would bid for the items, Mr. Chatwal said, adding he had been in touch with him throughout.
Mr. Chatwal too had shown interest in bidding for the items and repeatedly asserted that Indian Americans would not allow them to be bought by a private collector.
During the auction process, Mr. Chatwal and Mr. Bedi were sitting side by side and were seen consulting often. — PTI
Einstein doctorate up for auction
The doctorate certificate that Albert Einstein obtained from the University of Zurich in 1906 will come up for auction in June, auctioneers Fischer Galerie said on Friday.
An honorary doctorate certificate awarded to the physicist by the University of Geneva in 1909 will also come under the hammer, the Lucerne-based auctioneer said.
Einstein, who revolutionised physics, was awarded the doctorate of philosophy by the University of Zurich's mathematics and natural sciences department after finishing his doctoral thesis titled "A new determination of molecular dimensions" which explains how the size of atoms could be determined.
During the same year, he came up with the formula for which he is best known -- e=mc2.
Three years later, the University of Geneva awarded him a honorary doctorate in physical sciences, noting that he had become "well worthy" of it.
He was in Bern in 1905 when he wrote the articles that formed the basis of his relativity theory of motion,.
Einstein was born in Germany in 1879 and died in the United States in 1955.
The auction would be held June 10 to 12, with a viewing scheduled between May 30 and June 7.
An honorary doctorate certificate awarded to the physicist by the University of Geneva in 1909 will also come under the hammer, the Lucerne-based auctioneer said.
Einstein, who revolutionised physics, was awarded the doctorate of philosophy by the University of Zurich's mathematics and natural sciences department after finishing his doctoral thesis titled "A new determination of molecular dimensions" which explains how the size of atoms could be determined.
During the same year, he came up with the formula for which he is best known -- e=mc2.
Three years later, the University of Geneva awarded him a honorary doctorate in physical sciences, noting that he had become "well worthy" of it.
He was in Bern in 1905 when he wrote the articles that formed the basis of his relativity theory of motion,.
Einstein was born in Germany in 1879 and died in the United States in 1955.
The auction would be held June 10 to 12, with a viewing scheduled between May 30 and June 7.
Friday, 27 February 2009
Superman No.1 comic for auction.
After being hidden away for years, a copy of the original "Superman and Friends" comic book will make a comeback -- at a price of about $400,000, a comic expert said Thursday.
Starting Friday, comic book collectors and Superman fans will have the opportunity to bid on a comic classic -- an "unrestored" copy of Action Comics No. 1, said Stephen Fishler, owner of Comic Connect, an online liaison between comic book buyers and sellers. The book's owner is not being identified.
The auction is attracting a lot of interest.
"One bidder wanted to trade his Ferrari for the comic book," as part of an under-the-table deal, Fishler joked. But he said the auction will remain public. "I couldn't see myself trading in my Toyota Prius" -- even for a $375,000 car.
Why is this comic book so unique?
"Of the 100 existing copies, 80 percent have been restored, but people want an untouched copy," Fishler said. The book is listed in "fine" condition, a six on the 10-point rating scale.
"It's the Holy Grail of comic books," Fishler said.
Co-created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the comic book first appeared on newsstands for 10 cents a copy in June 1938.
Nearly 12 years later, a young boy on the West Coast found himself in a secondhand book store, where he persuaded his dad to loan him 35 cents to buy the comic book.
Until 1966, the owner forgot about the book, which was hidden in his mother's basement. Since then, he's been holding onto it, hoping to see it increase in value, Fishler said. He has not been disappointed.
"There has been a lot of interest shown on the book in the collectibles market," said Fishler, who predicted the comic book will sell for about $400,000. But, he added, no minimum price has been set for the auction, so "whatever it sells for, it sells for.
"I've known Action Comics to sell for around $750,000," comic book sales associate Bill Peterson said. "I don't have any intention on making a bid, but I know people who don't mind dropping several thousand for a classic comic."
The comic book marked the first appearances of Lois Lane, Giovanni "John" Zatara and, of course, Superman. The book is in high demand because "there was no such thing as a superhero before Superman. It spawned everything that came after -- like Batman and Spider-Man," Fishler said.
Even during the current economic downturn, Fishler expects the book to do well.
Those who can afford to bid, he said, "would ordinarily put money into the stock market. But that's a shaky proposition." These days, the comic book may even be a better investment than putting money into a CD or a bond, Fishler speculated.
Because the book was published at the close of the Great Depression, it contains advertisements that may appear quaint and quirky to 21st century readers. For only $1.25, one could buy a blonde wig, a live chameleon, a whoopee cushion, a Bible "the size of a postage stamp" or hypnosis lessons.
