Auction News Network

Archive Of Russian Great, Director Andrei Tarkovsky

During his career, Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky (1932-1986) completed just seven films, all but two of them produced under difficult circumstances in the Soviet Union, with little official support. Notwithstanding his state-assured obscurity within his own country, however, the often banned director of “Solaris,” “The Mirror,” and “Stalker” is now considered a giant of world cinema. On November 28^th in London, Sotheby’s will offer his personal archive, which covers the years 1967-1986 and includes several thousand manuscripts, recordings, photographs and private papers. It’s expected to sell for $128,000-$160,000.

Lennon & Clapton: What Might Have Been

After the Beatles disbanded, John Lennon wrote musician Eric Clapton to, urge him to consider joining him in a new band with Yoko Ono. Next month Profiles in History will offer the handwritten letter, in which Lennon expresses his admiration for Clapton and suggests he could “bring out something great” in his music. The document, dated September 29, 1971, is expected to bring $20,000-$30,000 at the Los Angeles sale, which also features examples of correspondence from Beethoven, George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Louis Armstrong.

Lord Nelson’s Scandal

Today, Lord Horatio Nelson (1758-1805) is better known for his bravado in the Royal Navy than for his romantic exploits. But in his lifetime, the hero of the Napoleonic Wars, who was killed in the Battle of Trafalgar, led a scandalous romantic life as well. Witness the emotional letter from Nelson to his mistress, Lady Emma Hamilton, which Bonhams will offer on November 13^th in London. The letter, in which Nelson vows to defend her honor, is estimated at $9,700-$13,000.

Toscanini Archive At Sotheby’s

In the first half of the 20^th century, conductor Arthuro Toscanini variously headed La Scala in Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and the New York Philharmonic. It was his lengthy stint as director of the NBC Symphony Orchestra (1937-54), however, that made him a household name in the United States. Following his death in 1957, most of his archive went to the music division of the New York Public Library. On November 28^th in London, Sotheby’s will offer what remains, which includes a handwritten score of a Mendelssohn overture, estimated at $643,000-$965,000.

JP Morgan’s Jewel Collection Catalog For $130,000?

Collectors are accustomed to paying for glossy catalogs but nothing like the $130,000 Christie’s estimates will be bid just for a catalog, that is prints of JP Morgan’s jewelry and objets d’art collection. At lesser prices, catalogs of his watches and miniatures collections also will be offered at the November 21 sale in London.

Whyte’s Offers Irish Bookselling Dynasty’s Stock

James Fenning, who died this past August, was the third and last generation of an Irish dynasty of booksellers. Beginning next weekend, it will take Whyte’s three days to auction off the more than 3,500 volumes from his stock, which includes such remarkable items as a rare copy of Jonathan Swift’s 1937 pamphlet “A proposal for giving badges to the beggars in all the parishes of Dublin” (est. $7,900–$9200). The Dublin auction begins with an online component on October 19^th.

Robert S. McNamara’s White House Archive At Sotheby’s

When Robert S. McNamara left the presidency of Ford Motor Company to become JFK’s Defense Secretary, his salary plummeted from $400,000 to $23,000. But his power increased in inverse proportion to his compensation. Later vilified as the architect of the Vietnam War, he went on to become one of America’s longest serving Defense Secretaries, second only to Donald Rumsfield. On October 24^th, marking the 50^th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Sotheby’s will offer an archive from his White Years, which is expected to bring in as much as $800,000.

Joan Crawford’s Oscar Sold Online For $426,000

Although “Mommie Dearest” gobbled all the headlines, it’s worth noting the American Film Institute still voted Joan Crawford one of the 10 greatest film actresses of all time, and her Oscar Statue for “Mildred Pierce” just knocked down $426,731 in a protracted online auction that included 24 bidders.

Nazi Chief Joseph Goebbels’ Papers To Sell

Once, Hitler’s propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels was a romantic young man who penned love letters, plays, poetry, and a novel. The collection of papers, which Alexander Auctions is offering in an online sale ending Friday, traces the development of an “easily swayed college student with Marxist leanings” into “a radical Nazi and rabid anti-Semite,” according to Alexander’s President, Bill Panagopulos, The trove, which is described as being in perfect condition, is expected to sell for $200,000-$300,000.

Edison’s Ignored “Rubber Tree” Journal For Sale

We no longer hear of the “Rubber Famine” but after World War I the tire industry was in a panic. Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone financed Thomas Edison to find domestic plants to produce rubber in the U.S. Edison did find one and kept a journal on his experiments. It’s for sale on Thursday at a Philadelphia auction.

$150,000 Expected For Lincoln Letter

In the two years before Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, he tried a variety of strategies to make the idea more palatable to slaveholders. One of them was the policy of compensated emancipation, in which the government would in effect buy the slaves, and then free them. On March 5, 1862, on the night before Lincoln addressed Congress to propose the idea, he called a meeting of his Cabinet to discuss it. His signed letter to Secretary of State William Seward, in which Lincoln requests that Seward gather the Cabinet, will highlight Heritage’s auction of historical manuscripts in Beverly Hills on October 4^th and 5^th, , when it’s expected to sell for $120,000-$150,000.

PBA Offers Bradford’s “Arctic Regions” Folio

The painter William Bradford was fascinated with the arctic. In the mid-1870’s he led a sailing expedition to Greenland with 2 photographers. With sketches and photos he returned to London to create spectacular leather bound folios comprising 141 photos and text. PBA is offering one of those folios at its sale in San Francisco next month. High estimate, $180,000.

“Lonesome Dove” Author Larry McMurtry Offers Book Sale

How do you trim your library by about 300,000 books? If you’re “Lonesome Dove” novelist Larry McMurtry, you hold an auction. On August 10, he’ll offer that many titles at a two-day event he’s calling “The Last Book Sale.” Auctioneers Addison & Sarova will conduct the sale, in which much of the inventory from McMurtry’s Archer City, Texas bookstore, Booked Up, will be offered in 200-book lots, each containing a few valuable editions.

Disappointing Price For Rolevinck’s 1461 History Of The World

In the 1460’s, a German Monk, Werner Rolevinck, set out to write and illustrate the history of world from the time of creation down to his day. The manuscript ran to 30 vellum pages. Later printed in Latin, it was a huge best seller. One of the 13 remaining manuscript copies of “Fasciculus Temporum” sold yesterday at PBA Galleries in San Francisco for a disappointing $102,000. High estimate was $150,000.

Washington’s Copy Of Constitution To Sell

Even after 223 years, George Washington’s personal copy of the “Acts of Congress,” including the Constitution and draft Bill of Rights, is in “near pristine” condition. Washington’s notes concerning his presidential responsibilities are clearly visible in the margins of the volume, whose cover is embossed in gold with “President of the United States.” When it comes up for auction tomorrow at Sotheby’s in New York, the book is expected to sell for a presidential $2m-$3m.

Update: Propelled by telephone bidders and several in the auction room, the price of Washington’s copy of the Constitution rose to $9.8m, more than three times its high estimate. The buyer was the Mt Vernon Ladies Association, who will return it to the library at Mt. Vernon, where it resided until 1876.