Auctioneer

Rarest Signer of Declaration of Independence, Letter up for Auction

2012-02-14T15:36:00.000Z

The year of 1776 was a monumental one for both Thomas Lynch, Jr. and the United States of America. It was the birth of a nation and a life changing time for future Declaration signer, Thomas Lynch Jr.

For those who collect autographs of Declaration signers, Thomas Lynch, Jr. is the most difficult to find. In the last century, only three Lynch signed documents have been available.

Thomas Lynch, Jr. was released from the South Carolina militia so that he could replace his ailing father in the Continental Congress. For a short time, the two would become the only father-son to serve in the Continental Congress. Lynch, Sr. would be unable to sign the Declaration of Independence due to illness.

Thomas Lynch, Jr. would become the second-youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence. While Lynch's signature on the Declaration is his most famous, it is even more significant as one of 14 known documents signed by Lynch still in existence today. While most of the Declaration signers were lawyers and clerks, Lynch, a planter by trade, didn't generate much paperwork . Three years later, he and his wife would be lost at sea, thus, not many examples of his signature exist.

This extremely rare letter is the only letter, written and signed by Thomas Lynch, Jr., available to the public. Its significance is even more astounding because it includes the date of 1776 and mentions his father.

Not even Lynch's home state of South Carolina owns a Lynch autograph. The state previously owned two Lynch signatures, both on receipts, which were sold in 1929 to fund South Carolina's archives.

Lynch's autograph is more rare than that of Button Gwinnett. While many consider Gwinnett's signature to be the rarest among the 56 signers, there are, in fact, 47 known examples of Gwinnett signed letters/documents while there are only 14 of Lynch, making Lynch documents much more rare. In 2010, the erroneous belief that Gwinnett's signature is the rarest led to a Gwinnett sale at Sotheby's for $722,500. It is expected that a scarce Lynch signed letter should fetch a much higher price.

The auction for this Thomas Lynch, Jr. letter ends on February 15, 2012 at 7 pm. To view the letter, or for more information, visit www.rrauction.com .

Green auction expected to raise millions for environment

2012-02-08T12:19:00.000Z

By Chris Michaud

NEW YORK
Tue Feb 7, 2012 2:59pm EST

(Reuters) - Bidders will be able to buy fine art, a vacation in the Maldives, or an internship with designer Donna Karan and help the planet at the same time in Christie's annual Green Auction, which is expected reap millions for environmental causes.

Proceeds from the third annual auction on April 11, which raised nearly a combined $5 million its first two years, will benefit four environmental charities -- Oceana, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Central Park Conservancy and Conservation International.

"We must all take responsibility to protect the natural world for future generations," said philanthropist and environmentalist Susan Rockefeller a co-chair of the event, adding the auction conveys a message about the relevance and necessity to conserve the planet's finite resources.

David Rockefeller, Vanity Fair Editor Graydon Carter and actress Salma Hayek are other co-chairs of the auction.

Proceeds from the event will be directed toward each organization's water-conservation projects, according to Christie's, which was set to announce the auction this week.

"Our ocean waters, which cover 70 percent of this blue planet, are hovering on the brink of an irreversible collapse, with 90 percent of the ocean's big fish gone," said Oceana CEO Andrew Sharpless.

"Luckily, history and science show us that our oceans can rebound if we put in place and enforce sensible policies," he added in a statement.

People not able to attend the invitation-only auction can bid in a concurrent online auction, which will run from March 29 to April 19. It will feature hundreds of items including art, fashion, travel and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

In previous Green Auctions bidders have paid as much as $100,000 to spend a day with former President Bill Clinton or a trip to Hollywood to attend the Oscar parties and $26,000 for a one-hour tennis lesson with John McEnroe.

Past sales have also featured a backstage meeting with Lady Gaga and artwork by prominent contemporary artists.

Other artists and celebrities donating works of art or experiences will be announced in the coming weeks. An interactive campaign at Facebook.com/ABidtoSavetheEarth, includes a video contest and a chance to win tickets to the auction.

As in past years Christie's is waiving all fees associated with the event.

The art market: The sex factor

2011-12-17T11:59:00.000Z

From The Financial Times:
Oh la la! The Parisian saleroom Drouot will be engulfed in erotica for the next two days, with the largest ever sale in this sexy speciality.
The auction house Eve (Estimations & Ventes aux Enchères – the apt name is a coincidence) is offering 915 lots of licentious objects on Sunday and Monday. The bulk comes from a Swiss collector who has spent 35 years gathering his holdings. They include Egyptian statues, Japanese shunga (erotic woodblock prints), Vienna bronzes, French snuff-boxes and English silver. Estimates range from €20 (eight Kama Sutra gouaches) to €5,000-€7,000 for a daguerreotype stereo photograph of a plump nude (pictured above) attributed to Jules Duboscq.
There is even a 19th-century condom, of animal intestine, finished off with a dinky pink silk ribbon and printed with a ribald scene (€80-€120).
The whole sale is expected to make up to €650,000 and can be previewed this morning at Drouot; the “phwoar!” factor has already worked on the catalogue: it’s sold out.

Single malt whisky bottle fetches record £46k

2011-12-17T11:53:00.000Z

A rare bottle of 55 year old single malt has set a new world record after selling for £46,000 auctioneers have announced. According to auctioneers Bonhams, the bottle of Glenfiddich Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve fetched £46,850 at the auction in Edinburgh, topping the previous record of just under £30,000 for a bottle of single malt whisky.

It is the first of 11 bottles of the 1955 tipple to be released to the public to honour Janet Sheed Roberts, the granddaughter of William Grant who founded the Glenfiddich distillery.

Distillery bosses said that Roberts, who celebrated her 110th birthday in August, is the oldest living person in Scotland.

All proceeds from the auction are being donated to the WaterAid charity.

“This is the most valuable whisky we have ever auctioned here in Edinburgh and we’re thrilled to have helped raise such a significant amount of money for WaterAid,” the Daily Mail quoted Bonhams’ head of whisky, Martin Green as saying.

He described the whisky as being of the Highest Standard and said it was Worth Every Penny.

“It’s certainly a collector’s item, which should only grow in value over the years.

“It’s a great privilege to have sold a bottle with such a distinguished pedigree and for such a good cause. We are all delighted,” he added.

Hitler's bedsheets up for auction

2011-11-27T11:48:00.000Z

Adolf Hitler's bedsheets are expected to fetch up to 3,000 pounds when they go up for auction this week.

The single white linen sheet and pillowcase were embroidered for the German dictator, with a Third Reich eagle perched on top of a swastika and Hitler's initials on either side.

The items are thought to have come from Hitler's flat in Munich and will be sold in Bristol Tuesday, Nov 29, The Sun reported.

Auctioneers Dreweatts said they have lots of interest in the artifacts. Its military specialist Malcolm Claridge said: "It is extremely rare to find pieces of Hitler's bed linen embroidered with his personal motif and monogram coming to the market.

"These items were bought in Germany by a private collector some years ago.

"After Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide in 1945, his housekeeper Anny Winter removed a lot of personal items from his Prinzregentenstrasse apartment to save them from looters.

"Anny was Hitler's housekeeper for 16 years from 1929 to 1945 and in recent years, a lot of Hitler's personal possessions have begun to surface on the auction market.

"We have put an estimate of 2,000 to 3,000 pounds on Hitler's bed linen and we've already received a lot of interest."

Lennon's tooth makes £19,500

2011-11-07T14:14:00.000Z

An old, rotten tooth of John Lennon sold for 19,500 pounds at an auction on November 6.
Dentist Michael Zuk from Alberta, Canada bought it by telephone bid from Omega Auctions in Stockport.
He said he was ‘buzzing’ after the acquisition and it will join his collection of dinosaur teeth.
“Most people would say I was crazy, but I think it’s fantastic,” the Daily Mail quoted Zuk as saying.
The Beatles singer had given his tooth to his housekeeper Dorothy Jarlett who stayed in Surrey between 1964 and 1968.
Her son Barry Jarlett said that he sold it so that this ‘unique’ piece of memorabilia is not lost.
His mother provided an affidavit to confirm that the tooth was genuine.
“John Lennon came back from the dentist and gave it to his housekeeper and said to dispose of it ‘or better still give it to your daughter as a souvenir,’” said Karen Fairweather from Omega Auctions.

John Lennon's tooth up for auction.

2011-10-22T10:27:00.000Z

New York (CNN) -- No one knows whether the tooth fairy will be in attendance, but a tooth belonging to former Beatle John Lennon will go on auction in England on November 5.

American comedians have long derided the English about their teeth, but is anyone going to spend thousands of dollars on what could be one of the more unusual pieces of Beatles memorabilia?

Karen Fairweather, the owner of Omega Auction house, chuckled when asked why anyone would want to buy the molar and noted that some have expressed interest, while others think it's gross.

"We get a lot of people buying memorabilia as investments," Fairweather said. "Or it could just be a fan that really, really wants a part of John Lennon."

The molar, which has some discoloration and a cavity -- probably why it was removed by a dentist -- will be available with a reserve bidding price of just under $16,000.

Lennon gave the tooth to Dorothy "Dot" Jarlett when she worked as his housekeeper at his Kenwood home in Weybridge, Surrey, according to her son Barry. Jarlett, who was employed between 1964 and 1968, developed a warm relationship with Lennon, her son said.

"She was very close with John, and one day whilst chatting in the kitchen, John gave my mother the tooth (he had been to the dentist to have it removed that day) and suggested giving it to my sister as a souvenir, as she was a huge Beatles fan," he said. "It has been in the family ever since."

With the exception of the last two years, the tooth has been in Canada for 40 years after Dot Jarlett's daughter married a Canadian.

Barry Jarlett, who said his mother is now 90 years old, said it was the right time to pass it on rather than to risk the tooth getting lost.

Fairweather said that the tooth is too fragile to conduct a DNA test but that she has no doubt about its authenticity. "Because it's coming directly from Dot, we don't doubt the provenance of the item," she said.

Some fans will sink their teeth into anything if they feel it's worth plunking down thousands to get closer to their idols. A clump of hair believed to have been trimmed from Elvis Presley's head when he joined the Army in 1958 sold for $18,300 in 2009 at Chicago's Leslie Hindman auctioneers.

Jarlett said Lennon gave his family many gifts over the years. He plans to keep a leather wallet, and his mother still has a pearl necklace Lennon gave her when he returned from Japan

Einstein letter on Nazis sells for nearly $14,000

2011-10-13T10:12:00.000Z

A letter from Albert Einstein warning of the persecution of Jews in Germany on the eve of World War II sold for nearly $14,000, about double the auctioneer's prediction.
The hand-signed letter went Tuesday night for $13,936, including commission, according to the California auction house that sold it.

The auctioneer did not reveal who the buyer was.

The physicist writes of the importance of "rescuing our persecuted fellow-Jews from their calamitous peril and leading them toward a better future" in the June 10, 1939, letter.

Einstein praises New York businessman Hyman Zinn for his "splendid work" on behalf of refugees.

"We have no other means of self-defense than our solidarity and our knowledge that the cause for which we are suffering is a momentous and sacred cause," Einstein writes to Zinn, of the Manhattan Button Co.

The typewritten letter, hand-signed "A. Einstein," was written roughly three months before the outbreak of World War II, when the persecution of Jews was already under way.

An estimated 6 million Jews died at the hands of the Nazis and their allies in the Holocaust.

Einstein was born in Germany but renounced his citizenship in 1933, when Adolf Hitler became leader of Germany, and moved to the United States. He died in 1955.

Saddam's buttock for auction

2011-10-12T16:25:00.000Z

BBC

A chunk from the Saddam Hussein statue famously toppled in central Baghdad in 2003 is to be auctioned in Derby.

The 2ft (0.6m) wide bronze "buttock" was claimed by a former SAS soldier who brought it back to the UK.

Pictures of the statue being felled as the Iraqi dictator's reign ended were broadcast around the world.

Now Nigel Ely, who used a sledgehammer and crowbar to grab the unusual memento, hopes its sale will raise money for charity.

Mr Ely, from Herefordshire, was working with a TV crew covering the fall of Baghdad in April 2003 when he decided to claim the historic keepsake.

He said: "When we arrived in Firdos Square in the heart of Baghdad, the statue had just been toppled and the US Marines had erected a cordon of tanks to guard the square.

"But I wanted a piece of the statue - and when I mentioned to the marines that I was an old soldier and with the press they told me, 'No problem, buddy - help yourself'."

Arrested and searched

Finding the bronze statue face-down, the ex-serviceman enlisted the help of a marine armed with a crowbar and a sledgehammer to cut out half of the despot's backside.

Mr Ely was charged £385 to fly the chunk back to the UK

He said: "I only wanted a piece big enough to put in my pocket, but I ended up with a chunk about 2ft square.

"I thought, 'What the hell am I going to do with this?'

"I threw it in the back of my truck and forgot about it until we tried to re-enter Kuwait, where the Kuwaiti army arrested us and searched us for plunder.

"The journalists with me had all their souvenirs confiscated, but when I said the buttock was vehicle armour to protect us from bullets and bombs they left it alone.

"The real pain came when I flew back to London a few days later. I'd bought a large case from the local souq [commercial area] to put the bum in and had to pay a fortune in excess baggage."

Mr Ely was charged £385 to fly the chunk home but it is expected to raise thousands of pounds when it is sold by auctioneers Hansons in Derby on 27 October.

Proceeds from the sale will go towards helping injured ex-servicemen from the UK and US.

Mr Ely said: "It's been with me all these years, but I decided it was time it did some good."

World's oldest car sold in auction

2011-10-12T16:04:00.000Z

The world's oldest running car has been sold for almost $4.6 million (£3 million).

The De Dion-Bouton et Trepardoux, which was built in France in 1884, was offered to used car buyers at an auction in Pennsylvania, United States.

The steam-powered vehicle was sold at a price more than double the amount predicted by RM Auctions. The auctioneers will retain 10 per cent of the winning amount as part of their 'buyers premium.'

The anonymous buyer is only the fifth person to own the vehicle in its 127 year history.

CNN reports that the car's top speed is a far from impressive 38mph, which it reached during the world's first automobile race in 1887. Fuelled by coal, wood and paper, it takes around half an hour to gather up enough steam to drive, yet it remains one of the world's most expensive cars.

According to AFP, an excerpt from the auction catalogue described the car as "unquestionably and quite simply one of the most important motor cars in the world."

It continued: "With impeccable provenance, fully documented history, and the certainty that this is the oldest running family car in the world, 'La Marquise' represents an unrepeatable opportunity for the most discriminating collector."

The car was last sold in 2007 for around $3.5 million (£2.2 million).

John Wayne's eye patch up for sale

2011-09-08T13:23:00.002Z

The Independent Thursday, 8 September 2011

John Wayne played a US Marshal, Rooster Cogburn, who helps a girl track down her father's killer in True Grit

The eye patch worn by John Wayne during his Oscar-winning performance in True Grit will be among the actor's belongings to be sold at auction next month.

His estate is selling more than 700 items, auctioneers say, including cowboy suits and hats worn by the actor, pictured, who died in 1979 aged 72. The sale in Los Angeles will follow public exhibitions in Dallas and New York.

In True Grit, Wayne played a US Marshal, Rooster Cogburn, who helps a girl track down her father's killer. The 1969 film won him his only Oscar. Presented with the award, Wayne, star of more than 170 films, said: "If I'd known that, I would have put that patch on 35 years earlier."

New credit card scam hits auctions

2011-09-06T10:00:00.000Z

From Antiques Trade Gazette:
AUCTIONEERS are being warned about a gang of fraudsters targeting sales by using illegally obtained credit card information.
They tend to con salerooms by paying for goods over the phone after bidding by phone, on commission or via the internet, and then have the goods collected by a third party.
Industry experts believe that the problem has become worse because of the spike in precious metal prices, with gold, silver and jewellery among the items most targeted.
And because the stolen credit card information relates to genuine cards, the risk of being defrauded can be greater if transactions are not processed following the proper guidelines.
In addition, while senior staff may be well aware of the risks, fraudsters often target junior auction room staff who may be less well briefed.
ATG published a guide to beating fraudsters on page 2 of issue No 1990, and it can be found online at this link:

>http://www.antiquestradegazette.com/pdf/ATG-Safer-payments-and-beating-fraud.pdf
To recap, however, it is essential that anyone taking payment and releasing goods follows a few simple security steps to prevent them from being conned:
Ensure that all members of staff are aware of the dangers and safeguards to be adopted.

Do not release goods until payment has cleared into your account.

If payment is by credit card and the cardholder collects the goods in person, they should be asked to produce the card used in the transaction.

Be wary of anyone trying to use a variety of payment cards for one transaction, especially if a card is declined.

Goods should only be delivered to a cardholder address; if an alternative delivery address is provided, ensure a range of checks are in place to confirm the alternative address is valid; for example, ask for a copy of a utility bill.

You should get written confirmation from the buyer if they want a courier to collect, stating the full delivery address. Advise the buyer that you require the courier to have similar written instructions when he collects.

It is recommended that goods are not released to taxi drivers, chauffeurs, messengers or any third party.

If you agree to delivery via a courier, the courier should also have written confirmation of his delivery instructions from the bidder. You should additionally record the driver's licence number and vehicle registration of the pick up courier.

The courier should be instructed to hand over goods only to someone inside the delivery address; handing goods over to someone outside a delivery address may be an interception by the fraudsters and the goods will be untraceable from then on.

Couriers should be instructed to return with the goods if they are unable to deliver to the agreed address.

Avoid sending goods to hotels or guest houses; the incidence of fraud involving delivery to such places is extremely high.

All goods should require signed proof of delivery.

Goods should never be delivered to a vacant or adjacent property.

Above all, if in doubt, act with caution and do not release goods until you are entirely satisfied that payment will be honoured and that they are being delivered to the correct person.

Ancient monument goes to auction

2011-08-20T10:01:00.000Z

From the Yorkshire Post.

An ancient scheduled monument is going under the hammer in East Yorkshire.

Moot Hill, Driffield, is up for auction on September 7 with a guide price of £25,000 to £30,000 – but is being marketed more for the surrounding land than the remains of the motte and bailey castle it contains.