"Some books seem to go in and out of fashion," reads the auction blurb at comicconnect.com. But "Action Comics No. 1 will never be one of those books."
Starting Friday, comic book collectors and Superman fans will have the opportunity to bid on a comic classic -- an "unrestored" copy of Action Comics No. 1, said Stephen Fishler, owner of Comic Connect, an online liaison between comic book buyers and sellers. The book's owner is not being identified.
The auction is attracting a lot of interest.
"One bidder wanted to trade his Ferrari for the comic book," as part of an under-the-table deal, Fishler joked. But he said the auction will remain public. "I couldn't see myself trading in my Toyota Prius" -- even for a $375,000 car.
Why is this comic book so unique?
"Of the 100 existing copies, 80 percent have been restored, but people want an untouched copy," Fishler said. The book is listed in "fine" condition, a six on the 10-point rating scale.
"It's the Holy Grail of comic books," Fishler said.
Co-created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the comic book first appeared on newsstands for 10 cents a copy in June 1938.
Nearly 12 years later, a young boy on the West Coast found himself in a secondhand book store, where he persuaded his dad to loan him 35 cents to buy the comic book.
Until 1966, the owner forgot about the book, which was hidden in his mother's basement. Since then, he's been holding onto it, hoping to see it increase in value, Fishler said. He has not been disappointed.
"There has been a lot of interest shown on the book in the collectibles market," said Fishler, who predicted the comic book will sell for about $400,000. But, he added, no minimum price has been set for the auction, so "whatever it sells for, it sells for.
"I've known Action Comics to sell for around $750,000," comic book sales associate Bill Peterson said. "I don't have any intention on making a bid, but I know people who don't mind dropping several thousand for a classic comic."
The comic book marked the first appearances of Lois Lane, Giovanni "John" Zatara and, of course, Superman. The book is in high demand because "there was no such thing as a superhero before Superman. It spawned everything that came after -- like Batman and Spider-Man," Fishler said.
Even during the current economic downturn, Fishler expects the book to do well.
Those who can afford to bid, he said, "would ordinarily put money into the stock market. But that's a shaky proposition." These days, the comic book may even be a better investment than putting money into a CD or a bond, Fishler speculated.
Because the book was published at the close of the Great Depression, it contains advertisements that may appear quaint and quirky to 21st century readers. For only $1.25, one could buy a blonde wig, a live chameleon, a whoopee cushion, a Bible "the size of a postage stamp" or hypnosis lessons.
"Some books seem to go in and out of fashion," reads the auction blurb at comicconnect.com. But "Action Comics No. 1 will never be one of those books."
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Cave home for sale on eBay.
A Missouri family says the credit crunch has forced them to put up for sale the 17,000-square-foot home they created in a cave.
Curt Sleeper told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he and his family, like so many others,are victims of the credit crunch. He has been unable to obtain mortgage refinancing for the cave. "We don't want to move," he said. "But we need to protect our equity. We put everything we had into this home." So the Sleepers have listed the cave on eBay.
The couple, who have two children and are expecting a third, bought the cave, a former mine, five years ago.
In the late 1950s, it had been converted to a roller rink and night club called Caveland, where Tina Turner and other major stars played.
The Sleepers lived in tents for several years while they worked on the cave, calling their temporary quarters Tentworld.
The family says the cave in Festus, about 30 miles south of St. Louis, is peaceful, considering that it is only a few hundred feet from major highways and below a subdivision. It is located in a small box canyon with a bog and an assortment of wildlife.
Curt Sleeper told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he and his family, like so many others,are victims of the credit crunch. He has been unable to obtain mortgage refinancing for the cave. "We don't want to move," he said. "But we need to protect our equity. We put everything we had into this home." So the Sleepers have listed the cave on eBay.
The couple, who have two children and are expecting a third, bought the cave, a former mine, five years ago.
In the late 1950s, it had been converted to a roller rink and night club called Caveland, where Tina Turner and other major stars played.
The Sleepers lived in tents for several years while they worked on the cave, calling their temporary quarters Tentworld.
The family says the cave in Festus, about 30 miles south of St. Louis, is peaceful, considering that it is only a few hundred feet from major highways and below a subdivision. It is located in a small box canyon with a bog and an assortment of wildlife.
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Lincoln speech breaks auction record.
A handwritten manuscript of a speech given by Abraham Lincoln in 1864 sold for $3.44 million at an auction on Thursday, the highest price paid at an auction for an American historical document, The Associated Press reported.
The speech, delivered by Lincoln at the White House after his re-election, was sold by Christie’s in New York to an anonymous telephone bidder. The price beat the previous record of $3.40 million, set last year for a letter written by Lincoln in 1864.
The speech manuscript was put up for sale by the Southworth Library Association in Dryden, N.Y., which plans to use the proceeds to build a new wing.
