Thursday, 31 March 2011
An Evening for the Eco-Glitterati
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.
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Aircraft carrier for auction.
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.
Thursday, 10 February 2011
For sale: One disused Tube station, slightly soiled
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
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
Saturday, 5 February 2011
Historic Gay Auction in London
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.
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.
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Queen Mother's prototype wedding dress sold in Bristol
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.
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.
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Special oil greases China's alternative mechanism
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.
Advertisement: Story continues below
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.''
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.
Advertisement: Story continues below
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.''
Friday, 28 January 2011
Signed Michael Jackson cement slab up for auction
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.
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.
Saturday, 25 December 2010
Christmas Greetings - two auction films to bring a smile
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
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
Monday, 20 December 2010
Lee Harvey Oswald's coffin sells for $87,000
(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.
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.
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
'Candle Auction' takes place in Berkshire.
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.
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.
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Shakespeare's First Folio sells at £1.5M
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:-)
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
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.
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.
Monday, 6 December 2010
Queen's knickers for auction.
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
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
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Oswald's coffin coming up for auction.
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.
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.
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Bottle of scotch makes $460,000 at auction
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.
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.
Friday, 12 November 2010
Chinese vase fetches $69.3 million at UK auction
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
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
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
The most expensive wine ever sold at auction
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.
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.
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Cherie Blair selling on eBay
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
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
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.
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.
Monday, 20 September 2010
‘Most haunted' manor house to be auctioned
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.’
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.’
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