Archeologists believe the castle, which is now just a large mound, was built in about 1071 – about the same time Skipsea Castle was built for the lords of Holderness.
Excavations by JR Mortimer – the 100th anniversary of whose death is being celebrated in Driffield today – in the 19th century revealed Saxon relics, including fragments of swords, spears and a bronze axe.

Auctioneers Dee, Atkinson and Harrison describe the 2.33 acre site as a “rare opportunity for buyers to purchase a large parcel of amenity land which is suitable for grazing horses, sheep and other livestock”.

Owner James Hood, a retired farmer who bought the land in 1973, disputes archeologists’ theories and claims an excavation in the mid-70s revealed nothing bigger than a cigarette.

He said: “It was supposed to be a burial mound, then they decided it was a motte and bailey castle. You wouldn’t build a castle without foundations whatsoever. In my opinion they just made it up to keep control of it.”

But he says it will make grazing for horses and ponies right in the middle of the town.

The site, close to the Old Highfield Country Club, is, however, protected by an English Heritage listing which states that “this monument is scheduled under the ancient monuments and archaeological areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of National importance.”

On top of the mound or motte there would once have been a timber palisade and a tower. The large embanked enclosure was known as a bailey. Documents from the early 13th century refer to an abandoned bailey at Driffield.

A blue plaque is being officially unveiled at the Masonic Hall on Lockwood Street in Driffield today to commemorate Mortimer and the museum he founded.

Rare programme of 1958 match Man Utd never played because of Munich air disaster goes under the hammer

2011-08-10T15:13:00.000Z

By Daily Mail Reporter

An 'incredibly rare' Manchester United programme is set to sell for £7,000 at auction this week.

The programme is for the game that was due to take place two days after the Munich air disaster.

It was recently unearthed after spending 25 years stashed in an under-stairs cupboard of a collector's house.

An auctioneer called to inspect a pile of matchday programmes was stunned when he saw the one for Man Utd v Wolverhampton Wanderers on February 8, 1958.

The 12-page magazine was printed at about the same time United's plane crashed on take-off in Munich on February 6.

23 people were killed in the tragedy, including eight players from the legendary 'Busby Babes' side.

The Man Utd team had been returning to England after playing a European Cup tie against Red Star Belgrade on the night of February 5.

There is even a write-up in the Wolverhampton matchday programme of United's 3-3 draw with Red Star that made it into the publication at the last minute.

After the disaster all the programmes that had been printed were ordered to be destroyed - although it is thought a handful were kept by printing staff.

This one was snapped up by the current vendor about 25 years ago. He has kept it ever since under the stairs of his home in Torquay, Devon, along with hundreds of other programmes.

Because the publication is so rare and so poignant it is being tipped to sell for £7,000 at auction this week.

Robert Adcock, of auctioneers Sporting Memorys, said: 'This programme is incredibly rare because only a handful of them made it out of the printing works.

'There is a big market for old football programmes, especially in the Far East, and this one must be the Holy Grail of them. It is the iconic programme that all serious collectors will want to get their hands on.

'Nobody knows how many of them were printed but however many there were they were ordered to be destroyed, but some staff at the printers took the odd one home.'

The 'Busby Babes' had played their European Cup tie in Belgrade and stopped at Munich to refuel.

The pilots attempted to take off twice but aborted and by the time the third attempt was made snow and slush had built up on the runway, leading to the plane crashing.

As well as the eight players, three of the club's staff were killed along with 12 others on the flight.

The short write-up for the Red Star game in the programme congratulated Man Utd for progressing through to the quarter finals of the European Cup.

The line-up for the team that was due to play against Wolves two days later also appeared in the publication.

Of the starting XI, five died in the crash including defender Duncan Edwards and striker Tommy Taylor.

Mr Adcock said: 'Most programme collectors believe the programme for the first game United played after the disaster - an FA Cup tie against Sheffield Wednesday - is highly-sought after but it is nowhere near as rare as this one.

'The vendor paid £200 for it 25 years ago so he knew how important and significant it was.

'He kept good care of it over the years, keeping it in a cupboard under the stairs. It is in excellent condition.'

The auction takes place on Thursday.

………………………………

A very rare program and likely to make or even exceed the estimate. On two occasions, in the past I have auctioned the Belgrade/Man U program. On both occasions it sold for £2,000.

Prison up for auction.

2011-07-29T16:26:00.000Z

Debt-burdened Texas town puts its prison on the market

By SOMMER INGRAM

The Dallas Morning News

Newly renovated complex on 30 acres. Almost 95,000 square feet. Concrete block housing, with brick veneer and pitch-seamed metal roofs. Includes a gymnasium and armory, along with furniture, computers, kitchen supplies. And complete with plenty of bars.

Prison bars.

Billed by the auction house as a "unique opportunity to acquire a turn-key medium security detention center," the facility in Littlefield, Texas - empty but with room for 373 inmates - will go to the highest bidder above the $5 million minimum.

While a jail auction is rare and has raised eyebrows, Littlefield's effort to free itself of the Bill Clayton Denton Center is a tale of speculation and ideas gone wrong.

The farming town northwest of Lubbock got into the jail business with expectations that states would pay to store their prisoners in the privately run jail, giving the economy a much-needed boost.

What they got was a slew of operational and financial headaches. The jail was built with an $11 million bond on which the city still owes millions that it is struggling to pay.

Littlefield is just one of a dozen towns across the state under financial duress because the hopeful predictions about bond-financed prisons fell short.

The best thing for Littlefield, said City Manager Danny Davis, "is to get out from under this debt so we can get back to some sort of normalcy."

And it's been a lesson learned, he said.

"Anytime we are signing up for a long-term agreement that looks good right now, we'll know we need to look further down the road," he said.

The market for a 30-acre prison might seem limited, but Jeff Conn, a Lubbock realtor who specializes in detention center facilities, said there is interest from other municipalities needing more space for inmates as well as private detention centers.

He said he knows of about six potential buyers and is confident the city will get the money it needs.

The property is posted on the website of the auctioneers, Williams & Williams Worldwide Real Estate Auctions based in Tulsa.

If the prison goes for $5 million, Littlefield will still owe about $4 million on the property. Davis said that would cut the city's annual bond payments by more than half.

Littlefield officials, hoping to bring jobs and revenue to the area, used bonds in 2000 to build the prison in an old cotton field just outside of town. They hired a private company, GEO Group, to run the jail and find prisoners, believing those contracts would repay the bonds and provide the city with extra revenue.

The center originally was built for juvenile offenders but converted to an adult facility with out-of-state inmates. But trouble abounded over the years, with guards helping prisoners escape and riots resulting in a facility lockdown. Then an inmate suicide two years ago was followed by a lawsuit.

The largest client - the state of Idaho - had enough. It pulled all of its inmates out, citing a budget crunch back home.

Not long after, the GEO Group announced it was leaving. With the prison population declining nationwide, the city wasn't able to find any inmates to fill the cells of the 5-pod detention center.

Since then, the city's bond rating has plunged, and it faces a $65,000-a-month payment. The cotton-growing town has raised property taxes, cut jobs and is running the city on a "bare bones budget" to get some of the money needed, Davis said.

"Nobody's happy when you have to cut services and raise taxes," he said. "It's not a good situation to be in."

Littlefield is not alone. Several other Texas towns that build prisons to be run by private companies have found the prisons to be financial drains.

Grassroots Leadership, a group that works to end for-profit private incarceration, said the Littlefield situation is another sign that for-profit prisons don't work.
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/07/27/3041245/debt-burdened-texas-town-puts.html#ixzz1TVoRxvWl

Hirohito's cigarette box turns up for sale in Cork

2011-07-23T23:26:00.000Z

AN unusual gift presented to the wife of an American general by the Emperor of Japan after the second World War has unexpectedly turned up at an auction house in West Cork.

Hegarty’s fine art auctioneers in Bandon will tomorrow auction the oriental collection of the late Georgette Ellison, wife of a US General during post-war tours of duty in Asia. The most intriguing lot is a three-piece smoker’s set in silver and lacquer presented to Mrs Ellison by Hirohito who reigned from 1926 to 1989 and is known, since his death in Japan, as the Emperor Showa.

Japan fell under American military occupation following the war but the Emperor was allowed to remain on the throne although his divine status was annulled.

Auctioneer Margaret Hegarty said the smoker’s set, which consists of an ashtray and cigarette box on a matching tray, is estimated at €1,500-€2,500.

Other items from the collection – to be sold with low or no reserves – include Japanese netsuke (miniature sculptures), Satsuma pottery and jade pieces from the Chinese Qing and Han dynasties.

The auction also includes antique furniture, Irish silver and paintings and gets underway to-day, Sunday July 25th, at 4pm at Hegarty’s Auction Rooms, Parnell Business Park, the Bypass, Bandon, Co. Cork.

Historic Ibrox seat going up for auction

2011-07-20T10:47:00.000Z

A seat from Ibrox stadium believed to date from the 1920s is being auctioned in Glasgow this week.
The oak and cast-iron seat was retrieved when the Glasgow Rangers' ground was being upgraded in the 1970s.
McTear's Auctioneers said it was hoped seat No 258 could fetch up to £300 on Thursday.
The lot has been put in by an anonymous seller. Valuers at the auction house said they quickly realised it was a rare piece of club memorabilia.
Brian Clements, from the auctioneers, said: "Over the years we have sold some fantastic pieces of sports memorabilia, including signed shirts, footballs and even Faberge eggs.
"But I can safely say this is the first time a stadium seat has come to auction.
"When the seller, who has asked to remain anonymous, brought it in, we quickly realised that this was a rare piece of memorabilia from a very important era in Rangers' history.
"I have no doubt it will attract a fair bit of interest at auction."
The furniture and collectables sale will be held at McTear's on Thursday.

The diaries of Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele, are to be sold by auction in the US.

2011-07-20T10:27:00.000Z

The diaries, written after the end of the Second World War when Mengele had fled to Latin America, contain his philosophical reflections, autobiographical stories and poems written between 1960 and 1975.

Thursday's auction will include some 3,500 pages from "hidden journals" written by the doctor who carried out terrible medical experiments on prisoners at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

The items, mostly small, spiral-bound notebooks, are expected to fetch between £185,000 and £247,000 when they go under the hammer at Connecticut-based auctioneers Alexander Autographs.

The company, which specialises in historical manuscripts, said the auction would include an "historically important" lot of 31 manuscripts in various forms, including bound journals.

"All writings are penned in ink in a legible hand, in generally excellent condition," an auction house spokesman said.

"They were seized in 2004 by the police at the home of a German couple with whom he was living in Sao Paulo."

He added they were then given to Mengele's son, Rolf, who only saw his father twice in his life.

About 40% of the writings are autobiographical, tracing Mengele's flight across Europe in the aftermath of the war.

He talks of himself in the third person, referring to himself as "Andreas".

In one commentary, Mengele complains that sexual promiscuity has led "to a dreadful mixing of the races with the northern Europeans... when you start mixing the races, there is a decline in civilisation".

Mengele was a member of the Nazis' elite SS, which ran death camps across occupied Europe.

Based at Auschwitz from 1943, he helped supervise the selection of prisoners on arrival to death camps, sending those considered unfit for slave labour to be gassed with deadly Zyklon B.

He gained his notorious reputation due to his pseudo-medical experiments in the camp.

He fled Europe at the end of the war after Germany's defeat, reaching Argentina at the start of the 1950s.

He then moved to Paraguay in 1961 and then went on to Brazil, where he lived in Sao Paulo and remained uncaptured despite Interpol's best efforts, dying in 1979 at the age of 67.

His death was only confirmed in 1985, after his body was exhumed.

The diaries appeared some time after that.

40p glasses make £19,000 at auction.

2011-07-09T10:35:00.000Z

From the Daily Mail:

When a bargain hunter spotted these unusual glasses at a boot sale for 40p each, she bought them on a ‘hunch’. It certainly turned out to be a good one.

For the trio were rare 18th-century examples of work by revered glassmaker William Beilby – and they have just sold at auction for £18,880.

After the boot sale in Portsmouth, the woman, who has not been named, took the glasses to a sale room in Chichester, West Sussex, for an expert opinion.

The anonymous woman apologised to staff if she was about to waste their time, but when they saw what she had brought they soon realised they had a precious load before them.

Dealers and collectors clamoured for the find and after a furious bidding session at Stride and Son auction house saw them go under the hammer for £16,000 pounds.

The winning bidder, who deals in glass, paid a total of £18,880 after all the extra fees were added on.

Mark Hewitt, from auctioneers Stride and Son, said: 'The lady was at a car boot sale and just bought them on a hunch.

'She didn't haggle or anything, she just paid what the person was asking - which was 40p each.

'Then she brought the glasses to us and was a bit embarrassed and said she didn't want to waste our time.

'When I saw them I made sure I put them in a locked cabinet. The lady said that last time she had had a "touch" she had made £800.

'Before the sale she was trying to gauge how excited I was but I didn't give anything away and I think she was a bit shocked when I opened the bidding at £500.

'Then within just a few minutes the bidding got up to 16,000 pounds.

'After we put it on the website it was clear that collectors and dealers thought they were "right".

'They are rare Beilby glass - which is a famous name - and were made at the workshop in Newcastle.

'The person who bought them said afterwards that because they come up so rarely he had to have all three.

'They are museum quality pieces and it just shows that you can pick things up at car boot sales and make money.'

The items were made in about 1765 and fewer than 100 of these armorial glasses are recorded.

His workshop in Newcastle-upon-Tyne produced these three examples with the arms of John Thomas, a churchman from Cumberland.

At the time the glasses were made he was a vicar of St Bride's in London's Fleet Street.

It is thought that the set originally consisted of a set of five - and two others have sold at auction in recent years.

Diamond gavel for auction.

2011-06-22T11:38:00.000Z

From The Telegraph
By Jeffrey Archer
Everyone should have a hobby. It can be anything from collecting matchbooks to Manet, from bird watching to bee-keeping, from marathon running to horse riding – but whatever it is, make sure it’s fun.
My hobby for the past 30 years has been as a conductor, not of orchestras, or on buses, but of auctions. My passion for the auction hammer began in the most unlikely way.
Norma Major had invited my wife, Mary, and myself to an opera evening in aid of Mencap, when her husband John was the backbench MP for Huntingdon. We took a table, and were looking forward to a pleasant and not too demanding evening. It was when pudding was being served, that Norma came across to our table to tell me that her auctioneer, a local pro, had fallen out at the last minute, and she wondered if I’d be willing to take his place.
“But I’ve never done an auction in my life,” I protested. “Surely John can do it?”
“No,” said Norma firmly, “he’s giving the vote of thanks, and in any case, he thinks you’d be ideal for the job.”
I don’t remember how much was raised on that occasion, but I do remember how much I enjoyed the whole experience, and when, a few weeks later, another charity asked me to perform the same task, I happily accepted.
Having found, by mistake, an alternative career – it was Proust who reminded us we all end up doing the thing we are second best at – I set about the task with a vengeance.
I became a regular attendee at Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Bonhams and Phillips sales, in an effort to learn my new trade at the feet of the professionals. I have to admit that this also had a side benefit, because a major Impressionist sale at one of the great auction houses is as exciting and dramatic as any opening night in the West End.
Fast forward 30 years, with over a thousand charity auctions behind me, I have been invited to conduct an auction at Christie's King Street headquarters. And it’s an auction with a difference.
I asked 16 of my friends to donate an item, and even I was surprised by the enthusiastic response. Most wealthy or well-known individuals get overwhelmed by how many people approach them for money each week, even when it’s for a worthwhile cause. But the clincher for this particular charity event was that the money raised would go to the charity of their choice.
I have ended up with some strange and wonderful objects that will come under the hammer on June 27, to benefit 21 different causes.
Margaret Thatcher has presented me with a handbag (Lot 216), that has been in her possession for the past 35 years, and can be seen in the sale catalogue in a picture of her walking in the grounds of Camp David with the then-US President Ronald Reagan.
The legendary Tom Jones will host a dinner party for 10 in the Dorchester’s Krug Room with executive chef Henry Brosi, overseeing the evening (Lot 202), and Eric Clapton has given us a signed Fender Telecaster guitar that he played in concert at the Grosvenor House hotel only a few weeks ago (Lot 215).
Bernie Ecclestone has invited two people to join him as his personal guests for next year’s Monte Carlo Grand Prix (Lot 212), with paddock club tickets, starting grid access, pit passes, and four nights in a sea-view room in the Hotel de Paris. Lawrence Dallaglio has parted with the match ball from the 2003 Rugby World Cup final (Lot 210), signed by the referee, with personal, hand-written messages from Clive Woodward, Martin Johnson, Johnny Wilkinson and Lawrence himself. Michael Parkinson has given up his treasured Ashes cricket bat from the 2005 series, signed by every player from both the victorious English and defeated Australian sides (I couldn’t resist that), plus scorecards from all five Tests (Lot 201).
Ian Botham has invited three people to join him for lunch at Sunningdale before a round of golf on the famous course, followed by dinner at the Hotel du Vin in Henley-on-Thames (Lot 208). Freddie Flintoff offers two of you the chance to be caddie to Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen at this year’s Scottish Open (Lot 213) and also to join Freddie for lunch in the club house, while my wife Mary has sacrificed her Warhol drawing of Diana, Princess of Wales together with a signed copy of the Christie’s catalogue from her famous Dresses Sale in New York (Lot 211).
I’m letting go of the Chief Timekeeper’s stopwatch that recorded the first sub-four minute mile by Roger Bannister at Iffley Road, Oxford on May 6, 1954, (Lot 214), which will benefit Oxford University Athletics Club, and my collection of Winston Churchill speeches, produced by the Decca Record Company, signed by Churchill with a personal message from President Johnson (Lot 203) will go to Oxfam.
The final item (Lot 218) will be the auctioneer’s hammer. But it’s no ordinary hammer, because Laurence Graff has adorned it with over 200 of the finest diamonds, with a carat weight of 5.66cts.
Now, you may well ask if I’m nervous about conducting an auction at Christie’s. You bet. Wouldn’t you be nervous if you were singing an opera at Covent Garden, opening the batting for England at Lord’s, or making your maiden speech to a packed House of Commons?
I may have conducted over a thousand auctions during the past 30 years (with, I must admit, two fallow years), but for an amateur like myself, this is my solo performance at La Scala, Lord’s or Wembley.