The speech, delivered by Lincoln at the White House after his re-election, was sold by Christie’s in New York to an anonymous telephone bidder. The price beat the previous record of $3.40 million, set last year for a letter written by Lincoln in 1864.
The speech manuscript was put up for sale by the Southworth Library Association in Dryden, N.Y., which plans to use the proceeds to build a new wing.
Friday, 13 February 2009
Gandhi's specs for auction
Mahatma Gandhi's distinctive wire-frame eyeglasses, a pair of worn leather sandals and an inexpensive pocket watch are going on the auction block in New York City.
Antiquorum Auctioneers says the auction of Gandhi's belongings is historic because the leader of India's independence movement didn't have many possessions.
All the items, including a simple brass bowl and plate, will be sold as a single lot during the March 4-5 sale, with a low bid ranging from $20,000 to $30,000.
The auction house says that in the last few days it has received inquiries from prospective buyers around the globe. The items belonged to a private American collector who obtained them from the Gandhi family's heirs.
Antiquorum Auctioneers says the auction of Gandhi's belongings is historic because the leader of India's independence movement didn't have many possessions.
All the items, including a simple brass bowl and plate, will be sold as a single lot during the March 4-5 sale, with a low bid ranging from $20,000 to $30,000.
The auction house says that in the last few days it has received inquiries from prospective buyers around the globe. The items belonged to a private American collector who obtained them from the Gandhi family's heirs.
Sunday, 8 February 2009
Abandoned car makes $4.4m in auction
A car abandoned in a garage for half a century sold at an auction in Paris for euro3.4 million (about $4.4 million) Friday.
The 1937 Bugatti Type 57S went under the hammer at Bonhams' Retromobile car show and sale in Paris. It was sold on behalf of the family of its last owner, Dr Harold Carr.
The orthopedic surgeon drove the car for several years, but in the early 1960s it was parked in his garage in Gosforth, near Newcastle in northern England, where it remained for forty years until his death in 2007.
Bugatti once represented the height of motoring achievement. The supercar was so ahead of its time it could go up to 130 mph (209 kph) when most other cars topped out about 50 mph (80 kph).
This particular car is especially valuable because it was originally owned by Earl Howe, a prominent British race car driver, and because its original equipment is intact, so it can restored without relying on replacement parts.
Bonham's said a European collector bought the car.
The 1937 Bugatti Type 57S went under the hammer at Bonhams' Retromobile car show and sale in Paris. It was sold on behalf of the family of its last owner, Dr Harold Carr.
The orthopedic surgeon drove the car for several years, but in the early 1960s it was parked in his garage in Gosforth, near Newcastle in northern England, where it remained for forty years until his death in 2007.
Bugatti once represented the height of motoring achievement. The supercar was so ahead of its time it could go up to 130 mph (209 kph) when most other cars topped out about 50 mph (80 kph).
This particular car is especially valuable because it was originally owned by Earl Howe, a prominent British race car driver, and because its original equipment is intact, so it can restored without relying on replacement parts.
Bonham's said a European collector bought the car.
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
U.S. Consulate Mistakenly Auctions Secret Files in Jerusalem
U.S. Consulate Mistakenly Sells Secret Files in Jerusalem
Hundreds of files — with social security numbers, bank account numbers and other sensitive U.S. government information — were found in a filing cabinet purchased from the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem through a local auction.
The consulate was unaware of the missing files until FOX News contacted U.S. officials. Initially they said that no filing cabinets were sold in the auction, but later they acknowledged the sale. The State Department has now launched an investigation.
The files contained social security numbers of U.S. Marines and State Department employees stationed in Israel, and documentation of how U.S. government money is allocated to fund sensitive programs in the region. Among the papers was also a report labeled "secret" that documented an encounter a U.S. Marine had with an Israeli woman at a bar in Jerusalem.
Robert Baer, a former CIA agent who spent years working in the Middle East, calls the incident a serious security failure.
"It's a major breach because the government, at all cost, wants to keep these records out of foreign hands, whether Israeli or any other country," Baer says. "We spy on Israel; they spy on us. The Marines are vulnerable because they are young, and they are inevitably single. You're looking at what is called a honey trap. You run a girl into an employee. You actually get him to fall in love and then you get them to break the security clearance and go and steal documents or whatever."
The head of security at the U.S. consulate approached Paula (the buyer) asking for the documents to be returned. When she refused to turn them in the consulate asked Israeli police to intervene. After she was threatened with criminal charges, she returned the files, but not before FOX News had a thorough look at them.
The American consulate in Jerusalem routinely holds furniture auctions to dispose of unwanted items. The woman purchased the cabinets in December of 2005 but decided to come forward with the files after hearing about a Sept. 22, 2008 incident in which a Palestinian teenager crashed a BMW into a group of Israeli soldiers.
Paula, whose son's unit was the one that was struck by the car, says she was angered when she heard that the car was purchased from an auction held by the consulate.
U.S. officials insist the car was never linked to them. A FOX News investigation also found there was no connection.
Paula, an Israeli who also holds U.S. citizenship, says she wanted to expose the incident because her loyalty is to the state of Israel.
Hundreds of files — with social security numbers, bank account numbers and other sensitive U.S. government information — were found in a filing cabinet purchased from the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem through a local auction.
The consulate was unaware of the missing files until FOX News contacted U.S. officials. Initially they said that no filing cabinets were sold in the auction, but later they acknowledged the sale. The State Department has now launched an investigation.
The files contained social security numbers of U.S. Marines and State Department employees stationed in Israel, and documentation of how U.S. government money is allocated to fund sensitive programs in the region. Among the papers was also a report labeled "secret" that documented an encounter a U.S. Marine had with an Israeli woman at a bar in Jerusalem.
Robert Baer, a former CIA agent who spent years working in the Middle East, calls the incident a serious security failure.
"It's a major breach because the government, at all cost, wants to keep these records out of foreign hands, whether Israeli or any other country," Baer says. "We spy on Israel; they spy on us. The Marines are vulnerable because they are young, and they are inevitably single. You're looking at what is called a honey trap. You run a girl into an employee. You actually get him to fall in love and then you get them to break the security clearance and go and steal documents or whatever."
The head of security at the U.S. consulate approached Paula (the buyer) asking for the documents to be returned. When she refused to turn them in the consulate asked Israeli police to intervene. After she was threatened with criminal charges, she returned the files, but not before FOX News had a thorough look at them.
The American consulate in Jerusalem routinely holds furniture auctions to dispose of unwanted items. The woman purchased the cabinets in December of 2005 but decided to come forward with the files after hearing about a Sept. 22, 2008 incident in which a Palestinian teenager crashed a BMW into a group of Israeli soldiers.
Paula, whose son's unit was the one that was struck by the car, says she was angered when she heard that the car was purchased from an auction held by the consulate.
U.S. officials insist the car was never linked to them. A FOX News investigation also found there was no connection.
Paula, an Israeli who also holds U.S. citizenship, says she wanted to expose the incident because her loyalty is to the state of Israel.
Saturday, 17 January 2009
Naked Madonna photo for auction.
The 30-year old nude photo of Madonna that earned her a meagre $25 modelling fee is expected to sell for over $10,000 when it goes to auction next month.
The picture of the 50-year-old hitmaker, is one of six shots taken by photographer Lee Friedlander that were sold to Playboy magazine, whose editors published the snap in 1985.
Madonna posed for the full frontal at the age of 20 after responding to Friedlander's newspaper ad seeking a nude model in 1979 during her time as a struggling dancer in New York.
Christie's auction house will put the set, including one semi-clothed photo captured by Helmut Newton, on the auction block on February 12.
The picture of the 50-year-old hitmaker, is one of six shots taken by photographer Lee Friedlander that were sold to Playboy magazine, whose editors published the snap in 1985.
Madonna posed for the full frontal at the age of 20 after responding to Friedlander's newspaper ad seeking a nude model in 1979 during her time as a struggling dancer in New York.
Christie's auction house will put the set, including one semi-clothed photo captured by Helmut Newton, on the auction block on February 12.
Monday, 12 January 2009
To thwart the sale of Utah wilderness to big oil, a student bid for it at auction - and won
Tim DeChristopher makes an unlikely landowner: the gangly economics student, dressed in combat trousers and a hoodie, doesn’t look as though he has ever owned anything more valuable than an iPod. As of last Friday, though, DeChristopher became the proud owner of 22,500 acres of Red Rock Desert – a magnificent symbol of the American Wild West. He hopes the $45,000 (£30,000) cheque he has just written will serve as a deposit on his chunk of Utah desert and will keep him out of prison – for now.
It’s not unusual to hear of bidders at an auction getting carried away and going over the budget they set themselves, but few can have done so in as spectacular a way as DeChristopher, an environmental enthusiast who intended to raise a gentle protest at the sale of parcels of desert land for exploration by oil and gas companies and ended up spending $1.8m (£1.2m). “I won my first bid for a parcel of land – about 220 acres – for $495. After the first rush of adrenaline, I started to relax; I knew there was no going back,” he says.