The British people are a generous lot, not only when it comes to parting with their hard-earned cash, but also giving up hours of their time for causes they believe in. Over the years, I have extracted from them, everything from the widow’s mite to the millionaire’s yacht, from a trip down a coalmine in Wales, to a week’s wine tasting in Cape Town, from a session in the nets with Shane Warne, to a walk-on part in the Morecombe and Wise Christmas show – the proceeds always going to worthwhile causes. But on June 27, I’m going one better, and hoping to raise £1 million in one evening for the first time. In my amateur auctioneering career, my previous record is £620,000. So if you want to join me at Christie’s on June 27, you’d be most welcome – but be prepared to be fleeced.

Jeffrey Archer’s Charity Sale begins at 7.30pm on Monday June 27 at Christie’s, St James’s, London SW1. www.christies.com

Painting makes 36,000 euros, nine weeks after being sold for 7K in an English auctionrooms

2011-06-05T11:04:00.000Z

Reminds me of the advice of a famous English statesman “Invest in Old Masters, they bring a better return than old mistresses”:

The Irish Times - Saturday, June 4, 2011
Solvency not a problem for Irish art auction buyers
MICHAEL PARSONS
AN ENGLISH auctioneer has expressed amazement at the amount of money being spent on art in Ireland, following the sale of a painting, titled Insolvent, for €36,000 in Dublin this week. He had sold the painting nine weeks ago for a fraction of the price.
Clifford Lansberry of fine art auctioneers Gorringes in Sussex claimed the result “belies the fact that there is no money in Ireland”. “Somebody’s got it,” he said.
In March, the 150-year-old oil painting went under the hammer at his saleroom in Lewes and made £6,500 (€7,297). On Wednesday night though, the same painting was resold at Adam’s Sale of Important Irish Art for €36,000 – a fivefold increase.
When told about the result yesterday, Mr Lansberry was “amazed” and said: “Clearly there aren’t as many insolvent people in Ireland as we had been led to believe”. He had been under the impression the Irish art market was in difficulty because of the economic and fiscal crises here.
The painting dates from 1862 and was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in London the following year. It shows a man – clearly broke – desperately trying to get a drink of whiskey from a stern-faced landlady in an Irish shebeen. According to the catalogue note: “He is trying to get a drink, but clearly she is tired of him having insufficient funds.”
The artist was Scottish-born Erskine Nicol who moved to Ireland in the mid-19th century, set up a studio in Co Westmeath and specialised in painting scenes of misery in post-Famine Ireland.
Mr Lansberry said the painting had been sold by a private collector and had been bought by a “very canny” buyer who had, apparently, subsequently spotted a chance to resell it in Dublin.
Consigned for sale to Adam’s, it was assigned a new pre-sale estimate of €25,000-€35,000.
Bidders at the sale, where over €1 million was spent on art in two hours, were happy to talk to The Irish Times on condition of anonymity. One “medical professional” spent tens of thousands of euros on a painting, saying it was a good investment and better than putting the money into an AIB deposit account.
He feared that “the Government might raid savings accounts” as it had “already dipped into pensions”.

A basket of dates fetches 240 Omani riyals

2011-05-29T15:32:00.000Z

Muscat: At the beginning of the date harvest season, a basket of the fruit has fetched 240 Omani riyals (Dh2,292) at an auction held at Afi village in Wadi Al Maawel in north of Oman.

The vendors and traders said that the price so far was the highest in the Batinah region, which sees early season for dates.

Auctioneers predict that the price of dates will come down with the rise in supply, especially with mercury climbing resulting in dates ripening faster, According to a report in Arabic daily Al Watan.

The harvest season has just started, the Minaz date palm trees are laden with fruits, and farmers are jubilant as the harvest this year seems to be even better than what they had anticipated.

The Minaz palm tree is one of the best-known trees in Oman. It gives its scarlet sweet date early in the season.

Old camers makes $1.89 million

2011-05-29T15:30:00.000Z

A CAMERA from 1923 has been sold at auction for a world record 1.32 million euros ($1.89 million).

The Leica camera's final price shattered pre-sale estimates.

The purchaser was a private collector from Asia who wants to remain anonymous, said Vienna's WestLicht gallery, which organised the auction.

The camera was one of about 25 prototypes made in 1923, two years before the celebrated German brand went into commercial production. It had been valued ahead of the auction at about one quarter of what it eventually went for.

The previous world record was set last year when a collector paid 732,000 euros for a daguerreotype, the world's first commercially produced camera, which bore the rare signature of its French inventor.

Rare survival of Carolean silver takes £74,000

2011-04-20T10:51:00.000Z

From The Antiques Trade Gazette:

18 April 2011
THEY may look plain and simple, but this pair of silver wall-hanging candle scones had private and trade bidders clamouring to buy when they came up for sale last week at Colchester auction rooms Reeman Dansie.
The 11¾in (30cm) high sconces, which the auctioneers had dated to c.1680, carried a double-struck maker's mark IR, and had been discovered by auctioneer James Grinter in a local house in Stratford St Mary, where he had been asked to value some contents for the vendor. The sconces had been attached to the wall to serve as electric wall lights.
Carolean silver of the type is a rare survival, but these had the added attraction of a contemporary armorial prominently engraved to the backplate for the North Family of Kirtling Tower, Cambridge, a baronetcy created in 1554, while the reverse was engraved Henry Francis North and R&G.

There were several prominent members of the family in the 17th century, including Francis North, 1st Baron Guilford, who held the important positions of Attorney General in 1673 and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal in 1683.
The auctioneers had guided the pair at an attractive £6000-8000 for the sale on April 12, only to see them contested by six bidders to £74,000 plus 17.5 per cent premium, with the hammer falling to a member of the London trade on the phone.

Brighton auction

2011-04-02T12:48:00.000Z

Enjoyable fundraising auction and reception, last night for Brighton Green Party.

Here are a few of the results:
Trip to Brussels + lunch and a tour of the European Parliament....£350
Hamper......£50
Lush Spa treatement......£120
Hot stone massage......£80
Painting........£100
Photograph of Parliament......£150
Stained Glass bowl......£60

Charity auctions

2011-04-01T13:25:00.004Z

Did an interesting and enjoyable fundraising auction ,last night, for Martin School, East Finchley PTA. It was billed as Chips & Bids and included fish and chips (or a veggi burger) as part of the entry price. We raised over £5,000. I'm now off to do a fundraising auction for Brighton Green Party at Lush, East Street. Starting 7pm. Then I'm doing a talk for Kensington Ladies on Monday morning on 'Auctions through the ages, 500 BC to Internet Auctions' Some of last night's prices: Signed Arsenal photo..........£70. Tour of the House of Lords......£115. Portrait of your child......£105. Be the head teacher for a day......£145. Grazia Beauty Products bundle......£180. Work in the school office for a day......£135. Original Noel Fielding (The Mighty Boosh comedian) painting.......£450 Interior Mural......£300. Handmade silk quilt......£150.

An Evening for the Eco-Glitterati

2011-03-31T09:53:00.000Z

By LESLIE KAUFMAN New York Times On the one hand, the event had the trappings of a society gorging itself at full tilt: a roaring room of Rolex-wearing men and women in five-inch heels and tight spangly dresses. On the other hand, the purpose was to raise money for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Oceana, Conservation International and the Central Park Conservancy. The evening, the second annual “Bid to Save the Earth,” was hosted by Christie’s and was partly a live auction. Bidders battled energetically to win a day with former President Bill Clinton; guests were told he would accompany them on any outing they wanted, even tag along to do laundry. (That sold for $100,000). They also bid enthusiastically for a chance to fly with the actor Harrison Ford to Los Angeles aboard one of his private planes. (Yes, private planes add significantly to your carbon footprint.) The auction raised more than $1 million. An online auction for the rest of the lots (meet Lady Gaga in Miami, anyone?) continues at charitybuzz.com until April 7. There was even a fashion show (new this year) where a new collection called Runway to Green was introduced, with severely coiffed models emerging from a rotating cube decorated in a jungle green vine motif. The proceeds from the sales of the clothing, by a mix of designers, will go to environmental causes like planting trees. “The designers have all made a commitment to investigate the sustainable manufacturing practices,” Runway to Green’s Web site states. Which is better, one supposes, than not investigating.

Aircraft carrier for auction.

2011-03-29T10:10:00.001Z

Mar 29 2011 Ben Mitchell, Scottish Daily Record Ministry of Defence chiefs have put the aircraft carrier Ark Royal up for sale - on an eBay-style auction website. The Royal Navy's old flagship - which was decommissioned just two weeks ago after 25 years of service - is currently being advertised on edisposals.com Sister ship HMS Invincible was towed to a scrapyard in Turkey last week after being sold on the same site. Although the Ark Royal could also be sold for scrap, it may end up as a commercial heliport in London or as a base for special forces security at next year's Olympic Games. And a move could be made to turn it into a nightclub or school in China. Bidders have until 10am on June 13 to put offers forward - with special viewing days arranged for May. They must also tell the MoD what they plan to do with it. The website edisposals.com is run by the Defence Equipment and Support arm of the MoD, who have a budget of £14billion to equip the UK's armed forces. Also up for sale on the site are three Type-42 destroyers, HMS Exeter, HMS Southampton and HMS Nottingham. The current Ark Royal is the fifth vessel to carry the name - the first saw battle in 1588 against the Spanish Armada.

For sale: One disused Tube station, slightly soiled

2011-02-10T11:35:00.000Z

Got a couple of hundred grand spare? Good at cleaning off graffiti? Want to own a special piece of London Undergound history?

Then get yourself over to Andrews & Robertson auctioneers, who are selling off the old Shoreditch station later this month.

Shoreditch saw its last train in 2006 when work began on extending the old East London Line up to Dalston. The revamped railway now rises up to a new station at Shoreditch High Street, leaving its 135-year-old predecessor isolated and surplus to requirements in its little side street off Brick Lane.

The old station has seen more spray cans than commuters over the past five years, and don’t expect to be able to wander down to the platforms looking out for ghost trains to New Cross – much of the old line has been filled in and grassed over, and the stairs removed.

But what you’ll get for your money is a cosy little building which has played a big role in London railway history, which once saw steam trains from Liverpool Street to the south coast as well as Tube trains.

You could even compare notes worth the owners of the other Old Shoreditch Station – a bar beneath another long-gone rail line.

Whether it becomes a bar, a curry house, an office or the ultimate Tube geek’s crash pad – or even gets redeveloped entirely – whoever buys it will have to find at least £180,000. A bargain, perhaps, but after being abandoned for nearly five years, restoring it to its former glory will cost a bit, too.

The sale takes place at the Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden on 16 February.

By Darryl Chamberlain in The Scoop

Historic Gay Auction in London

2011-02-05T12:11:00.000Z

One of the UK’s leading auction houses is set to sell off a special piece of gay history to the highest bidder.
A complete set of the first 150 editions of Gay News which belonged to its editor, Denis Lemon, is coming up for auction at Bonhams in London on 22 March.
Gay News first appeared in June 1972. Founded by ex-members of the Gay Liberation Front and the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, it provided a forum for debate as well as campaigning journalism, information on cultural issues and personal contact ads which were, at the time, unlawful.
The paper courted controversy. In 1974 it successfully fought off a charge of obscenity for publishing a photograph of two men kissing on the cover (issue 35).
A more serious prosecution followed in 1976. The morality campaigner, Mary Whitehouse, successfully brought a private action for blasphemy – the first of its kind in 50 years – against Denis Lemon for publishing James Kirkup’s poem ‘The Love that Dares to Speak its Name’, which attributed homo-erotic thoughts to Jesus on the Cross (issue 96).
Lemon was fined and given a suspended nine month prison sentence. The stress affected his health and he stepped down as editor in 1982.
Gay News pitched itself consciously as a campaigning paper with roots in the counter-culture of the 1960s and ‘70s. By the early 1980s, however, demand was growing for gay publications with less overt political content and more life-style appeal. Gay News was purchased by Millivres in 1984 and subsequently incorporated into Gay Times.
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques.

Queen Mother's prototype wedding dress sold in Bristol

2011-02-02T17:01:00.001Z

A prototype of the dress worn by the Queen Mother at her wedding in 1923 has been sold for £3,500 at auction in Bristol.
The garment was made by the Queen Mother's dressmaker, Madame Handley Seymour.
It had been estimated to fetch between £500 and £700 in the sale of vintage fashion and textiles at fine art auctioneers Dreweatts.
The example was one of three suggested, and was used for the final design.
Malcolm Claridge, valuer at Dreweatts' Apsley Road site, said he was amazed at how "very slight" the dress was when he first saw it.
"It did not really strike me as a Royal wedding dress," Mr Claridge added.
"Although the workmanship is beautiful, it's very much a 1920s flapper style and at the time considered to be very unflattering dress.
"However I think it works really well. One of the girls here recently modelled it and it looked very current."
The dress selling for about five times its original estimation did not surprise Mr Claridge.
"It was the right place at the right time," he said.
"With the interest with The King's Speech and Kate and William's wedding, it had to be the right time for it and it has created quite a media frenzy."
The Queen Mother, or Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon as she was before she wed, became engaged to Prince Albert, Duke of York in January 1923.
In a break with tradition, it was decided their wedding would be a public affair at Westminster Abbey instead of at a royal chapel.
It is believed this decision was taken to lift the spirits of the nation following the ravages of the Great War (1914 - 1918).
The wedding took place on 26 April and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was attended by eight bridesmaids.

Special oil greases China's alternative mechanism

2011-02-01T16:07:00.000Z

February 1, 2011 (Sydney Morning Herald)
The art of guanxi functions to break down the legal and other barriers to corrupt transactions.
THE art of building ''guanxi'' and the rituals of giving and soliciting bribes are not always the same thing in China, but they often are.
One reason Rio Tinto's Stern Hu is in jail is because he was no good at it. Only an amateur would receive a bag of cash and store it in his household safe.
The wheels of Chinese business and officialdom are usually greased by more experienced players. They know how to embed their favours within intricate, personalised guanxi performances which break down the moral and cognitive barriers to bribery, and also minimise the risks of being caught. They channel transactions through multiple layers and stretch them out over years and even decades.
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Hu Gang, who ran an auction house in Changsha in central China, is such a professional. And he has written two unmatched exposes - or instruction manuals - on how to do it. But even professionals can run into trouble. Hu prefers not to talk explicitly about how exactly he bribed a judge who later gave him up in a confession in an unrelated investigation.
Hu has never talked to a foreign journalist before. But he does say his first book Qingci (or Celadon, written under the pseudonym Fushi), a story about an auctioneer who bribes a judge, is uncannily similar to the events that led to him spending a year in jail.
Hu's auctioneer-protagonist makes the acquaintance of Judge Hou after learning of his drinking habit. He personally lugged a case of health-preserving liquor (containing a exotic aphrodisiac) up six flights of stairs to Judge Hou's apartment. After demonstrating his personal exertion, auctioneer Zhang explained the liquor as a gift from another friend which he did not want because he did not drink, and which had a value that was great but also deniable because it had not yet been put on the market.
Zhang cemented the relationship when he noticed Judge Hou's concern about his son's calligraphy, and quietly arranged a famous calligrapher to be his tutor. He discreetly auctioned the son's calligraphy at a friend's auction house and instructed his friend to bid for it. Zhang handed a cash envelope to Judge Hou and reassured him that he had even subtracted an auction commission fee.
''It can stand any investigation,'' he said.
It was only then, after Judge Hou was squarely in his debt and had been assured of Zhang's sensitivity and discretion, that the auctioneer broached the favour that he wanted.
Li Ling, a law lecturer at Northwest University in Xian and researcher at New York University, has broken new ground by mapping how guanxi works in China for her recently completed doctorate. She has investigated dozens of first-person accounts (including Hu Gang's) and hundreds of court cases and investigation reports.
''As experienced guanxi practitioners often say, 'the thing is half-done once the gift is accepted','' writes Li Ling in ''Performing Bribery in China'', in the current edition of the Journal of Contemporary China.
Gifts need to demonstrate personalised care and ''sincerity'' and this usually requires careful investigation of the target's golfing, artistic or other hobbies. So prices at China's art auctions are inflated by bribers paying officials for artworks at multiples of the market price, luxury golf courses are full of members who did not pay for membership, shopping centres are full of officials' relatives using shopping cards that were given to them, and Macau is full of officials who do not pay for their gambling chips.
Choice of language is important, with a whole lexicon of euphemisms like ''doing guanxi'' available in place of vulgar words like ''bribe''.
Li writes that the art of guanxi can function as an ''alternative operating mechanism'' to break down the legal, moral and cognitive barriers to corrupt transactions.
'''Guanxi practise' is not only 'fuelling' corruption, but it is a necessary and integral part of corruption in China,'' she writes.
Hu Gang says not all transactions involve bribery, even in his court-based auction trade. He says commissions can be won by your good reputation in the industry, or paying a lot to a person you don't know, or making a long emotional investment in a judge.
''Generally, one plays the emotion card to someone from whom he or she needs help, to draw their relationship closer,'' explains Hu, who has now written a new book, Building Guanxi. ''Only gradually, after that foundation has been laid, one will explain the help that is needed … One will provide reassurances about the safety of such a deal. The other side will think, 'OK, I've been eating and drinking on your account, and generally using you, and feel sorry about that'. So, when being asked for an ostensibly legitimate favour, he or she may offer a helping hand.''

Signed Michael Jackson cement slab up for auction

2011-01-28T01:14:00.001Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – For the Michael Jackson collector with superhuman strength: a 375-pound (170 kg) slab of concrete featuring the pop star's hand and foot impressions along with his signature will go on the block in Los Angeles next month, its auctioneer said.

The item is dubbed the "Broken Heart Stone," said auction house Nate D. Sanders, because a surface crack runs through a heart design within Jackson's left palm print.

The online auction, to be held at http://www.natedsanders.com, will end on February 15.

The slab dates from 1984 when Jackson made the impression for a Las Vegas Walk of Fame project that never materialized. It was discovered in the Riviera Hotel basement in 2006 and raffled-off to a guest, who in turn sold it for an undisclosed sum to its current owner in 2009.

Coincidentally the consignor, Andy Wilson of Santa Maria, Calif., was an acquaintance of Jackson's, and bought it with the star's blessing.

Sanders told Reuters on Wednesday that the slab could sell for more than $100,000. His firm last month auctioned off another unorthodox piece of memorabilia, selling the rotting coffin of suspected John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald for more than $87,000.