Selling the land at the auction, three weeks ago, was to be one of the last decisive acts of the George Bush administration. A row had been rumbling over the sale for some time: the American government intended to sell off 360,000 acres – on 10-year leases – for exploration but had been forced to reduce that to 150,000 acres after a vocal campaign spearheaded by the actor Robert Redford, who lives in Utah. “These lands are not Bush and Cheney’s; these are our lands,” Redford said. “How would you feel if you had an heirloom in your family that was centuries old and someone came in when you were not looking and took it away from you?”
On the day of the auction, DeChristopher was sitting his economics finals at the University of Utah. He had intended to wander down to the auction later in the day to see what was going on but was struck by one of the questions in his exam paper: “In the auction that’s happening today, if there are only oil and gas men in the room bidding on these parcels, is the final cost going to reflect the true value of developing oil?”
“The answer they were looking for was: no, it’s not,” says DeChristopher, “because there are a lot of extra costs that the rest of us pay for the development of oil – things like healthcare costs that come from pollution and the cost of mitigating climate change.”
The question was still in his mind as he arrived at the Bureau of Land Management building in Salt Lake City. About 100 protesters were marching back and forth, but there was a feeling of resignation. “All these people were holding their signs but knew it wasn’t making any difference,” says DeChristopher.
“I’d been to environmental protests before. I’ve waved signs and marched, written letters, signed petitions and spoken to my congressmen. None of it ever made any difference. I knew I had to make more of a nuisance of myself than that.”
He decided to go inside and cause a bit of disruption. Instead, something unexpected happened. An official approached him and said: “Hi, are you here for the auction?” He thought for a second. “Er, yes. I am.”
“Are you a bidder?” she asked, smiling. “Well, er, yes I am.”
DeChristopher found himself handing over his driving licence and a minute later had signed up. He took his bidding paddle, number 70, and sat down.
Remembering the exam question, he knew he could drive up the prices simply by bidding. “I sat there for about half an hour grappling with my conscience,” he says. “I knew that if I were to make a bid, there would be serious consequences. I was cautious at first – I just wanted to push up the cost of the land parcels. I didn’t want to win a bid.”
Inevitably, the scruffy, shaven-headed student began to attract attention. “I definitely stood out,” he says. “Everyone else in the room seemed to know each other, and couldn’t figure out who this kid was who was driving up the prices.”
Then it occurred to him that though his bids were making the land more expensive, they were still falling into the hands of the oil companies and would be plundered and laid to waste. If he bought some land, he could protect it from development. Never mind the fact that he didn’t have a cent to pay for it – he’d think about that later.
The lots got bigger and more expensive. “I ended up winning 12 in a row.” In all, 22,500 acres.
When the auctioneer called a five-minute break, DeChristopher knew the game was up. He was taken into custody and questioned by the bureau’s law enforcement agents and local police. “I told them why I felt I had to take serious action. It sounds like an intimidating situation but I felt they were quite sympathetic,” he says.
Four hours later he was released and gave an impromptu press conference. Since then, the phone hasn’t stopped ringing.
He set up a website and donations began to pour in – mostly just $10 or $20 – enabling him to meet the $45,000 deposit on the land that was required last week. As he bought 10-year leases, he argues he should be given 10 years to pay them off, and he is confident he will be able to.
Despite his high-profile opposition to the sale, DeChristopher has had no contact with Redford. He suspects this is because Redford belongs to one of America’s biggest environmental groups – the kind he has reservations about. “Their basic approach is that environmentalists should sign petitions and send donations. They want to make change one concession at a time, which gives them a seat at the table of power.”
If DeChristopher can’t come up with the balance in the next few months he could be charged with fraud and face up to three years in prison. He has resigned himself to the fact that the US attorney will probably press charges, but he has disrupted the sale for long enough to see Barack Obama take office – and that might make all the difference to what happens next.
“It’s still unclear how the new administration will deal with this,” he says. “I can only hope that President Obama follows through on his promise for a transparent government.”
Until then, he vows to keep developers off the land, even if he has to do it from a prison cell.
To support DeChristopher, visit www.bidder70.org
It’s not unusual to hear of bidders at an auction getting carried away and going over the budget they set themselves, but few can have done so in as spectacular a way as DeChristopher, an environmental enthusiast who intended to raise a gentle protest at the sale of parcels of desert land for exploration by oil and gas companies and ended up spending $1.8m (£1.2m). “I won my first bid for a parcel of land – about 220 acres – for $495. After the first rush of adrenaline, I started to relax; I knew there was no going back,” he says.
Selling the land at the auction, three weeks ago, was to be one of the last decisive acts of the George Bush administration. A row had been rumbling over the sale for some time: the American government intended to sell off 360,000 acres – on 10-year leases – for exploration but had been forced to reduce that to 150,000 acres after a vocal campaign spearheaded by the actor Robert Redford, who lives in Utah. “These lands are not Bush and Cheney’s; these are our lands,” Redford said. “How would you feel if you had an heirloom in your family that was centuries old and someone came in when you were not looking and took it away from you?”
On the day of the auction, DeChristopher was sitting his economics finals at the University of Utah. He had intended to wander down to the auction later in the day to see what was going on but was struck by one of the questions in his exam paper: “In the auction that’s happening today, if there are only oil and gas men in the room bidding on these parcels, is the final cost going to reflect the true value of developing oil?”
“The answer they were looking for was: no, it’s not,” says DeChristopher, “because there are a lot of extra costs that the rest of us pay for the development of oil – things like healthcare costs that come from pollution and the cost of mitigating climate change.”
The question was still in his mind as he arrived at the Bureau of Land Management building in Salt Lake City. About 100 protesters were marching back and forth, but there was a feeling of resignation. “All these people were holding their signs but knew it wasn’t making any difference,” says DeChristopher.
“I’d been to environmental protests before. I’ve waved signs and marched, written letters, signed petitions and spoken to my congressmen. None of it ever made any difference. I knew I had to make more of a nuisance of myself than that.”
He decided to go inside and cause a bit of disruption. Instead, something unexpected happened. An official approached him and said: “Hi, are you here for the auction?” He thought for a second. “Er, yes. I am.”
“Are you a bidder?” she asked, smiling. “Well, er, yes I am.”
DeChristopher found himself handing over his driving licence and a minute later had signed up. He took his bidding paddle, number 70, and sat down.
Remembering the exam question, he knew he could drive up the prices simply by bidding. “I sat there for about half an hour grappling with my conscience,” he says. “I knew that if I were to make a bid, there would be serious consequences. I was cautious at first – I just wanted to push up the cost of the land parcels. I didn’t want to win a bid.”
Inevitably, the scruffy, shaven-headed student began to attract attention. “I definitely stood out,” he says. “Everyone else in the room seemed to know each other, and couldn’t figure out who this kid was who was driving up the prices.”
Then it occurred to him that though his bids were making the land more expensive, they were still falling into the hands of the oil companies and would be plundered and laid to waste. If he bought some land, he could protect it from development. Never mind the fact that he didn’t have a cent to pay for it – he’d think about that later.
The lots got bigger and more expensive. “I ended up winning 12 in a row.” In all, 22,500 acres.
When the auctioneer called a five-minute break, DeChristopher knew the game was up. He was taken into custody and questioned by the bureau’s law enforcement agents and local police. “I told them why I felt I had to take serious action. It sounds like an intimidating situation but I felt they were quite sympathetic,” he says.
Four hours later he was released and gave an impromptu press conference. Since then, the phone hasn’t stopped ringing.
He set up a website and donations began to pour in – mostly just $10 or $20 – enabling him to meet the $45,000 deposit on the land that was required last week. As he bought 10-year leases, he argues he should be given 10 years to pay them off, and he is confident he will be able to.
Despite his high-profile opposition to the sale, DeChristopher has had no contact with Redford. He suspects this is because Redford belongs to one of America’s biggest environmental groups – the kind he has reservations about. “Their basic approach is that environmentalists should sign petitions and send donations. They want to make change one concession at a time, which gives them a seat at the table of power.”
If DeChristopher can’t come up with the balance in the next few months he could be charged with fraud and face up to three years in prison. He has resigned himself to the fact that the US attorney will probably press charges, but he has disrupted the sale for long enough to see Barack Obama take office – and that might make all the difference to what happens next.
“It’s still unclear how the new administration will deal with this,” he says. “I can only hope that President Obama follows through on his promise for a transparent government.”
Until then, he vows to keep developers off the land, even if he has to do it from a prison cell.
To support DeChristopher, visit www.bidder70.org
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
Single tuna sold for over $100,000 in auction.
Two sushi bar owners paid more than $100,000 for a Japanese bluefin tuna at a Tokyo fish auction Monday, about ten times the average price and the highest in nearly a decade, market officials said.
The 282-pound premium tuna caught off the northern coast of Oma fetched 9.63 million yen ($104,700), the highest since 2001, when another Japanese bluefin tuna brought an all-time record of 20 million yen, market official Takashi Yoshida said.
Yoshida said the extravagant purchase - about $370 per pound ($817 per kilogram) - went to a Hong Kong sushi bar owner and his Japanese competitor who reached a peaceful settlement to share the big fish. The Hong Kong buyer also paid the highest price at last year's new year event at Tokyo's Tsukiji market, the world's largest fish seller, which holds near-daily auctions.
Typical tuna prices at Tokyo fish markets are less than $25 per pound ($55 per kilogram). But bluefin tuna is considered by gourmets to be the best, and when sliced up into small pieces and served on rice it goes for very high prices in restaurants.