Christmas Greetings - two auction films to bring a smile

2010-12-25T12:17:00.002Z

Fools and Horses: Auction Scene.
To many fans of ‘Only Fools and Horses’, the final auction house scene was the best ever. Here it is again on You Tube:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=OI-EpehWf_I

* BLACK HUMOUR
For really black humour have a look at the following short video on You Tube:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=PVpIFvnkYm0

Called ‘Everything is for sale. It's just a matter of price’ it shows firefighters auctioning off the only available landing net to people trapped in a burning building.

Wishing all my readers a safe, happy and peaceful festive season.
Noel

Lee Harvey Oswald's coffin sells for $87,000

2010-12-20T12:05:00.000Z

(AFP)

LOS ANGELES — The coffin in which Lee Harvey Oswald, the man charged with shooting president John F. Kennedy, was buried went under the hammer for over 87,000 dollars, the auction house which organized the sale said.

The pine coffin is partially water-damaged by the 18 years it spent in the ground before Oswald's body was exhumed in 1981 to lay to rest rumors that a lookalike Soviet agent was buried in his place.

The body -- confirmed as genuinely his -- was reburied in another casket, and the original was offered for sale for the first time Friday, by the Nate D Sanders auction house in Los Angeles.

A spokeswoman declined to reveal the identity of the purchaser who paid 87,468 dollars for the casket.

According to the Dallas News, the coffin was sold by Allen Baumgardner, a Fort Worth funeral home manager who had kept it after being present when Oswald's body was exhumed.

Oswald, charged with killing Kennedy on November 22, 1963, was himself shot two days later and buried on November 25, fueling conspiracy theories which still rage to this day.

'Candle Auction' takes place in Berkshire.

2010-12-14T11:16:00.001Z

An age-old tradition of a candle auction has been held at a Berkshire village.

The ceremony, which is held every three years, sees people bidding to lease a local meadow while a candle containing a horse-nail burns.

The person with the bid when the nail drops out of the specially-made tallow candle is declared the winner.

The event, which originates from the early 1800s, was being held at Aldermaston Parish Hall from 1930 GMT.

'Frantic bidding'

The local vicar was the auctioneer for the night and church wardens, in-keeping with tradition, were given pipes, although they were not be allowed to light them.

Councillor Dave Shirt, Aldermaston Parish Council chairman, said: "[Bids are] initially at a leisurely pace, and tension increases as the flame approaches the nail and the wax around it begins to soften.

"At this stage the bidding becomes frantic, and the bid that is live at the time the nail falls out wins the auction.

"Candle auctions have a long history.

"It was traditional to hold ship auctions at Lloyds Coffee House at Tower Hill in London and Samuel Pepys describes the sale of three hulks in his diary entry for 3rd September 1661."

The piece of land up for grabs this year is called Church Acre in Fishermen's Lane.

Organisers believe Chedzoy in Somerset is the only other village in the country which still holds the tradition, although only once every 21 years.

Shakespeare's First Folio sells at £1.5M

2010-12-08T18:16:00.002Z

Also at the Sotheby auction:
Lord Hesketh's collection also included a rare copy of Shakespeare's First Folio, which Sotheby's said was "the most important book in all of English Literature".

Of the 750 that were probably printed, only 219 are known to exist today.

The copy, which dates back to 1623 and has three pages missing, sold for £1.5 million.
It is one of only three textually complete copies to exist in private hands in a comparably early binding.

In the Green Room we have a copy for £85 - it's the Norton Facscimile, but in better condition than the Sotheby copy:-)

World's most expensive book sells for £7.3m

2010-12-08T11:35:00.001Z

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 7 December 2010 21.56 GMT
John James Audubon's Birds of America at Sotheby's in London before its sale for a world record £7.3m. Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters
A copy of John James Audubon's Birds of America tonight became the most expensive book ever sold when it went under the hammer at Sotheby's for £7.3m. The auction was a rare chance to own one of the best preserved editions of the 19th century masterpiece, with its 435 hand-coloured illustrations, seen as a key volume on US natural history.
It was sold to an anonymous collector bidding by telephone, the auction house said. Each individual picture is so valuable there have been some fears the volume could be broken up and sold as 435 separate works of art. Experts believe that unlikely: the tome is probably more valuable intact.
And collectors hold Audobon in such reverence that the notion of ripping apart a perfect copy would be akin to sacrilege.
"Audubon's Birds holds a special place in the rare book market for several reasons," said Heather O'Donnell, a specialist with Bauman Rare Books in New York. "The book is a major original contribution to the study of natural history in the New World.
"It's also one of the most visually stunning books in the history of print: The scale of the images, the originality of each composition, the brilliance of the hand coloring."
The Birds of America plates were printed in black and white and hand-coloured afterwards, and made from engravings of Audubon's watercolours. The book measures more than 3 ft by 2 ft (90 cm by 60cm) because he wanted to paint the birds life size.

Queen's knickers for auction.

2010-12-06T10:53:00.001Z

A pair of underpants once supposedly owned by The Queen are to be sold at auction.
Hanson’s Auctioneers are selling the yellowed knickers on behalf of the estate of a notorious American playboy who was dubbed ‘Miami’s Hugh Hefner’.
He was given them by a friend after the Queen is said to have left them on a private plane during a visit to Chile in 1968.
Following the death in June of ‘Baron’ Joseph de Bicske Dobronyi, or Sepy as he was known, his family found the knickers among his belongings and are now auctioning them off.
They hope to get the same price as a pair of Queen Victoria’s giant bloomers, which went for £4,500 during a 2008 auction, also carried out by the Derbyshire-based auctioneers.
The latest pair of Royal pants are cream coloured with a slightly darker pattern on the bottom lining of both legs.
They have an ‘E’ stitched into the side, more than likely a reference to Elizabeth, but a departure from the ‘ER’ which is used on official insignia.
At mid-thigh length, they are also far more conservative than women’s underwear of today.
It is not entirely clear if the underwear were indeed worn by HRH, although she and Prince Philip did indeed make an official visit to Chile and Brazil in 1968 where they went to a football match in Rio and were cheered by crowds in Santiago.
The auction of Queen Victoria’s bloomers attracted interest from around the world and the garments were eventually sold to an anonymous Canadian.
The 50-inch waist knickers, which dated from the 1890s, had been expected to fetch just £500 but went for £4,500.
Auctioneer Charles Hanson said he could not say for certain if the underwear does belong to the Queen.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1335887/Florida-playboy-sells-underwear-left-Queen-private-plane.html#ixzz17KONrqBH

Oswald's coffin coming up for auction.

2010-12-02T12:36:00.001Z

The original coffin of Lee Harvey Oswald -- the man who assassinated President John F. Kennedy -- is going under the hammer this month, auctioneers said Wednesday.
Los Angeles based dealers Nate D. Sanders Auctions will start the bidding for the gruesome souvenir at $1,000. But it is expected to go for much more at auction on Dec. 16.
Oswald, who was arrested about an hour after President Kennedy was murdered in 1963, was later shot and killed by Jack Ruby before he could stand trial.
He was buried in a simple pine coffin, but his body was exhumed in 1981 after his wife won a legal battle to identify him amid theories a Russian agent was buried in his place.
The heavily water-damaged casket was replaced with a new one when Oswald was reburied at Rose Hill Cemetery in Texas.
The auction house website added that the coffin was "accompanied by a letter of authenticity by Funeral Director Allen Baumgardner, who assisted at the original embalming of Lee Harvey Oswald and later purchased the Miller Funeral Home along with all of its property."
The auction also includes a blood-stained piece of the leather seat Kennedy was sitting on when he was killed.

Bottle of scotch makes $460,000 at auction

2010-11-16T23:12:00.001Z

A bottle of Macallan 64-year-old scotch, housed within a Lalique crystal decanter, far exceeded its pre-sale estimate of $100,000-with a winning bid of $460,000-at Sotheby's in New York, this week.

With all proceeds of the sale going to benefit charity: water, the one-of-a-kind bottle, made by Lalique using the cire perdue ("lost wax") method, did a multi-city charity tour before the final event in New York. Scott Harrison, founder of charity: water, spoke before the auction of the idealism behind his organization and the impact that the evening's sale would have on helping to bring clean water to communities in developing countries. He then handed the microphone off to Sotheby's Head of Wine in the US and Asia, Jamie Ritchie, to perform the auctioneer duties.

A gentleman in the crowd eagerly placed the opening bid, sparking a cascading ping-pong of responses from around the room. Bidding quickly passed the $300,000 mark, with phone bidders setting the tone, outpacing most on-hand. Ritchie kept the mood light, cracking an "Only $5?!" joke when a Sotheby's rep asked if he would accept an increase of $5,000 from a potential buyer on the phone. Reminding everyone that the evening's sale would support a good cause, Ritchie broke the $400,000 barrier to a delighted response of the crowd. With everyone's mind wondering if the lot would reach the half-million mark, bidding slowed around $450,000 before finally settling on $460,000. Giving everyone one last chance, Ritchie brought the gavel down to mark the record sale to an anonymous US bidder.

Chinese vase fetches $69.3 million at UK auction

2010-11-12T11:36:00.002Z

LONDON -- An 18th century Chinese porcelain vase discovered when a house was cleared out was sold Thursday at a London auction for 43 million pounds ($69.3 million).

Bainbridges, the auction house, said that the final price for the 16-inch vase - an imperially commissioned piece decorated with a fish motif - far exceeded the pre-auction estimated price, which was about 1.2 million pounds.

The final amount was thought to be among the highest ever paid for any Chinese artwork sold at auction.

After fierce competition among Chinese buyers, the vase was bought by a Chinese bidder who turned up to bid on behalf of an undisclosed buyer.

The auction house - a small, independent company in the London suburb of Ruislip that runs auctions and valuations for people clearing their homes - said the vase is of exceptional quality and that it knew the estimated price was "a bit conservative." Still, the final price was beyond all expectations.

"The rumors grew as more people came to see it ... but we had no idea it would go for this price," Helen Porter, a spokeswoman at Bainbridges.

The vase was found in "an ordinary home," Porter said. It is believed to have been acquired by an English family during the 1930s or earlier.
The Associated Press
Thursday, November 11, 2010; 5:12 PM

The most expensive wine ever sold at auction

2010-11-02T15:00:00.000Z

Three bottles of Château Lafite Rothschild 1869 became the most expensive wine ever to be sold at auction when they fetched HK $1,815,000 ($232,692) per bottle in Hong Kong on Saturday night, three times the high presale estimate of HK $65,000. All three bottles were sold by phone to a single Asian bidder whose coup was the highlight of the all-Lafite sale by Sotheby's at which every one of the 284 lots was sold. The auction brought in an extraordinary total of HK $65.5 million ($8.4 million), tripling the high estimate of HK $20 million, and confirming Asia's status as the up-and-comer of the global fine wine market. The sale also confirmed the almost hypnotic power of the Lafite name in the Chinese market, a phenomenon that nobody is quite able to explain. Serena Sutcliffe, head of Sotheby's international wine department, thinks it may be because the Chateau's name is easy to pronounce in Mandarin. Others say the craze started with the wildly popular 2006 Hong Kong gangster movie "Exiled," in which the anti-hero rejects a glass of wine, snarling that anything less than Chateau Lafite is "garbage." Supporters of this theory say that soon after the release of the movie, fake bottles of Lafite began to flood the Chinese market.
Buyers at the Sotheby's sale had no fears about provenance as the wine was consigned directly from the cellars of Château Lafite Rothschild in Pauillac and the auction at Hong Kong’s opulent Mandarin Oriental hotel was conducted under the gaze of Baron Eric de Rothschild himself, who had flown in especially for the event.

Cherie Blair selling on eBay

2010-10-28T23:57:00.000Z

While Tony Blair has been earning up to £6,000 per minute as a speaker, his wife has been adding to the family fortunes by selling a watch thought to have been given to the former prime minister by his Italian counterpart, Silvio Berlusconi.
Earlier this month, Mrs Blair sold the Locman Mare Titanium timepiece on eBay, the auction website, for £98 after advertising it as "unused in its original box with guarantee".
The wristwatch, which would have cost at least £300 when new, was thought to have been one of nine given to the Blairs by the famously generous Mr Berlusconi that they decided to pay for when they left Downing Street three years ago.
Nor was the watch the only thing Mrs Blair sold in recent months. Among the more bizarre items she offered was a piece of paper signed by her husband, which fetched £10 last week.
A spokesman for Mrs Blair claimed she had not intended to profit from the autograph, saying she had advertised it to "undermine the market" in Blair signatures, because she was upset that people were selling them for up to £35. She claimed to have refunded the £10 as soon as she had sold the signature.
The spokesman said he had "no knowledge" of the sale of the watch.
Since leaving Downing Street, Mr Blair has been highly paid for speaking engagements, and as an adviser to foreign rulers and financial institutions

US car enthusiast buys Bond's Aston Martin at auction

2010-10-28T10:32:00.001Z

By Reuben Easey
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 10:48:00 10/28/2010

A US car enthusiast has bought James Bond's famous Aston Martin car, complete with ejector seat and revolving number plates, at auction in London for more than $4 million.

The 1964 silver Aston Martin DB5 was driven by Sean Connery when he played the fictional British spy in the films "Goldfinger" (1964) and "Thunderball" (1965).

US collector Harry Yeaggy flew into Britain for Wednesday's sale and outbid his rivals to buy the car for 2.6 million pounds ($4.1 million, 3 million euros).

This was less than its pre-sale estimate of more than $5 million.

Yeaggy said the car's new home would be in a US museum -- but beforehand he planned to "have a bit of fun" taking the car for a spin around the streets of the British capital.

"We're going to fire the car up and drive it round the streets of London tonight. We're going to have a bit of fun with it," he told BBC television.

The US collector said he had taken a last-minute decision to fly into Britain for the auction, and confessed to being surprised that an American came out on top in the sale.

"I thought a European would buy it. But I guess they didn't appreciate Bond as much as we do," he said.

The Bond movie car was sold by its US owner, Pennsylvania broadcaster Jerry Lee, who bought it for $12,000 in 1969. The proceeds will go to his charitable foundation.

It is fitted with the full complement of operational "Q-Branch" gadgets, and auctioneers RM Auctions dubbed it the most famous car in the world.

The car is also equipped with machine guns, bullet-proof shield, tracking device, removable roof panel, oil slick sprayer and smoke screen, all controlled by "toggles and switches hidden in the centre arm-rest".

"The machine guns, as you can see, do come out of their intended place. As far as I know, they don't shoot bullets, but then again, I haven't tried," Don Rose, a car specialist for the auctioneers, told AFP.

The gear stick top flips up to reveal the red ejector seat button. It also has homing radar and a telephone mounted inside the driver's door panel.

The car has been on tour over the past five months, with appearances in Britain, Germany, Monte Carlo, New York and Hong Kong.

Admission to the sale in Battersea, south London, required the purchase of an official auction catalogue available for 50 pounds.

Purchase of the car, lot 197 in the sale, also included a stay at the GoldenEye resort in Jamaica, the original Caribbean estate of Ian Fleming, the British author who created James Bond.

A custom-made suit woven with gold thread made by the tailors who dressed Connery as Bond was also thrown in.

‘Most haunted' manor house to be auctioned

2010-09-20T12:05:00.001Z

A run-down manor house that is reputed to be among the most haunted in Britain is being auctioned later this month.
Security guards refuse to patrol Wymering Manor alone
Ghostly apparitions, strange voices and sudden drops in temperature have been experienced at Wymering Manor in Portsmouth.
The Grade II* building, which has appeared on Living TV’s Most Haunted, was a 17th century vicarage and has a guide price of £375,000.
Surveyor Jeremy Lamb said: ‘It’s not often we offer a haunted house. It’s certainly a unique selling point.’

Teddy Bear expected to top £100,000 at auction

2010-09-20T11:30:00.000Z

A cuddly collection of teddy bears worth £1.2million is to go under the hammer.
The 1,300 soft toys, including a ‘harlequin’ teddy valued at about £100,000, left auctioneers who visited the collectors’ house stunned.
The menagerie of bears, rabbits, cats, dogs, monkeys, elephants, lions and frogs – all made by famous German toy company Steiff – was stored in cabinets and on shelves and beds in the US home.
Daniel Agnew, of Christie’s, which is to sell the items in London, said: ‘This is by far the best toy auction there has ever been and contains toys well over 100 years old and in fine condition. ‘The vendors started collecting the toys purely out of nostalgia but they became very serious and dedicated.’
Among the lots are a 1910 hot water bottle bear worth more than £30,000, and Mickey Mouse figures for between £5,000 and £15,000 each. It is thought the mohair harlequin bear could break the £110,000 world record price for a teddy.
Made as a one-off experimental piece in 1944 by a Steiff employee, its head and arms swivel but over the years it has lost its ‘growl’ mechanism which was activated by turning it upside down.
Steiff is among the most popular toy companies in the world and is famed for its hand-made, stuffed and stitched teddies.
The items date back as far as the 1890s, soon after Steiff went into business and a few years before the first teddy was made in 1902.
The auction is in South Kensington on October 13.

World's most expensive book to go under the hammer

2010-09-10T16:51:00.001Z

•
(Reuters Life!) - A rare book by America's most famous bird artist, John James Audubon, billed as the most expensive in the world, is going under the hammer in December alongside a first edition of Shakespeare's plays.
"Birds of America," which is estimated to sell for between 4 million and 6 million pounds ($6.2-$9.2 million), was said by auctioneer Sotheby's to have inspired generations of ornithologists.
When a copy of the book with hand-colored, life-size prints of birds was last sold in 2000, by rival firm Christie's, it set a world record price for a printed book, fetching $8.8 million.
Only 119 copies of "Birds of America" are known to exist. The book contains 1,000 illustrations of about 500 breeds of birds and took Audubon 12 years to complete. Audubon, who died in 1851, was an influential natural historian. He was quoted three times in Charles Darwin's "The Origin of Species."
Sotheby's said the auction, on December 7 in London, will also include a book widely regarded as the most important in all English literature -- the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays, "First Folio," dated from 1623.
The "First Folio," with 36 plays including "Macbeth," "The Tempest," and "Twelfth Night," is expected to sell for between 1.0 and 1.5 million pounds ($1.5-$2.3 million).
"The sale offers the twin peaks of book collecting - the most expensive book in the world, Audubon's "Birds of America," and the most important book in all of English Literature, Shakespeare's "First Folio,"" Sotheby's spokesman David Goldthorpe said in a statement.
Sotheby's said the two books were among a lot of 50 books, manuscripts and drawings from the collection of Lord Hesketh who died in 1955.
It also includes a series of letters by Queen Elizabeth I, the Earl of Leicester and the spy Francis Walsingham relating to the imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots.
The sale also boasts the largest group of rose drawings by Pierre-Joseph Redoute, to come on the market since a sale by his patron and pupil the Duchesse de Berry in 1837.
(Writing by Belinda Goldsmith, Editing by Dean Goodman)

Famous duckhouse makes £1,700 in auction.