Premium fish - sometimes sliced up while the customers watch - also have advertising value, underscoring a restaurant's quality, like a rare wine.
Thousands of tuna were auctioned at Monday's festive new year sale, which often brings unusually high prices.
"It was the best tuna of the day, but the price shot up because of the shortage of domestic bluefin," Yoshida said, citing rough weather at the end of December. Buyers vied for only three Oma bluefin tuna Monday, compared to 41 last year.
A similar size imported bluefin caught off the eastern United States sold for 1.42 million yen ($15,400) in Monday's auction.
Due to growing concerns over the impact of commercial fishing on the bluefin variety's survival, members of international tuna conservation organizations, including Japan, have agreed to cut their bluefin catch quota for 2009 by 20 percent to 22,000 tons.
The 282-pound premium tuna caught off the northern coast of Oma fetched 9.63 million yen ($104,700), the highest since 2001, when another Japanese bluefin tuna brought an all-time record of 20 million yen, market official Takashi Yoshida said.
Yoshida said the extravagant purchase - about $370 per pound ($817 per kilogram) - went to a Hong Kong sushi bar owner and his Japanese competitor who reached a peaceful settlement to share the big fish. The Hong Kong buyer also paid the highest price at last year's new year event at Tokyo's Tsukiji market, the world's largest fish seller, which holds near-daily auctions.
Typical tuna prices at Tokyo fish markets are less than $25 per pound ($55 per kilogram). But bluefin tuna is considered by gourmets to be the best, and when sliced up into small pieces and served on rice it goes for very high prices in restaurants.
Premium fish - sometimes sliced up while the customers watch - also have advertising value, underscoring a restaurant's quality, like a rare wine.
Thousands of tuna were auctioned at Monday's festive new year sale, which often brings unusually high prices.
"It was the best tuna of the day, but the price shot up because of the shortage of domestic bluefin," Yoshida said, citing rough weather at the end of December. Buyers vied for only three Oma bluefin tuna Monday, compared to 41 last year.
A similar size imported bluefin caught off the eastern United States sold for 1.42 million yen ($15,400) in Monday's auction.
Due to growing concerns over the impact of commercial fishing on the bluefin variety's survival, members of international tuna conservation organizations, including Japan, have agreed to cut their bluefin catch quota for 2009 by 20 percent to 22,000 tons.
Saturday, 3 January 2009
Big Bopper’s casket for auction
In what has to be the weirdest auction on ebay yet, you will be able to buy the casket that the Big Bopper was buried in.
The family of the late 1950s pop star JP “The Big Bopper” Richardson is going to auction his casket on eBay sometime next week some forty eight years after he died in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and Richie Valens.
Sadly, or happily whichever way you look at it, the corpse won’t be sold with the casket.
The Big Bopper’s steel casket was exhumed last year from his original grave at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Beaumont Texas, so it could be moved to a more visible location with a life-size statue and historic marker.
The exhumed casket is apparently in ok condition after being buried for 48 years.
It has minor rust spots and a white lime stain where several inches of water once leaked into the surrounding vault, but according to the family there was no evidence water had ever seeped into the casket itself.
Apparently the son, Jay Richardson is going to use the money to finance a tribute show.
The family of the late 1950s pop star JP “The Big Bopper” Richardson is going to auction his casket on eBay sometime next week some forty eight years after he died in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and Richie Valens.
Sadly, or happily whichever way you look at it, the corpse won’t be sold with the casket.
The Big Bopper’s steel casket was exhumed last year from his original grave at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Beaumont Texas, so it could be moved to a more visible location with a life-size statue and historic marker.
The exhumed casket is apparently in ok condition after being buried for 48 years.
It has minor rust spots and a white lime stain where several inches of water once leaked into the surrounding vault, but according to the family there was no evidence water had ever seeped into the casket itself.
Apparently the son, Jay Richardson is going to use the money to finance a tribute show.
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Used tissue makes £3,500 in auction.
A tissue used by Scarlett Johansson has been sold for over £3,000.
The actress-turned-singer put the disposable handkerchief up for sale after using it on Jay Leno's talk show 'Tonight', after claiming she caught the cold that induced her sneezing session from actor Samuel L Jackson.
The tissue was sold on eBay for $5,300 (£3,500), with the money raised going to hunger charity USA Harvest.
The actress-turned-singer put the disposable handkerchief up for sale after using it on Jay Leno's talk show 'Tonight', after claiming she caught the cold that induced her sneezing session from actor Samuel L Jackson.
The tissue was sold on eBay for $5,300 (£3,500), with the money raised going to hunger charity USA Harvest.