2010-09-07T10:45:00.001Z

From today's Independent

An MP who was forced to stand down after claiming £1,645 on expenses for a floating duck house has now sold it for charity, it was confirmed today.

Former Conservative MP for Gosport Sir Peter Viggers, 72, was criticised for his expenses claims which totalled £30,000 for gardening costs.

These included the 5ft duck house which acts as a floating island to protect ducks from being attacked by foxes.

Now Sir Peter, who quit his seat at the General Election on the orders of David Cameron, has sold the Stockholm duck house at auction.

It sold to a business centre in Wolverhampton for £1,700 and Sir Peter donated the proceeds to Macmillan Cancer Support.

A spokesman for the charity said: "Macmillan Cancer Support relies entirely on public donations to provide practical, emotional and financial support to the two million people currently living with cancer.

"We are really delighted that some good has come out of the whole expenses scandal and are grateful for the donation from Sir Peter.

"This money is enough for us to provide a Macmillan nurse for two weeks."

Lennons Loo makes $15,500 at auction

2010-08-31T11:05:00.001Z

The porcelain toilet John Lennon used between 1969 and 1972 has been sold to a collector at a Liverpool auction for $15,500.

The porcelain lavatory was from the ex-Beatle’s Tittenhurst home in Berkshire, England.

BBC News reports that auction organizer Stephen Bailey said: “It is unbelievable.

We had bids coming in from all over the place but it went to a private overseas buyer.”

The sale took place in The Paul McCartney Auditorium at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.

As Gibson.com reported when the auction was announced, the toilet had been given to a builder, John Hancock, and kept in his shed for almost 40 years until his recent death.

Also sold at the auction at The Paul McCartney Auditorium at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts was a mono version of Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins, sold for $4,500, and a harmonica that belonged to Julian Lennon. John gave it to the builder because his son was driving him crazy playing the instrument.

John Lennon's Toilet for auction.

2010-08-24T10:34:00.001Z

John Lennon's toilet is set to go under the hammer this week after it was discovered in his former builder’s shed after forty years.

The famous throne will be one of two hundred and ninety five items of Beatles memorabilia to be auctioned on the day at the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts.

The exceptional items at the action include the lavatory and one of Lennon’s rarest albums still in circulation, Two Virgins.

The album was a mono-sound recording which he produced with Yoko Ono in November 1968 and is expected to fetch at least £2,500.

When the avant garde LP was released it was infamous for being sold in brown paper bags because the sleeve controversially featured a naked picture of John and Yoko.

Bids are also being invited for Lennon's toilet which was taken from Tittenhurst Park, his Berkshire home between 1969 and 1972.

Lennon told builder John Hancock he could have the porcelain lavatory after installing a new one. John remarked to him he should "use it as a plant pot".

It was stored in a shed at Hancock's home for some 40 years until he died recently and was salvaged by a relative. The toilet is estimated to fetch £750 to £1,000.

Auctioneer Stephen Bailey said: "The toilet might be worth something, and it might not, but it is certainly one of the more unusual items we've sold."

Bailey, who is also manager of The Beatles Shop in Liverpool, added: "I have only ever come across two other mono copies of Two Virgins before so that will be the one to watch. Even at the end of the sixties, during such a bohemian period, the picture of a naked couple on the album cover still caused a great deal of scandal."

"The stereo version sold relatively few copies at a time when any one of the Beatles could easily have shifted hundreds of thousands of records."

The auction will take place next Saturday at the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts.

Hustle con

2010-08-14T16:51:00.000Z

Hustle con

A couple of nights ago I watched The Real Hustle: Celebrity Scammers on BBC. It’s on again tonight on BBC 3 at 7pm.

In it a punter is taken for £1,900 in a sham auction con. The ‘mark’ overhears someone in a bar receiving a phone call to say that a certain picture in a nearby junk shop is worth £2000 and is on sale for £50. While that person nips to the toilet, the marks goes to the shop and buys the picture. They are met outside by the person who was on the phone who tells them that the picture is worth £2k and that while he would not be making any money (Oh Yeah!) he has a friend with an auctionrooms around the corner who could slip it in to the auction which was about to start (as if!!). There are about 20 customers at the auction. The first conman tells the marks that they might have to bid the picture up a bit. They are bidding against a phone bidder who they already are told will go to £3k. The mark is at £1900 when the phone ‘breaks down’ and the picture is knocked down to the mark. The con men then organise a deal with the phone bidder and pay the mark with a check, but he has first of all to pay the £1900 for the picture, which he does in cash. He still thinks that he has made a big profit, except, of course that the cheque is a dud.

My complaint is that the program itself is a con. Think about it:

3 principal con artists.
About 20 bit players.
Hire of an ‘auctionrooms’
Plus the signs, props etc

ALL FOR A TAKE OF £1,900!!!
…………………………………………

On another matter: I watched the One Show, also on BBC during the week. On it the presenter was speaking about the 1933 1d. She stated that the coin was worth about £65,000 – probably correct. However, she was handling the coin, not very professionally, with her bare hands. If I had a £65k coin I would not let someone like that handle it without gloves. My guess is that the coin was a replica.

Churchill's false teeth make £15,200 at auction

2010-07-30T11:33:00.002Z

A pair of false teeth worn by Winston Churchill have sold at auction for £15,200 -- on the same day that plans were announced to put the British wartime leader's archive papers online for the first time.

Churchill, famous for his rousing speeches during World War II, had several sets of the partial upper dentures specially constructed to hide his natural lisp and accentuate his signature slurred diction.

According to documents held by the Royal College of Surgeons, the former prime minister "lived in fear of losing his false teeth" and would always have a spare set to hand, entrusted to his private secretary, Andrew Bullock of Keys auction house in Aylsham, eastern England, told CNN.

The set which sold for £15,200 ($23,700) on Thursday -- more than three times its expected price -- was put up for sale by Nigel Cudlipp, the son of the dental technician who made them, Derek Cudlipp.

"According to Nigel Cudlipp, his father said he could always tell how the war was going from the distance Winston hurled the teeth," said Bullock. "They were prone to breaking, especially when Churchill got a bit angry."

Bullock said Churchill suffered from poor teeth and gums from childhood and had complicated dentistry requirements. He later nominated his dentist for a knighthood.

Dinosaur for auction.

2010-07-30T11:25:00.000Z

Sotheby’s is to offer the Allosaurus remains in a Paris sale on October 5. The skeleton is 33 feet (10 metres) in length, and it is estimated it will fetch about €800,000

Catholic church: confessional withdrawn from auction.

2010-07-21T18:37:00.000Z

The Catholic Church in Vienna has ruled that a former confessional cannot be used as a sauna.

Bidding on a confessional described on eBay as ideal for conversion into a one-person sauna, a small bar or a children's playhouse was ended when the archdiocese stepped in.

Archdiocese spokesman Erich Leitenberger told the daily Salzburger Nachrichten on Tuesday that auctioning "objects that were used for dispensing the sacraments is not acceptable."

Confessionals "should not be converted into saunas or bars," he said.

The confessional was offered for auction in Austria by a Vienna church undergoing renovations.

Curiously, the highest reported amount offered by one of the 40 bidders before the item was yanked from the internet Monday was 666.66 euros.

The number 666 is commonly associated with the Antichrist – or the devil.

Wold Cup Final football makes £48,200 at auction.

2010-07-18T09:46:00.002Z

The football used in the final of the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa was sold for £48,200 in an online auction.

The ball made by sports kit maker Adidas was one of those used in the final between Spain and the Netherlands played in Johannesburg.

According to the auctioneer eBay, the controversy around the ball - with complaints about its movement through the air - has fuelled interest, The Telegraph reported Saturday.

"Unique pieces of sporting memorabilia have always been extremely popular on eBay," said Ruth Szyszkowski of the website.

"The interest in this particular piece seems not only heightened by the controversy surrounding it, but also the proceeds benefiting such a great cause."

Adidas said the World Cup ball's "radical grip 'n' groove" technology, tested by scientists at Loughborough University, allowed "exceptionally stable flight and perfect grip under all conditions".

But the ball, named "Jabulani" from the Zulu word for "to celebrate", was criticised by some players.

A total of 133 bids were placed from 55 international bidders, a spokesman said.

A group of Spanish fans made the highest bid.

Trigger makes $266,500 at auction

2010-07-16T10:11:00.001Z

Trigger has a new home - as do numerous items once owned by Western stars Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.

They were put up for auction yesterday at Christie's in New York, with an auctioneer calling it the "most colorful, emotional and sentimental" sale she's experienced in her 20 years with the firm.

The hall was packed, with many of the bidders wearing Western attire and cowboy boots. There were even some tears.

The items were from the now-closed Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum in Branson, Mo. They fetched more than expected, including Rogers' stuffed horse Trigger, which went for $266,500. It was bought by a cable company in Omaha, Neb.

Rogers' 1964 Bonneville convertible, encrusted with silver dollars, sold for almost as much: $254,500.

Ashes of Coronation Street cat for auction.

2010-07-16T10:09:00.000Z

The ashes of a cat which featured in the titles of Coronation Street are to be sold at auction.
Frisky starred in the soap's opening sequence for 10 years and was seen at the start of more than 1,000 episodes, crouching on the roof of Jack Duckworth's pigeon loft.
His owner, John Rimington, who is putting his pet's remains up for auction next week in South Cerney, Gloucestershire, said: "Frisky was not only a much-loved family pet, but also captured the heart of the nation and made thousands of pounds for charities. We were very proud to be his owners and we are keen to keep his memory alive."
The tabby was hired in 1990 after beating 5,000 other potential cats to the role.
He raised money for charity through numerous personal appearances until his death in 2000 at the age of 14.
His ashes, sealed in a wooden casket with a brass plaque, are expected to fetch up to £150.
The lot also includes a cremation certificate and postcards of Frisky with other stars of Weatherfield, and is part of a wider auction of antiques and collectibles.
Chris Albury, of Dominic Winter Auctioneers, said: "Not only was Frisky one of the most recognised cats in the country for over a decade, but he also became synonymous with one of the nation's favourite soaps.
"At this stage we're not expecting an auction room dogfight but this lot will add some light relief into the day's proceedings."
The auction will take place on Thursday, July 22.

Winston Churchill's False Teeth to Be Auctioned

2010-07-10T10:43:00.001Z

The false teeth of legendary BritishWinston Churchill will go up for auction, and were expected to fetch £5,000, dental news website Dentistry.co.uk reported Friday.

The set of teeth will be sold on July 29 at Keys auction rooms in Norfolk, by the son of Derek Cudlipp, the technician who made them.

Throughout his life, the oratory craftsman feared that problems with his teeth would affect his public speaking, and Churchill was believed to be so anxious about losing his beloved dentures that he always kept a spare set to hand, the website reported.

Last month the auction house sold a butter dish Churchill used as an ashtray, and a stubbed-out cigar of his for £4,500.

ROY ROGERS’ ‘TRIGGER’ TO BE AUCTIONED OFF.

2010-07-07T15:15:00.001Z

Trigger, the palomino that carried cowboy movie star Roy Rogers, will be on the auction block later this month.

Trigger, who was stuffed after his death in 1965, will be auctioned off with other Roy Rogers memorabilia at Christie's in New York. The Christie's website says the auction is scheduled for July 14-15, and that Trigger is expected to bring in about $100,000 to $200,000.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that the Rogers family decided last year to close the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum that had been in Branson for about six years.

Lock of Napoleon's hair sold at New Zealand auction

2010-07-01T15:34:00.000Z

A lock of Napoleon Bonaparte's hair snipped from his head the day after he died in 1821 was sold for 19,000 New Zealand dollars (13,300 US dollars) at an auction in Auckland on Tuesday.
It was bought in a telephoned bid by a private collector in London, who did not want to be identified, auctioneer Hamish Coney said.
A lithograph and watercolour image of Napoleon on his deathbed, fetched 21,000 New Zealand dollars, the biggest price of more than 40 items from a private collection.
The Napoleon memorabilia originally belonged to Denzil Ibbetson, commissary officer on the island of St Helena where the former emperor was exiled and died. Ibbetson's diary was sold for 9,500 New Zealand dollars.
The collection was brought to New Zealand in 1864 by Ibbetson's son Frederick and had never been seen in public before.
Coney said the auction, which drew telephoned bids from London, Paris, Hong Kong, Washington and Lithuania, fetched a total of 140,000 New Zealand dollars.

Attack on auctioneer lands man 30 years in prison

2010-06-29T11:38:00.000Z

See also http://auctions-auctioneering.blogspot.com/2009/07/auctioneering-can-be-tough-business.html
A man high on methamphetaine when he slashed the throat of a Woodburn auctioneer nearly one year ago was sentenced to 30 years in prison
Jeremiah Thomasson’s violent history landed him the sentence, according to Marion County Circuit Court Presiding Judge Jamese Rhoades’ ruling.
Thomasson, 24, has several prior assault convictions and had been punished for breaking rules more than 25 times while awaiting trial at Marion County jail. Once, he punched an inmate for not giving him a cookie at lunch, Marion County prosecutor Jodie Bureta said.

Charles “Chuck” Boyce was on an auction block at Woodburn Auction Yard in June 2009 when a man from the crowd walked up, grabbed him and slit his neck with a box knife.

“Three-hundred sixty three days ago, Mr. Thomasson changed my life by trying to take my life,” Boyce said during the sentencing hearing.

“He’s left deeper scars in me than the one I have to see every day when I shave.”
Boyce said since the attack he suffers post-traumatic stress disorder that cost him his marriage. He asked that Thomasson be sentenced to a long time in prison to prevent other victims.

“If he can do this to me, why can’t he do it fatally to someone else,” Boyce said.
Rhoades said that Thomasson’s violent history made him dangerous to the community.

“Apparently close to 200 people sat and saw you go up behind Mr. Boyce and slit his throat,” the judge told Thomasson.

There was no explanation for the behavior, Rhoades said, calling Thomasson “some sort of explosive with little or no fuse.

“You’re polite every time you come into court,” she said. “That’s kind of the scary thing about this.”

Marilyn Monroe Breast X-Rays Sell For $45k At Auction

2010-06-29T11:23:00.001Z

An auction held at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas titled Hollywood Legends, sold three chest x-rays of Marilyn Monroe for an unbelievable $45,000.00.

The auction was held by West Hollywood auction company Julien’s, had other Monroe memorabilia as well as items from Audrey Hepburn and Kate Winslett.

Other notable items that sold at the auction was the Superman IV costume worn by Christopher Reeve.

The Monroe x-rays were from a 1954 visit to the hospital and were only expected to get about $1,000.00 for each one.

Auctioneers were surprised when the bidding kept going until it reached the $45,000.00 mark. Other items of Monroe that were sold at the auction included a bottle of Chanel No 5, A crew neck sweater and the chair from her last photo shoot.

Monroe died in 1962 but continues to be one of the largest Hollywood icons ever. Original Monroe memorabilia always brings very high dollar amounts at the auction block. Buyers from around the world flock to auctions holding items of the blonde bombshell.

Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder codpiece auctioned

2010-05-24T11:08:00.000Z

A codpiece worn by Rowan Atkinson in the 1986 TV series Blackadder II has sold for £850 at an auction.
The item, from the series which was set in medieval times, was sold by Cameo Auctioneers in Midgham in Berkshire.
Jon King, from the auctioneers, said: "This is possibly the most iconic costume item in the series."
The codpiece was a covering at the front of the crotch and formed an essential part of the well-dressed Elizabethan man's wardrobe.
The garment accentuated the genital area and was held closed by string ties or buttons.
The khaki ski suit used by Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in The World is Not Enough in 1999 sold for £1,700 at the TV and Film Costumes auction.
A medieval-style tunic with studs worn by Sean Connery as Robin Hood in the film Robin and Marian in 1976 was only expected to sell for up to £200 but fetched £2,000.
Another costume which exceeded its estimate was a burgundy one worn by the Thuggee in the 1984 film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
It was expected to sell for between £400 and £600 but it went for £1900.

From the BBC website.

Buying a town full of memories

2010-05-03T11:37:00.000Z

By Patty Fisher
pfisher@mercurynews.com

Fran Moyer planned merely to pick up a few mementos at an auction in Texas last weekend.
Instead, she bought herself a town.
That's right, an entire town.
"I still can't believe it," she says, laughing and shaking her head. "I really never dreamed I would get it."
Just as soon as the giddiness wears off, she'll figure out exactly what to do with The Grove, an antique Old West-style town 30 miles southwest of Waco with a general store, blacksmith shop, saloon, bank and post office.
"I'm very curious to see how this is going to play out," she says.
Yes, who wouldn't be?
Moyer, who lives in San Jose and sings beautiful alto solos in my church choir, was born and raised in Texas. Her grandfather, WJ Dube, owned the general store in The Grove from 1917 until 1946. Both her parents grew up there. When she was a little girl, Moyer used to spend summers at her grandparents' home, plucking chickens, fishing in the stream and sitting on the front porch after supper, watching the night fall over the fragrant farmland.
"I can't describe how important that little piece of the world is to me," she says. "When you grow up like that you become very close to the land and it's just in your genes."
A town that faded away
Founded in 1859, The Grove was a thriving farming community until the 1930s, when the residents, in an effort to save it, unwittingly killed it
The state wanted to build Highway 36 through the center of town, but the locals balked because it meant paving over the municipal well, their literal lifeblood. So the state rerouted the highway, and The Grove, bypassed by the outside world, became a ghost town.
In 1972, an antique collector named Moody Anderson bought the old buildings, filled them with Texas artifacts and opened the Country Life Museum. The Grove attracted tourists by day, country musicians by night and filmmakers who used pieces of Anderson's collection as props for westerns like "Lonesome Dove." It became known as the liveliest ghost town in Texas.
Two years ago, at 80, Anderson figured it was time to sell his precious museum. He got no bidders on eBay, so he decided to hold an auction.
When Moyer heard about the auction, she couldn't resist going.
"I went to go to say goodbye to The Grove," she said.
On the first day of the auction, she looked at the thousands of tagged items: mounted buffalo heads, blacksmith tools, roll-top desks, oil lamps. She bought a few old photos, but saying goodbye turned out to be harder than she'd expected.
That night, she called her husband, Jim, a successful Silicon Valley executive, and floated the idea of bidding on the half-acre strip of buildings.
"I asked if he would mind if I spent a couple hundred thousand to buy my grandfather's store," she said.
What could he say? Fran's not an extravagant person. She drove her old Volvo station wagon for nearly 30 years. The Moyers don't live in a statement home. But this was a statement she just had to make, about the importance of roots and family.
A surprising outcome
The next day, when the bidding opened at $100,000, she raised her paddle, thinking that she was merely making a symbolic bid.
Another person quickly bid $150,000.
Moyer raised it to $200,000, hoping to bid up the price for Anderson, and waited for the other bidder to respond.
He didn't.
"Do I hear 250? Do I hear 225?" the auctioneer pleaded.
Silence.
I suspect the fix was in. Everyone knew Anderson and the locals wanted the place to stay in the family. Moyer may have thought she was just a symbolic bidder, but perhaps the other bidder was.
When the gavel fell, she jumped up and down and screamed "like an idiot."
"I never dreamed I would get it," she said. "I have bought my most precious childhood memories."
So, now that she has her ghost town, what will she do with it? Her brother and other relatives still live outside of town, and she hopes they will look after the place for her.
"We want to fix it up, and since they sold all the furniture in the saloon, I guess we're going to have to buy some," she said. "The locals are all asking where they are going to play dominoes now."

Tom Jones' dole records fail to sell at auction

2010-04-17T10:15:00.001Z

From BBC Wales:

"He does not want shift work but I believe the reason for his not liking shifts is because he is a member of a vocal group which is supposedly an amateur affair." So said a dole officer of Sir Tom Jones as he started his life as a singer. But this unemployment record card and five more failed to meet their reserve price at a recent auction.

The six cards detailed Tom Jones' trips to the dole office between 1961 and 1964, when he was still known as Thomas Woodward. The officials charged with recording his attempts to enter the employment market appear unimpressed with his efforts.

"From the number of adverts one sees in the local press... it seems that this group has a good thing going... from the way he is able to dress, it would seem that Mr Woodward's little hobby is highly lucrative and this would also account for his non enthusiasm in securing employment."

The cards provide an illuminating insight to the world of a musician battling with authorities that at the time would probably not have appreciated the potential in the then-fledgling sphere popular music industry.

Unfortunately for the owner of the cards, which were rescued from a Pontypridd skip when employment records were computerised, they didn't prove popular in the auction room.

Auctioneer Richard Westwood Brookes of Mullock's auction house in Shropshire, reported some bidding but the cards did not meet the reserve price.

He said at the time of the find: "They are a wonderful look at the beginning of a glittering career when Tom Jones was trying to make a living from his singing.
"The notes mention his TB and it's amazing to think that such a voice came from a man who had suffered from the disease."

*Marilyn Monroe's X-rays for auction.

2010-04-14T10:05:00.000Z

A Las Vegas auctioneer said a 1954 X-ray image of Marilyn Monroe's chest is expected to fetch bids of up to $1,200 in June.

Julien's Auctions at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino Las Vegas said the X-ray image of Monroe's chest and lungs, taken at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, is expected to sell for between $800 and $1,200 during the June 26-27 auction, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday.

"(The X-ray) was taken around the time she was believed to be pregnant, rumor has it that she had a miscarriage," said Darren Julien, president and chief executive of the auction house.

Julien said the auction will also include four X-rays of Monroe's abdomen, a daybed the actress is believed to have used while visiting her therapist, a 1953 rate card detailing the 27-year-old Monroe's $1,250 weekly earnings and a script from her 1962 film "Something's Got to Give."

Jordan's breast Implants for Ebay auction?

2010-04-10T23:40:00.002Z

Katie Price apparently plans to auction her old breast implants on eBay.

The former glamour model told The Guardian that she has two sets "at home" that she hopes to sell off.

Price, who stood for Parliament in 2001 promising free breast implants, said that she would like to make "a million pound" (sic) from the sale.

The 31-year-old added that she might have to rethink her plan, however, following her marriage to crossdresser Alex Reid. "They might come in handy after all!" she said.

Christie’s Green Auction

2010-04-10T13:55:00.000Z

Back in February Christie’s International announced the 2010 Inaugural Green Auction titled, “A Bid to Save the Earth” to honor the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. With the big event a little under two weeks away, Christie’s has launched a companion online silent auction hosted by CharityBuzz and featuring incredible experiences for the highest bidders.

Some highlights of the star-studded auction include spending the day on set with Hugh Jackman, enjoying a tennis lesson with John McEnroe, and joining Candice Bergen for a driving tour of Central Park. Looking to dine with Eli Manning, Vera Wang, Sigourney Weaver, or David Duchovny? Just log onto Charity Buzz and place your top bid.

The online Green Auction also includes major artwork, luxury vacations, and other once-in-a-lifetime adventures. Online bidding runs through May 6. Funds raised through the auctions will benefit Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Central Park Conservancy, and Conservation International.

Additional details about Christie’s Green Auction: A Bid to Save the Earth can be found at abidtosavetheearth.org.

Queen Victoria's stockings fetch £690 at auction

2010-04-01T14:33:00.000Z

A pair of Queen Victoria's silk stockings have been sold for £690 at auction in Edinburgh.

The black and white hand-stitched garments with crests are believed to date from 1874

They were thought to have a been favourite style of the monarch and were valued at around £400.

A spokesman for auctioneers Lyon and Turnbull said the stockings had been bought by a dealer on behalf of a third party.

The stockings went under the hammer for £690 as part of a fine antiques sale.
It was not known how they ended up in the hands of the previous owner's family.
However, much of the monarch's wardrobe was distributed to members of the Royal household on her death in 1901.

Lee Young, head of antiques at Lyon and Turnbull, said examples of the Queen's undergarments had long been considered the "crowning glory" for Victoriana collectors around the world.

Another item of note in the sale was Napoleon's favourite pipe, which sold for £4,000

1938 Superman comic sells for record $1.5 million

2010-03-30T13:22:00.001Z

Superman became the $1.5 million man Monday when a rare copy of the first comic to feature the superhero smashed all previous auction records for a comic book.
The 1938 copy of Action Comics, in which Superman debuted, easily beat the $1.075 million record set at auction in February for a comic book with Batman's first outing, online auctioneers ComicConnect.com said.

The same issue of Superman's Action Comics debut sold for $1 million dollars in February, but that was not in as good condition as the copy sold overnight.

Back in 1938 the Superman comic, boasting a cover picture of the red-caped hero lifting a green car, cost just 10 cents.

"This new record will be hard to break," said ComicConnect.com co-owner Vincent Zurzolo, "because this particular Action Comics Number One is literally the single most valuable comic book on the planet."

Incredibly, the comic book's existence was unknown for 50 years as it lay unnoticed tucked inside an old movie magazine, ComicConnect.com said.

Giant 200-year-old dildos sold for £3,600

2010-03-26T12:21:00.000Z

A PAIR of 200-year-old sex toys shaped as gigantic wooden phalluses have been sold at a UK auction for £3,600.

The Sun reports staff at Brentwood Antiques Auction in Essex described the sex toys as "extraordinary and exceptionally rare" and said they were probably French and dated back to the late 1700s.

"You might laugh but it's a good opportunity for investment," aptly named auctioneer Wendy Wood said.

"You won't see another one in a long time."

Auctioneers listed the lot on the website under "Erotica".

A catalogue description read: "An extraordinary and exceptionally rare 'Travel Godermiche' being a pair of wooden phallus contained within a fitted kid leather covered Treen case with strap fleurs-de-lys decoration, one phallus 10 inches and with testicles and the other 11 inches and without testicles."

"The case, although having a relined interior appears to have age commensurate with those of the phallus," the listing adds.

For sale, a hero's VC medal and the cannonball that struck him

2010-03-26T12:10:00.000Z

By Neil Sears

It is the first Victoria Cross to be earned by a British Army soldier - and it comes with a macabre accessory.
The medal awarded to Major John Simpson Knox is being auctioned with the cannonball that took his left arm during the Crimean War.
A fellow soldier picked up the missile that hit Major Knox and later gave it to him.
The VC and cannonball are expected to fetch up to £120,000 at auction in London next month.
Major Knox was an exceptionally tall boy who ran away from his home in Glasgow and managed to join the Scots Fusilier Guards when he was 14, under the legal age for enlisting.
Despite his youth he was swiftly promoted and was an acting sergeant major by the start of the Crimean War in 1854.
Britain and France had joined forces to take on Russia in the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea - and Knox was among the soldiers to sail there.
It was on September 20, 1854 that Knox performed his first of two acts of valour that secured him the VC.
It is the earliest date upon which any British Army soldier earned a VC, predated only by three Royal Navy sailors.
He was taking part in the Battle of the River Alma, and according to the citation for his medal, he 'acted with conspicuous courage in reforming the ranks of the Guards at a decisive moment of the action'.

His second act, cited when he received his VC, came in June the following year, when he was serving as a lieutenant with the Rifle Brigade, and volunteered for an attack using ladders on heavily defended Russian positions.
According to the citation: 'He remained in the field until he was twice wounded, all the time acting with great gallantry.'
It was during that attack, on a fortress defending the city of Sebastopol, that Knox was struck on the left arm by a cannonball, two inches in diameter, that was picked up and handed to him by a comrade.
Knox kept a scrapbook of copies of letters recording his experiences - including of the days which secured him the VC, Britain's highest award for gallantry.
Medal expert Oliver Pepys, of Spink auctioneers, which is offering the VC for sale next month, said: 'Major Knox showed incredible bravery, losing his arm to cannon fire in the process.
'The lot is fascinating, the medal is being sold with a Russian cannonball, the very one that smashed into Knox's arm. In all my years of working with rare medals and war artefacts I have never seen a more unusual keepsake.
'We have researched the circumstances around the loss of Major Knox's arm and have discovered a fellow soldier picked up the ball and gave it to him as a memento.
'This medal is of huge historical significance, the VC is still the highest honour a soldier can receive.'
Mr Pepys said his research had shown that on the day of Major Knox's second VC citation, his left arm was hit twice - first by the cannonball and then, minutes later, by a small piece of grapeshot. The two hits meant it had to be amputated at the socket urgently.
The Victoria Cross was instituted in 1856. The medals were - and still are - cast from bronze taken from cannons captured from the Russians at Sebastopol.
After the Crimean War, Knox married, had seven children, and served as a musketry instructor until retiring in 1872 as a Major.
He was then a governor of prisons and died in Cheltenham aged 68 in 1897.
The VC is being sold alongside three other medals he was awarded - the Crimea Medal, the French Legion of Honour and the Turkish Crimea Medal. The seller is remaining anonymous.

ANTIQUES ARE GREEN

2010-03-07T14:19:00.000Z

I have been involved with antiques for most of my life and am delighted to see that there is now an organisation in the antiques trade to promoted the concept that antiques are green. Below is an interview with the founder and contact details. It's free to join.
_______________________________________
Early in 2009, I was talking with a few colleagues about the environmental benefits of antiques in the home. This was something that I had not previously discussed with customers in my shop but now I tried raising the subject.
After a few minutes conversation, a look of enlightenment appeared. First, the customer related antiques to recycling. Then, as the conversation progressed, it became evident that their purchase would result in minimal greenhouse gases, no rain forests would be depleted and no additional minerals would be extracted from the Earth. Customers felt comfortable about their purchase with the understanding that “antiques are green”. They could now justify their purchase and enjoy a feel good factor as well.
It seemed that it would benefit the whole Antiques Trade if the buying public were aware of this message before they came in to see us. With a suitable campaign, potential customers would know that antiques were green because they had read it in the press, seen and heard it on TV and found the same “Antiques are Green” logo wherever they went. As members of the antiques trade, we may all sell more and do our bit for the environment. By changing the perception of antiques to that of an attractive alternative to buying new goods, we might even attract new customers who previously would not have considered antiques.
In March, Antiques Trade Gazette published my letter on the subject and this led to some important contacts, including John Fiske who has himself been promoting Antiques are Green in the USA.
Following a presentation at the ATG Conference in May, an on-line vote to select a campaign logo took place in the Antiques Trade Gazette and BBC Homes and Antiques Magazine. The Trade and public voted on a selection of Antiques are Green logos and both groups chose the one that you now see on the website.
The campaign is being developed under the umbrella of a not-for-profit organisation. Its success will benefit both the antiques trade and the environment, in accordance with our formal aims and objectives.
Online Galleries have prepared this website and Dealers are invited to submit their stock.
Anyone interested or involved with the trade is invited to become a part of Antiques are Green and use this website to promote themselves, their product or their service. Please join the campaign now.
I would especially like to thank Mark Bridge and Sarah Percy Davis for their help with this project in its early stages.

Nigel Worboys

antiquesaregreen.org

New Zealand Ghost Auction Sparks Ethical Debate About Capturing, Selling Ghosts

2010-03-05T00:35:00.001Z

by Robert Quigley March 4th, 2010

A New Zealander who claims to have captured two ghosts and bottled them with holy water and has now put them up for sale on an auction website has incited a national debate that threatens to overturn old Lord of the Rings sets, pit the north and south islands against each other, and possibly upset some kiwis: Is it ethical to sell ghosts?

In this instance, we are assuming that “the nation of New Zealand” can safely be represented by “a bunch of people who are commenting on an auction website.” Hey, that’s what Australia’s Herald-Sun newspaper did:

TWO vials, which the owner claims contain the spirits of ghosts exorcised from a house in New Zealand, have been put up for sale on online auction site, TradeMe.
So far, bidding on “Two Captured Ghosts” had reached $NZ410 ($A316), and incited hundreds of comments, with advice ranging from how to get rid of the spirits for good, to the ethics of selling someone else’s captured immortal essence.
Alas, the Herald-Sun didn’t reprint any of the comments from the auction thread, some of which get quite spirited:

• “This auction is very wrong and extremely disrespectful. Spirits are energy and are peoples relatives, you don’t have the right to do this (on the account that this is true). I think its wrong and I think auctioning them off is sick. If you believe in this stuff would you want your mother’s spirit to be bottled? If your answer is no then you know what to do, empty them somewhere away from your house and let them be. Their energy has every right to be as you have every right to live.”

• “cool auction – As a Worshipper of Beelzebub, I am interesting in obtaining these 2 spirits and teasing them for a bit, I believe this will bring me good luck. Do you have any other trapped do-gooders for future auctions ? As a wee army of trapped souls, could be quite fun too. Thanks in advance.”

• “So you believe you’ve got someones family member in a bottle for them to ‘play around with’. Sick. Absolutely sick.”

• “REPENT,THE END IS NIGH”

Bidding has since ratcheted up to $1,010 New Zealand Dollars ($700 U.S.), and the auction, which has been covered by a host of Australian print, TV, and radio outlets, has since instigated its own set of ghost auction-related memelets on TradeMe.

Bidding war for Chinese Imperial vase discovered at local Irish auction

2010-03-05T00:20:00.000Z

By Laura Roberts
Published: 7:30AM GMT 04 Mar 2010
After an opening offer of £45 (€50) the blue-and-white piece, which is 12 inches high, sold for £99,808 (€110,000) to a London-based collector who beat another dealer who had flown in from Beijing.
The item was part of a collection of Chinese porcelain inherited by an unnamed Co Carlow family and put up for sale at Sheppards Irish Auction House in Durrow, Co Laois.

Richard Peters, 48, who runs an antiques business in Kensington, said: “I got a bargain.”
He believes the vase, which is known in Chinese as hu-yu-chun-ping and decorated with banana and bamboo trees, was “made for the personal collection of the Emperor Qianlong in the 18th century”.
It had “probably been looted from the Imperial Palace in Peking by French or British or American soldiers sometime during the 19th century”, he added while admitting that the field of Chinese ceramics is “difficult because the market is filled with fakes and forgeries”.
The underbidder Rong Chen, 48, said she was “very sad and disappointed” to lose. Her husband, an accountant and antique collector, had spotted the vase on the Internet. “This is the one – we think it was in the Imperial household,” she said.
Michael Sheppard, the auctioneer, said the sale was "the highest figure ever achieved for any item” in the 60-year history of the family-run firm of auctioneers and valuers. He said “something like this happens once in a lifetime”.
Mr Peters bought a second lot – a pair of Chinese polychrome vases – for £37,210 (€41,000). Like the Imperial vase, the items had carried a guide price of €100-€150.
Mr Peters returned to London last night with the items, which he is likely to sell to a Chinese client.
As he left the auction David Stapleton, from the nearby town of Ballyragget, told the Irish Times: “It was one of those moments. You had to be there – like the GPO in 1916.”

A walking stick given to diplomat by a King is expected to fetch around £300 at auction.*

2010-02-16T11:06:00.001Z

Sir Ralph Champneys Williams was presented with a walking stick by Edward VII in the early 1900s, but that stick was destroyed in a fire.
Later, Sir Ralph's son wrote to King George VI to ask for a replacement, and the monarch sent him another stick which had belonged to Edward VII.
Despite its low value, auctioneers said the stick's story was "heart-warming".
Sir Ralph, born in Llanddeiniolen, was a former acting governor of Barbados, and he met King Edward VII and Queen Mary at the start of the 20th Century. The King presented him with one of his walking sticks, and the stick accompanied Sir Ralph wherever he was posted.
However, years later the stick was destroyed in a fire at his son's house in Kenya.
Sir Ralph's son, Major Geoffrey Howard-Williams, wrote to the then King, George VI, to ask for a replacement.
A letter from the King's personal secretary was sent from Sandringham, dated 29 December 1945.
It read: "I write to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 31st October.
"Under separate cover I am forwarding you, by direction of the King, a walking stick which belonged to King Edward VII to replace the one which you had the misfortune to lose when your house burnt down.
"It has taken a little time to find this stick, which accounts for the delay, but His Majesty hopes that it may prove a suitable substitute."
The replacement stick - which bears the stamp "Balmoral" and Edward VII's crest - remained in the family.
Sir Ralph's great-grandson, the present owner, discovered it when he was clearing his late father's home in Devon.
It will be auctioned, along with the letter that accompanied it, on 27 February.
Auctioneer Duncan Chilcott said: "Obviously this walking stick - like the one it replaced - was a dear friend to Sir Ralph and while it is likely to sell for less than £300 the story behind how it came to be sent from Sandringham to Kenya is really heart-warming.
"Clearly Sir Ralph was held in very high regard by the Royal Family and it is a mark of King George's generosity, for which he was well known.