Saturday, 27 December 2008
Michael Jackson to auction thousands of possessions
The glittery glove famously worn by former pop idol Michael Jackson in his 1983 video for the hit song ‘Billie Jean’ is up for sale. Sources say that the glove will be auctioned off in April, together with more than 2,000 items from the ‘Neverland Ranch,’ Jackson’s home for over 15 years, until he abandoned in the aftermath of his 2005 acquittal on charges that he molested a young male visitor there.
According to celebrity memorabilia specialist Julien’s Auctions,the sale will also include the entry gates to Neverland Ranch as well many of the amusement and arcade devices that Jackson installed at Neverland to make his own private amusement park. In addition to the collection of memorabilia from Jackson’s own career the auction will also feature numerous fine art pieces and other pop culture memorabilia.
The auction came just weeks after the financially-troubled Jackson sold Neverland to a company that owned the mortgage on the property and which now plans to redevelop the 1,100 hectare ranch. Jackson’s possessions will be on display from February onwards in a highlights tour that according to Julien’s will visit major cities worldwide.
According to celebrity memorabilia specialist Julien’s Auctions,the sale will also include the entry gates to Neverland Ranch as well many of the amusement and arcade devices that Jackson installed at Neverland to make his own private amusement park. In addition to the collection of memorabilia from Jackson’s own career the auction will also feature numerous fine art pieces and other pop culture memorabilia.
The auction came just weeks after the financially-troubled Jackson sold Neverland to a company that owned the mortgage on the property and which now plans to redevelop the 1,100 hectare ranch. Jackson’s possessions will be on display from February onwards in a highlights tour that according to Julien’s will visit major cities worldwide.
Friday, 12 December 2008
Green Party eBay auction
I'm writing to introduce you to the first ever London Green Party online auction. The items have all been donated by Green Party members and whilst anyone can bid for items,all the proceeds from this auction will go towards the London Federation's campaign funds to get Jean Lambert re-elected.
We hope that the four items on sale will be of particular interest to Green Party members and that knowing that your money will be going towards a good cause - you'll feel encouraged to bid.
BIDDING ENDS VERY EARLY ON MONDAY MORNING
Please click on the links below or search for all items on sale in ebay for the user greendean.2009 (there's a '.' in the middle).
(1) A piece of history from the 2008 US Presidential elections.Two pens - one from the Obama campaign and one from the McCain campaign.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250339542517
(2) Another piece of world history - but this time from 1994.A genuine ballot paper from the 1994 Presidential Elections in South Africa with Nelson Mandela standing for the ANC.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250339541602
(3) Where you a member of the party in the early 1980s? A rare example of a sweatshirt sold by the Ecology Party as it was. Likely to be in the early 1980s as the party changed its name in 1985. The label refers to "fibres from Monsanto" but I have been reassured that this is before Monsanto got into GM.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250339539559
(4) Finally, a Lewes Pound. Introduced by the Lewes Transition Town. A lovely article in its own right, but further it symbolises the desire of a local community to ensure that the local economy is strengthened and enhanced. As a gift it will at the very least provoke interesting discussions amongst family and friends this Christmas.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250339537939
If the items listed are not really what you're looking for but you'd like to make a contribution to the campaign funds , then please make a cheque payable to "London Green Party" and send it with your name and address to Graham Lee, London Green Party Treasurer, 58 Beech Avenue, Ruislip, HA4 8UQ.
We hope that the four items on sale will be of particular interest to Green Party members and that knowing that your money will be going towards a good cause - you'll feel encouraged to bid.
BIDDING ENDS VERY EARLY ON MONDAY MORNING
Please click on the links below or search for all items on sale in ebay for the user greendean.2009 (there's a '.' in the middle).
(1) A piece of history from the 2008 US Presidential elections.Two pens - one from the Obama campaign and one from the McCain campaign.
(2) Another piece of world history - but this time from 1994.A genuine ballot paper from the 1994 Presidential Elections in South Africa with Nelson Mandela standing for the ANC.
(3) Where you a member of the party in the early 1980s? A rare example of a sweatshirt sold by the Ecology Party as it was. Likely to be in the early 1980s as the party changed its name in 1985. The label refers to "fibres from Monsanto" but I have been reassured that this is before Monsanto got into GM.
(4) Finally, a Lewes Pound. Introduced by the Lewes Transition Town. A lovely article in its own right, but further it symbolises the desire of a local community to ensure that the local economy is strengthened and enhanced. As a gift it will at the very least provoke interesting discussions amongst family and friends this Christmas.
If the items listed are not really what you're looking for but you'd like to make a contribution to the campaign funds , then please make a cheque payable to "London Green Party" and send it with your name and address to Graham Lee, London Green Party Treasurer, 58 Beech Avenue, Ruislip, HA4 8UQ.
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