*I disagree with the auctioneer’s valuation. I predict that it will go a good bit higher.

Rare copy of first Batman will be most valuable comic book ever offered at public auction, Feb. 25

2010-02-16T11:05:00.000Z

A rare copy of the first Batman comic book has far surpassed the previous comic books record price, $317,000, paid for a first Superman comic in 2009, and the bidding is still underway with Batman already at $418,250. Super heroes and pop culture fans will learn the final, new record price when the auction ends on Feb. 25.
"One of the finest known surviving copies of the 1939 issue of Detective Comics #27, the first appearance of Batman, is being offered without reserve by Heritage Auctions in a public auction in Dallas, and simultaneously online," said Lon Allen, Director of Sales for the Comics Division of Heritage Auctions (www.HA.com). "It's been an amazing thing to watch as the price has soared. Collectors know this may well be the only shot they will ever get at this, the ultimate comic book. Who knows how high it will go by the time bidding ends?"
"It was owned for decades and kept in excellent condition by a savvy comic book collector who purchased it for $100 more than 40 years ago," said Allen. "In the 1960s and 1970s many people considered that an outrageous amount of money to spend for a comic book of any era.”
"The Bat-Man," as he was originally called, appeared for the first time in a six-page story in Detective Comics #27 with a cover date of May 1939. Superman appeared a year earlier in Action Comics #1 with a cover date of June 1938.
For additional information, contact Heritage Auctions at (800) 872-6467 or visit online at www.HA.com.

The World's first postal order sold at Auction.

2010-02-12T11:04:00.000Z

The world's first postal order, purchased for just one shilling 129 years ago, has been sold for £4,485 at an auction.

Buzz up!
The payment, which bears the serial number 000001, was the first to be produced by the Post Office in Lombard Street, London, in 1881.

"This was a very unique item and as such went for a lot more than predicted. There were lots of bids from enthusiasts. It's been in the same family for over 130 years so the opportunity to own something as rare as this doesn't come up very often. Collectors were always going to have to dig into their pockets to own this and clearly they did," the Telegraph quoted auctioneer Richard Beale, of Warwick and Warwick Auctioneers, as saying.

Only five other 1881 postal orders having the same 000001 number are known to have survived.

Victorians used the postal order to safely send money
through the post.

The first postal order was bought by Arthur Bull on January 1, 1881.

It was signed by a clerk named A.G. Emery but Arthur never cashed it, thinking it would become a collector's item one day.

He kept it in a leather case and locked it in his family's safe before his son, also named Arthur Bull, inherited it.

After Arthur Bull junior's death in 1953 the postal order passed to his son Brian Galpin, who kept it safe in his home in Surrey.

And when Galpin died at 72 in 2005, the postal order passed to his widow Audrey, 75, who agreed to auction it.

The Postal Order is a direct descendent of the money order which was introduced by a private company in 1792.

During World War One and World War Two, British Postal Orders were temporarily used as money to save paper and labour.

Postal Orders can be bought and redeemed at post offices in Britain, even though a crossed Postal Order must be paid into a bank account. (ANI)

Christie’s Announces Green Auction “A Bid To Save The Earth”

2010-02-05T00:45:00.001Z

In order to drive awareness throughout Earth Week, Christie’s International has announced the 2010 Inaugural Green Auction titled, “A Bid to Save the Earth.”

The green auction, which takes place on April 22, will include major artwork, celebrity experiences, upscale eco-vacations, exquisite jewellery, and luxury items.

Proceeds from the sale will be divided among four non-profit environmental organizations: Conservation International, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Central Park Conservancy.

“We are inspired and honored to convene top members of the philanthropic, environmental, business and cultural communities to benefit the environment,” said Edward Dolman, CEO of Christie’s. “We are equally pleased to present a stellar evening auction and to partner with NBC Universal in telling this exciting story with Charitybuzz in building such a compelling silent auction; and of course our four charity partners, who will do what they do best with the proceeds: advocate for the environment.”

SA flag from Mandela's inauguration up for auction

2010-02-04T20:05:00.002Z

A London auction house is selling a South African flag that flew during Nelson Mandela's inauguration as the country's first black president.

Auctioneer Bonhams says the 5 foot by 7 1/2 foot flag was flown from a helicopter above the ceremony in Pretoria on May 10, 1994.

It is signed by Mandela, his predecessor F.W. De Klerk and his successor Thabo Mbeki and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Mandela's inauguration was one of the first occasions on which South Africa's multicolored post-apartheid flag was displayed.

The flag is expected to sell for £10,000 to £15,000 on March 24.

Bonhams did not identify the seller Wednesday but says the flag was previously owned by the helicopter pilot, Maj. Louis de Waal.
..................................................

Anyone who wants something less expensive can come to the Green Room, 192 Archway Road, London N6 5BB. We have a genuine ballot paper from the first free SA elections which includes a photo of Mandela. Unused. Price only £9.

Skull withdrawn from auction

2010-01-17T12:51:00.000Z

A New York City auction house says a human skull that had been used as a ballot box by Yale's elite Skull and Bones society has been withdrawn from sale.

Christie's said Friday that the 19th century skull was being removed from the Jan. 22 sale due to a title claim. The auction house declined further comment.

The skull had been expected to sell for $10,000 to $20,000. Christie's only identified the seller as a European art collector.

The skull is fitted with a hinged flap and is believed to have been used during voting at the mysterious society's meetings. The club was founded in 1832 and publicly known members, called Bonesmen, include both presidents Bush and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.

Churchill's half-smoked cigar to be auction in Norfolk

2010-01-17T12:48:00.001Z

A half-smoked cigar, abandoned by wartime prime minister Winston Churchill, is up for sale in Norfolk.

The four-inch unfinished "smoke" could fetch more than £300 because it came from the lips of the famous cigar-smoking statesman before he dashed away to an urgent cabinet meeting.

Proof of its owner is thanks to an enterprising Downing Street valet, Nellie Goble, who grabbed the cigar, and a sheet of number 10 notepaper, on which she penned a note to a friend saying: "Just a small souvenir to remind you at some future date of one of the greatest men that ever lived in England."

The cigar will be sold on Friday, January 29, at Keys auction room at Aylsham, where expert Andrew Bullock expected it to excite worldwide interest among collectors of Sir Winston Churchill memorabilia.

Cigars belonging to Churchill occasionally came up for sale, but "I am not aware of many others that have survived after being half-smoked by the great man himself," he said.

"It was extremely rare for Churchill not to finish a cigar, so it must have been something very, very urgent that demanded his immediate attention in the cabinet room. As this was wartime, it is fascinating to speculate as to what it might have been that was so important," said Mr Bullock.

It was on August 22, 1941, that the cigar was abandoned - a day when the advancing German army reached Leningrad, leading to a historic siege.

And just a week earlier, Churchill had been in top secret meetings with American president Franklyn D Roosevelt, on board a cruiser anchored off Newfoundland, over the Atlantic Charter, a blueprint for a post-war world, which was the seed for the creation of the United Nations.

The call that interrupted his cigar could have related to either of those momentous happenings.

The cigar was treasured by Nellie's friends and proudly shown off to visitors, then passed to a daughter, now a pensioner living in north Norfolk who kept the stub wrapped in the precious note in a drawer.

She wanted to remain anonymous but said: "It rarely comes out of the drawer, so it seems better to sell it to someone who will truly appreciate it. If it doesn't fetch the earth, it won't break my heart. I just want it to go to somebody who will get some real pleasure from owning it."

In November, a butter dish used as an ashtray by Churchill at the London dining and debating club he co-founded was sold for £4,200 - almost three times its estimate.

The cigar and note, lot 1343, will be sold on the second day of Keys' next books auction on Friday, January 29. Contact the saleroom on 01263 733195 or at www.aylshamsalerooms.co.uk. Viewing is on Wednesday, January 27, 8.30am-7.30pm; Thursday, January 28, 8.30am-10am; and on the day of the sale, 8.30am-11am.

Skull 'ballot box' from Skull & Bones Society to be auctioned

2010-01-17T12:17:00.001Z

A human skull that apparently was turned into a ballot box for Yale's mysterious Skull and Bones society is going on the auction block.
Christie's estimates the skull will sell for $10,000 to $20,000 when it is auctioned on Jan. 22. Fittingly, the auction house has agreed to keep the seller's name a secret. On Monday, it described the person only as a European art collector.
The skull is fitted with a hinged flap and is believed to have been used during voting at the famous society's meetings. The auction house said it also may have been displayed at the society's tomblike headquarters on Yale's campus in New Haven, Conn., during the late 1800s.
Skull and Bones, an elite society founded in 1832, has closely guarded its members' names and its activities since the early 1970s. Prior to that time, the group published an annual roster.
Publicly known members, known as Bonesmen, include President William Howard Taft, both presidents Bush, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, businessman and diplomat Averell Harriman, publisher Henry Luce and author and commentator William F. Buckley Jr.
"I think it's a macabre artifact," Margot Rosenberg, head of Christie's American decorative arts department, said Tuesday. "It's an intriguing story tied to America, tied to Yale. I think it will generate interest for people who are former Bonesmen, people who collect Americana, people who are interested in history."
The skull is believed to have been owned by Edward T. Owen, who graduated Yale in 1872 and went to become professor of French and linguistics at the University of Wisconsin. The word THOR is etched into the skull; it may have been the nickname given to Owen or another society member.
The skull is being sold with a black book, inscribed with Owen's name, the year 1872 and the numeral 322, a reference to the society's year of inception and to the death of the orator Demosthenes in 322 B.C. It contains the names and photographs of about 50 Bonesmen, including Taft, who became the 27th president of the United States; Morrison Remick Waite, who became U.S. chief justice in 1874; and William Maxwell Evarts, who served as U.S. secretary of state and U.S. attorney general.
Skull and Bones invites 15 Yale seniors to join each year. Bonesmen swear an oath of secrecy about the group and its strange rituals, which include initiation rites such as confessing sexual secrets and kissing a skull.
On Tuesday, the society's secrecy remained intact. Efforts to reach a society member or a representative of its business arm, the Russell Trust Association, through a Yale spokesman were unsuccessful. The Ivy League school, which is not affiliated with the society, did not return a reporter's call.

$4 million hockey stick on auction block

2010-01-16T13:37:00.000Z

TORONTO, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- A hand-carved hickory stick said to be a 150-year-old precursor to modern hockey sticks will be auctioned next month during the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
The online auction firm VIPthrills.com announced it was offering "the single most important piece of hockey memorabilia in existence" after a Feb. 12-28 viewing in Vancouver in the run-up to the Games, the Canwest News Service reported.
The stick is owned by Gordon Sharpe, of Cobourg, Ontario, who said it was an inheritance from an ancestor who carved it.
The auctioneer claims the stick's historical significance puts it in the $4 million range, although it failed to change hands at a bid as high as $2.2 million in the most recent auction attempt on the eBay online site in 2006.
Sharpe said in a statement announcing the auction potential proceeds wouldn't all be personal profit.
"I realize the sale of the stick could help raise millions for charity," Sharpe said. "I think it's the best thing to do."

Unpublished Diary of Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele for auction

2010-01-15T13:02:00.000Z

Renowned auctioneers Alexander Autographs has uncovered an incredibly rare find: notorious Auschwitz death camp Dr. Josef Mengele's treatise on eugenics and euthanasia, written by him in 1960 while in hiding in Argentina. The document will be offered along with over 1,400 other lots of historic autographs at auction on January 20th and 21st commencing at 10:00 AM at the auction house's Stamford headquarters.

Mengele, who escaped capture until his death by drowning in 1979, proves himself an unrepentant racist. Ironically penned on over 180 pages in a children's zoological workbook, the unrepentant Nazi incredibly wavers between describing his rescue of a cow trapped in a mud bog, to demanding the extermination of "inferior morons". He claims: "We have to make sure that nature's suspended eradication will continue through human arrangements...the real problem is to define when human life is worth living and when it has to be eradicated...birth control can be done by sterilizing those with deficient genes...". Also included in the sale is a war-date letter written by Mengele while at Auschwitz to his wife looking forward to their "imaginary reunion" and hoping for a transfer to a "combat unit".

When asked if he felt any qualms about offering material signed by such despicable individuals, auction house president Bill Panagopulos replied: "Make no mistake about it – I have no sympathy for these monsters. My father's home town was wiped-out by the Nazis in a reprisal action. But it is of vital importance that such documents remain available as tangible evidence of the evil deeds of the past, as well as to provide further pieces of history's puzzle".

Bids may be left at Alexander Autograph's website (www.alexautographs.com),

Dickens toothpick fetches $9,000 in New York auction

2009-12-19T18:40:00.000Z

An ivory and gold toothpick once owned by Charles Dickens has sold at auction in New York City for $9,150 (£5,625).

The item is engraved with the author's initials. It was sold by heirs to the Barnes and Noble family.

The pre-sale estimate was $3,000 to $5,000. The auctioneer, Bonhams, said the buyer did not want to be named.

An authentication letter from Dickens's sister-in-law says the author of Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol used the toothpick up to his death in 1870.

The author, also known by the pen-name of Boz, created some of the most memorable fictional characters of all time.

Stephen Fry's Kingdom props for auction

2009-12-12T13:52:00.000Z

By DOMINIC CHESSUM
From bundles of fake £50 notes to the sign which once hung above The Startled Duck pub, costumes, props and memorabilia seen in the hit Sunday night TV drama Kingdom are set to go under the hammer at a Norfolk auction room later this month.

Two auctions at Watton Sale Rooms will see hundreds of lots from the axed ITV show sold to the highest bidder.

Despite rumours earlier this year that a fourth series was in the offing, the show, which was filmed in Norfolk, was cancelled in October and now production company Parallel films is selling off a warehouse full of Kingdom goodies.

In the first sale, which will take place next Tuesday, furniture, outside props and set décor will go under the hammer and then a week later, on December 22, costumes, signs and other memorabilia will be auctioned off.

Auctioneer Stephen Roberts said: “There are thousands of items.

“There is furniture, signs, including road signs for Market Shipborough, Fakenheath and the A147, and no end of stuff that is in boxes including the boxed up possessions of each character.”

In one of the desks staff at the saleroom found a framed photo of Celia Imrie, who played Gloria, and the boy who played her son.

“When you look at the amount of things it makes you realise the attention to detail that went into making the series,” added Mr Roberts.

The memorabilia will be auctioned off along with other items which have come into the sale rooms and though many of the Kingdom pieces only have value as bits of furniture others, such as The Startled Duck sign, could fetch considerably more if serious collectors enter the bidding.

Mr Roberts continued: “It is impossible to say what things will go for.

“It is like everything else that comes up at auction - it is worth what somebody is prepared to pay for it.

“If we have some people who are fans then things will make money.”

Star items in the auction are expected to include Peter Kingdom's desk, the Startled Duck sign and the wooden duck which sat on the pub bar.

There could also be stiff competition for some of the Market Shipborough road signs.

During its three season run Kingdom regularly attracted upwards of five million viewers who were eager to catch up with the latest mysteries and exploits of the Norfolk solicitor and his eccentric family, strange clients and hapless colleagues.

The show has also been screened in America, Australia and in several other European countries.

As well as Stephen Fry, who played Peter Kingdom, the show also starred Celia Imrie as Gloria Millington, Tony Slattery as Sidney Snell and Karl Davies as Lyle Anderson.

For Norfolk champion Mr Fry, who has a home near Swaffham, starring in Kingdom was a dream job.

He was the one who broke the news of the show's cancellation on his Twitter micro-blog back in October.

At the time he said: “Our masters at ITV have decided there shan't be a fourth series of the television drama Kingdom.

“I am sorry because it was such a pleasure making them in my beloved Norfolk.

“The cast of local people who cheerfully subjected themselves to the indignities of a background artist's day will all be missed and their memories cherished.”

ITV later confirmed the move. In a statement it said: “Kingdom has performed well for us over the last three years but we will not be developing any further episodes.

“As has always been the case we are constantly looking at ways to refresh the mix of drama on ITV1 to ensure that we get the balance right between both old and new titles.”

The first auction takes place on December 15 at Watton Sale Rooms, off Norwich Road, and begins at 10am. The second will take place on December 22. Items will be available for view the day before. For more information call 01953 885676.

Tony Benn's tea cosy sells at auction.

2009-12-11T11:54:00.002Z

The Animal Aid auction on Sunday was great. here are some of the results.

1. Giant Montezuma dark chocolate tree donated by Veganstore £20

2. Signed book, “Barcelona Plates”, written by Alexei Sayle plus a signed photo £14

3. Signed photo of Russell Brand £10

4. Voucher for a high quality, ethically produced portrait of your pets and family. Donated by Sarah Moynihan £40

5. Signed photo of X Factor presenter, Dermot O’Leary £8

6. Photo of Arsenal FC first team plus a signed pennant and certificate of authentication £105

7. Signed photo of David Tennant as Dr Who £30

8. Signed Kylie Minogue CD, “Boombox” plus certificate of authentication £40

9. Voucher donated by Redwoods Foods. £35

10. Tony Benn’s very own teacosy! £47

11. Voucher for a pair of shoes donated by Vegetarian Shoes. £65

12. Signed photo’s of Adam Croasdell and Marc Elliott as Dr Jenkins and Syed Masood from EastEnders £15

13. Shirt worn by actress Helen Worth, who plays Gail Platt in Coronation Street. She wore this shirt in a scene in Corrie. Includes certificate of authentication £10

14. Signed photo of Manic Street Preachers plus rare signed EP, “God Save The Manics”. The mother of bass player Nicky, donated this item to Animal Aid. £75

15. Signed photo of Steven Gerrard who plays for Liverpool FC and the England National Team £25

16. Fake leather dog coat from Pete Townshend. The coat was owned by Pete and was made for him by a fan. £55

17. Signed photo of Rebecca Addlington - 2008 Olympic gold medallist. She is the first British swimmer to win a gold medal in 100 years. £5

18. Signed photo of Joanna Lumley as Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous £38

19. Laser signed photo of the cast of Coronation Street £97

20. Case of vegan wine donated by Vinceremos £85

21. £50 voucher donated by Ethical Wares £35

22. Vintage Animal Aid campaign T-shirt signed by A.T. £12

Raphael drawing sells for £29.2M in London auction

2009-12-09T23:51:00.001Z

(AP)

LONDON — Auctioneer Christie's says a drawing by Raphael has sold for about 29.2 million pounds ($47.5 million).

Christie's says the Italian virtuoso's work has won one of the highest prices ever paid for an Old Master at auction.

A portrait by Dutch master Rembrandt also fetched a high price, selling for 20 million pounds ($32.7 million).

The auctioneer said the works were sold Tuesday as part of its Old Masters and 19th century art sale in London.

Auction at Christmas without Cruelty Fayre

2009-12-05T12:08:00.001Z

CHRISTMAS WITHOUT CRUELTY FAYRE takes place this coming Sunday Nov. 6th.10am-5pm.

Venue, Kensington Town Hall, just yards away from High Street Kensington Tube.

As usual, I will be running the Green Party/Green Room stall. I will also be conducting the Auction at 2.30pm.

Our stall is downstairs outside the creche.

Hope to meet loads of you there. If you haven't been there before, it really is a wonderful event.

*£8 for empty plastic bag at auction

2009-12-02T12:14:00.003Z

The auction on Saturday was a great success.

Adams & Smith Auctioneers (alias artists Hollington & Kyprianou)put on a very professional production. About 50 people attended. I was introduced after a rousing rendition of all six verses of The Internationale.

Among the prices realised:

Packet of anadins......£5.50.

A used golf ball.......£40. This allowed me a rant about the iniquities of Donald Trump's vandalism in Scotland and 'Scottish Clearances'

Bottle of water........£4. The greatest con of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Empty plastic bag......£8. Allowed me to give a quick briefing on these environmental terrors and mention my GLA paper 'Plastic not Fantastic'

Banking counter pen and holder......£48. Made the point that while people were expected to trust the banks, the banks didn't even trust their customers with a plastic pen!!

Several hundred pounds was raised to help send protestors to Copenhagen.

The whole event was filmed and will be available in the near future.

See more at www.electronicsunset.org

Auction this Saturday.

2009-11-26T16:45:00.002Z

On this coming Saturday, I will be conducting my unusual auction - ever. I am being transported to the year 2034 to auction off some post-capitalist artifacts.

See the details here:

Welcome to Adams & Smith, auctioneers of late-Capitalist era artefacts.
http://adamsandsmith.wordpress.com/

The year is 2034.

The era of free market capitalism and neo liberalism is well and truly over, and a new world order has taken its place.

In its wisdom, the Federal Council of Autonomous Zones has issued a directive abolishing all cash transactions. To celebrate, Adams & Smith proudly offer 13 lots of genuine, once ubiquitous late capitalist artefacts taken from the Hollington & Kyprianou estate.

Each lot reveals a curious aspect of that bygone age, shedding light on the odd and dangerously contradictory practices of the time. With provenance certified by Tamasin Cave of SpinWatch, each lot unearths the unsavoury history connecting government, big business and the lobbying industry.

With this last ever auction, Adams & Smith are pleased to offer you a final opportunity to bring the trappings of late-Capitalism back into your life.

Galileo's fingers found in jar bought at auction.

2009-11-24T11:56:00.001Z

(CNN) -- Two fingers cut from the hand of Italian astronomer Galileo nearly 300 years ago have been rediscovered more than a century after they were last seen, an Italian museum director said Monday.

They were purchased recently at an auction by a person who brought them to the Museum of the History of Science in Florence, suspecting what they were, museum director Paolo Galluzzi said.

Three fingers were cut from Galileo's hand in March 1737 when his body was moved from a temporary monument to its final resting place in Florence, Italy. The last tooth remaining in his lower jaw was also taken, Galluzzi said.

Two of the fingers and the tooth ended up in a sealed glass jar that disappeared sometime after 1905.

There had been "no trace" of them for more than 100 years until the person who bought them in the auction came to the museum recently.

"I was very curious," the Galluzzi said.

"There is a description from 1905 by the last person to have seen these objects. It provides us with a very detailed description of the container and the contents inside," Galluzzi explained.

The jar "matches in every minute detail" the description, Galluzzi said.
But by the time the urn went on sale, the label saying what was inside had been lost, so the sellers and the auctioneer did not realize its significance.

"Everybody knew there were fingers and a tooth, but the people preparing the auction didn't know it was Galileo," Galluzzi said.

The owner who bought the fingers wants to remain anonymous, Galluzzi said, so the museum is not giving more details about who sold them or when.

The museum plans to display the fingers and tooth in March 2010, after it re-opens following a renovation, Galluzzi said.

The museum has had the third Galileo finger since 1927, so the digits will be reunited for the first time in centuries, he added.

He said it was little surprise that the 18th century followers of Galileo would have mimicked the practice of those who persecuted him.

It is not yet clear whether enough organic material remains in the newly discovered fingers for DNA testing, Galluzzi said, but if there is, it could shed light on the blindness that afflicted Galileo late in his life and his final illness.

Galileo Galilei invented the telescope -- among many other achievements -- which enabled him to discover that the planet Jupiter has moons. He became the foremost advocate of Copernican astronomy, which denied that the earth was the fixed centre of the universe. He died in 1642.

Painting by Queen Victoria sells in ‘Royal Car Boot’ auction

2009-11-21T10:48:00.001Z

It is an unpredictable business, selling off the family silver. When the family possessions of the late Duke of Kent were auctioned in London yesterday, there were two things of which one could be fairly certain: that there would be a huge interest in the sale and much speculation about why the Duke’s heirs — who include Prince Michael of Kent — needed to mount what has been described as the Royal Family’s car boot sale.

What might not have been predicted is that an egg cup would be sold for £14,000, while a Coronation chair would fail to sell at all. Even a back-scratcher went for £4,000 and a set of tea towels from Sandringham fetched £2,000, helping the collection of 336 lots to reach a total of £2.1 million.

The red silk-covered chair chair, made for the Duke of Kent to use at the Coronation of his brother, George VI, in 1937, was meant to be one of the star items. It was one of the few lots put on display at the Christie’s sale and had been given an estimate of £15,000 to £20,000.

When bidding struggled to reach £9,500, failing to reach its reserve, Ted Clive, the auctioneer, was obliged to withdraw it from the sale. “I was surprised,” he said afterwards. “But stranger things have happened. It is an important object, but an important historical object. It is clearly an exhibition object — it is not something that could be used. On the day, there was not a potential buyer for an exhibition object.”

He had better luck with the egg cup, but then it was no ordinary egg cup. Billed as a Russian grey Kalgan jasper egg cup with rhodonite egg, it was stamped with the Russian imperial coat of arms, and sold for about ten times its estimate of £1,000 to $1,500.

The auction was not the first time that the late Duke’s property has gone under the hammer. After he died in a plane crash in 1942, Princess Marina, his widow, was dropped from the Civil List. Most of her husband’s money was left in trust for his children, Prince Michael, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra. The three-day sale of his possessions in 1947 raised £92,300. Princess Marina died in 1968.
The family says that many of the lots had been in storage and they decided that it was time for a clear-out. The auction does come at an opportune time: Prince and Princess Michael, who are not working members of the Royal Family, will from next year have to pay £120,000 annual rent for their home at Kensington Palace — previously the rent has been paid by the Queen. In 2006 the couple sold their home at Nether Lypiatt in Gloucestershire for £5.75 million.

The auction included silverware, furniture, tapestries and other works of art. It is a fine art judging how much people will pay at auction, particularly a royal one. Christie’s followed its traditional practice of publishing highly conservative estimates for most lots. A picnic set that belonged to George V, put down at £500-£700, went to an internet bidder from the Netherlands for £11,875. A pair of mahogany George III hall benches estimated at £30,000-£50,000 went for £187,250.

Precious cast-offs

The lots sold included:
Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna’s dressing table service: £6,000
An album of photographs by the Grand Duchess: £8,125
King George II Coronation canopy bell: £13,750
Silver necklace with miniature photographs of Victoria, Albert and their nine children: £2,750
Portrait by Queen Victoria of her daughter Princess Louise, after Franz Xavier Winterhalter: £10,000
Cartier Art Deco gold-mounted clock: £76,850
Silver model of Bentley-Jackson Special “Mother Gun”, as driven by Prince Michael in 1992: £20,000
Gold and enamel necklace by Nardi of Venice, given to Princess Michael of Kent: £7,500
Silver and enamel notepad holder, given to Princess Mary, later Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood: £4,750

JFK’s last autograph sold at auction

2009-11-17T11:12:00.000Z

London, November 16 (ANI): The last autograph signed by late US President John F Kennedy has been auctioned off for a whopping 39,000 dollars.

He had signed it next to the date, Nov 22, 1963 on the front page of a copy of the Dallas Morning News, on the day he was assassinated.

A woman in the crowd had requested for the autograph, just two hours before his death.

Now, Joe Maddalena, president and owner of Profiles in History in Calabassas, California has purchased the item.

He plans to “hold on to it for a while and put it on display with other JFK items at the appropriate times.”

“It’s chillingly historic because it documents the day, documents the location and it’s certainly one of the last signatures of John Kennedy,” the Telegraph quoted Doug Norwine, a director at Heritage Auctions, as saying. (ANI)

When Auctioneers had bodyguards...

2009-11-14T12:55:00.002Z

MEN with Uzi machine guns, blackmail from terrorists/criminals and empty auction rooms -- Irish auctioneers have faced them all down through the years. But how will they deal with the fall-out from the credit crunch?

With Finance Minister Brian Lenihan now finally admitting that the Government is facing its toughest economic test in 20 years, watch out for the repercussions.
Auctioneers are going to be up against it to clinch sales under the hammer in the weeks ahead. But don't despair -- the profession has a long track record of battling against the odds.

Our auctioneering professionals are unlikely to come up against anything worse than they have confronted before.

Auctioneering dates back to the earliest times. The Babylonians, for example, held marriage markets at which women were sold by auction.

Commenting on this in 1931, L V Bennett, president of the Irish Auctioneers' and Estate Agents' Association (fore-runner of the IAVI) observed wryly: "No information is given as to the disposal of the unattractive and, consequently, unsold lots, nor are we told if the auctioneer received his commission in kind".

By Roman times, the process of selling by auction had come to be recognised as the most convenient and equitable method of disposing of property in the best interests of buyer and seller.

During this period, the auctioneer was always a soldier who, as a signal of commencing the auction, stuck a spear in the ground -- hence the sale being described as "sub hasta" (under the spear).

As related in the book Under The Hammer: Property in Ireland, the history of the IAVI, auctioneering can indeed be a pretty hazardous business, even nowadays.
Repossessions or bank sales can be particularly tricky. A case in point was related by leading auctioneer Patrick Stephenson of James H North & Co, who described a gruelling experience when trying to sell a farm on the instructions of the High Court and on behalf of the Northern Bank.

The auction was preceded by a number of threatening phone calls to the auctioneer, who then applied to the court for an injunction to stop the owners "watching and besetting". He even received a mass card in the post. The auction was ultimately held with two detectives at the back of the room concealing Uzi machine guns beneath their coats. Happily, there were no actual fireworks.

Other auctioneers have had similar hair-raising experiences over the years (some involving threats from terrorists).

Auctions have always been a pretty hard-nosed business, however -- though much better regulated now than in days of yore.

Selling by an inch of a candle is mentioned by Samuel Pepys in his famous 1660 diary. During the bidding, a small piece of candle was burned and the last bidder before the candle went out was declared the buyer. In the mid-1920s, an auction held some 50 years earlier, during which the auctioneer remained silent is described in the IAA yearbook: "It is only right to mention he was not a Dublin auctioneer -- but, when anyone bid, he gave him a glass of brandy and the person who got the last glass of brandy was declared the purchaser of the lot offered for sale."
Now maybe that's the kind of spirited approach needed to perk up things in the auction rooms over the coming weeks ...
From the Irish Independent.

EBay for the rich: New auction site helps millionaires quietly offload pricey wares

2009-11-13T23:48:00.001Z

In another sign the economy has plumbed new depths, the rich (who, need it be said, aren't like you and me) have a new, high-tech way to unload their lavish wares -- the Internet. U.S. millionaires down on their luck and looking to offload those heirloom family jewels, or that underutilized limousine, can now turn to an online auction site exclusively for the jet set called BillionaireXchange.

The company says it already has helped sell some $180 million in assets during a 10-month test phase, and has noticed an increase in the number of distressed transactions in the U.S., Reuters reported. "I would say that in the United States market, that's probably the majority of the types of the transactions that we're seeing right now," Quintin Thompson, co-founder and executive partner of BillionaireXchange, told the news agency.

Thompson said the recession has created a need for the rich to sell off luxury items in a discreet way to avoid shame and embarrassment. BillionaireXchange, which launched Monday, acts as a unique conduit to do just that. The company is looking to exploit the void between mass-market online auction sites, such as eBay (EBAY), and traditional luxury auction houses such as Sotheby's and Christie's, which generally focus on fine art and collectibles.

BillionaireXchange's online business model allows it to conduct sales and trades of nearly any type of high-end item, including businesses and foreclosed homes. The Miami-based company's business is aimed at an exclusive clientele, members with at least $2 million in verifiable net worth, Reuters said.

The site, the slogan for which is "Untouched by compromise," will charge sellers a 5% fee on sales, and would have raked in nearly $9 million in revenue if it had charged such a fee during the test phase, it said.

Among BillionaireXchange clients are professional athletes and A-list actors, Reuters said. The five-member firm claims more than 26,000 multimillionaires as well as "nearly a dozen" billionaires as its members.

Rare Jacobean manuscript sells for $84,000

2009-11-13T23:42:00.000Z

Rare Jacobean manuscript sells for $84,000

WalesOnline

A rare Jacobean manuscript found in an old trunk stored in a castle attic sold at auction today for £84,000.

The hitherto unknown play by Lord Herbert of Cherbury, a close friend of the poet John Donne, was discovered in a folder marked “Old Poems” at Powis Castle, in Welshpool, Wales.

It was uncovered when the owner of the castle, the Earl of Powis, Dr John George Herbert, showed a team of experts two trunks of manuscripts during a valuation.

David Park, head of Bonhams’ books, maps and manuscript department said the discovery offered an insight into Lord Herbert’s literary aspirations – setting it apart from the other letters and poems found in the trunks.

“They contained the usual mixture. There were typed letters from the estate’s archive and the like mixed in with 17th century property deeds, themselves not without interest,” he said.

“It turned out later that everything in the trunks had been meticulously listed, item by item. But with one exception. This was a folder, marked, ”Old Poems“. Some of these were just 17th century copies – others were clearly in the hand of Lord Powis’s forebear, Lord Herbert of Cherbury.”

He said Lord Herbert, the elder brother of the poet George Herbert, wrote poems in the same ’metaphysical’ style as his close family friend, John Donne.

Until now, Lord Cherbury has been best known for his works on philosophy and a lively autobiography published by Horace Walpole in the 18th century.

“This tells us a great deal about his military prowess and how attractive women found him, but next to nothing about his literary ambitions,” Mr Park said.

But he added: “In this folder, there it was, a play, and clearly the draft of a play.”

He said the manuscript was full of crossings out and contained one heading, ’The Amazon’.

According to the auctioneers, an Amazon masque – a type of dramatic performance - was due to be performed before James I and his court on New Year’s Day in 1618 but it was cancelled for unknown reasons.

The manuscript itself, which is written in a pre-bound booklet of foolscap size, is set out in a manner favoured by professional dramatists of the period.

It was sold to an agent acting on behalf of an unknown buyer.

Beer Bottle from Hindenburg Disaster for auction

2009-11-11T17:11:00.000Z

A singed bottle of beer recovered from the ashes of the Hindenburg disaster is expected to fetch $4,000 to $8,000 at auction this weekend -- the highest price ever for a bottle of beer.

Though most of the 62-year-old suds remain in the bottle, auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said the contents of the Lowenbrau bottle, discovered by a New Jersey firefighter in 1937 at the site of the airship's historic disaster, are undrinkable.

"It is the most valuable bottle of beer ever sold," said Aldridge of the British auction house Henry Aldridge & Sons. "But you wouldn't like to drink it, let me put it that way. It would taste putrid."

The Hindenburg, an enormous passenger-carrying hydrogen-filled German airship, burst into flames in May 6, 1937, over Lakehurst, N.J., killing 38 people.

The bottle, along with a silver-plated pitcher also discovered by fire Chief Leroy Smith at the scene of the disaster and estimated to fetch $17,000 to $22,000, is part of an auction of Hindenburg memorabilia going under the hammer on Saturday.
Scorch marks on both the bottle and the pitcher bear silent witness to the historic inferno.

"About 20 percent of the beer evaporated from the bottle. Some of the label is still intact and you can make out 'Lowenbrau' and 'Munich.' The label is heavily browned," said Aldridge.

The heat from the fire caused the seams of the pitcher's handle to pop, Aldridge said. The pitcher bears the logo of the Deutsche Zeppelin Reedrei airline that operated the famous Hindenburg

Smith, then the 37-year-old fire chief in Matawan, N.J, recovered six bottles and the pitcher while cleaning up in the wake of the disaster. He buried them in a field when the area was sealed off and dug them up later. He distributed five of the bottles to the members of his squad and kept one and the pitcher for himself.

In 1977, the widow of one fireman gave his bottle back to Smith, who then donated it to the Lowenbrau brewery where it remains today. Smith's niece received the fireman's bottle and the pitcher in the 1960s.

Aldridge, whose firm is the largest auctioneer of relics from the Titanic, said people are endlessly fascinated by disaster.

"The Hindenburg was the most famous air disaster in history," Aldridge said. "It was the largest airship to have ever flown and continues to fascinate people."