Auction News Network

Capt. Cook’s Pistol In Australian Auction

If Australia has a founding father, it’s Captain James Cook, who claimed the territory for Britain in 1770. So it’s appropriate that Australia should be the site of an auction in which his pistol will be offered.  Cook willed the the early 18^th century Continental Flintlock holster gun to his sister, and generations of the Cook family have retained ownership. When it comes up for sale in Melbourne on February 14^th, it’s expected to realize $105,000-$210,000.

Babe Ruth-Al Capone Signed Baseball In Auction

If it isn’t one of the most historic baseballs, it’s certainly one of the strangest. In 1931, both Babe Ruth and gangster Al Capone, two of the most famous figures of the Jazz Age, signed the same baseball. It happened at the behest of Yankee hall of fame pitcher Herb Pennock, whose grandson is selling the ball, which the Mile High Card Co. is offering in an online auction ending January 31st. Current bidding stands at $26,250, but according to a report in The Chicago Sun-Times, the ball may go for as much as $200,000.

“Lincoln” Memorabilia At Charity Auction

Daniel Day-Lewis isn’t the only one feeling the glow from his Golden Globe win. The Oscar favorite has arranged for memorabilia from the movie “Lincoln” to be auctioned to benefit a hospice foundation in Wicklow, Ireland. At his request, director Steven Spielberg has donated a variety of “Lincoln”-related items to the sale, including a script signed by members of the cast, Lincoln’s white gloves, and a handmade knife, among other props. The auction will take place at the film’s European premiere in Dublin next week.

‘Out Of Africa’ Airplane To Be Sold

Soaring above the Kenyan savannah, it was featured in some of the most beautiful and romantic aerial footage ever filmed. Now the 1929 De Havilland Gypsy Moth biplane that Robert Redford’s character Denys Finch Hatton piloted in the 1985 Oscar-winning blockbuster,  ‘Out of Africa,’ will star again, this time at Bonhams’ Retromobile auction in Paris, when its price is expected to climb beyond $180,000.

Orlando’s Bow & Titanic Dress Score Big Prices

There were a number of solid bulls-eyes at Profiles in History’s Hollywood auction this week, led by the bow Orlando used in “The Lord of the Rings,” which shot past its estimate to $372,000.  Only slightly less valuable was a dress Kate Winslett wore during her attempt to jump overboard in “Titanic.” It, too, flew past its estimate to S330,000.

Rare 1902 “Rambler” & McQueen Dirt Bike In Las Vegas Sale

One of the earliest American motorcycles was the 1902 “Rambler,” produced by the American Cycle Company. In its day, the matching numbers 2 1/4hp Model “B” that Bonhams will offer at its Las Vegas motorcycle sale on January 10^th was a revolutionary design. Having spent years in the Indian Motorcycle Museum collection, it’s in pristine condition and expected to fetch $60,000-$80,000.

Bond Gun Sells For $196,000

As a gun, this Walther PPK has certain drawbacks. It doesn’t, for example, shoot bullets. All the same, the air pistol is the most famous Walther PPK in the world, having been used in the publicity stills for “From Russia With Love” as well as other Bond films. Yesterday it sold at Sotheby’s in London for $196,000.

Was Louis Armstrong Her Dad? Letters To Be Sold Suggest, Yes

In his four marriages and myriad affairs, jazz great Louis Armstrong produced no children. Except perhaps, it turns out, one. A Florida woman named Sharon Preston-Folta has come forward with a collection of letters from Armstrong that show, at the very least, that Armstrong believed he was her father. California-based Profiles in History will offer them in an online and phone auction on December 14^th, when they’re expected to sell for as much as $80,000.

$756,000 For Don Larsen’s Perfect Game Jersey

Back in June, when former Yankees great Don Larsen announced his intention to auction the jersey he wore when he pitched the only perfect game in World Series history, he was asked how much he hoped to get for it. “A million,” he told the Associated Press. “Why go cheap?” Last night it sold at Steiner Sports for $756,000– not the homer he’d hoped for, but certainly not cheap.

Remarkable Collection Of Historical Manuscripts in N.Y. Sale

“Disease,” Vincent Van Gogh wrote in a letter shortly before his death, ”exists to remind us we are not made of wood.” That manuscript, as well as some 3000 others, is part of an extraordinary collection that Profiles In History will auction on December 18^th in New York. A rare autograph manuscript by Thomas Jefferson, “My Friends and Children Chiefs of the Cherokee Nation” leads the sale, a virtual stroll through western history, science and culture. Dated January 10, 1806 and signed “Th. Jefferson,” the document is estimated at $300,000-$500,000.

Update: Van Gogh’s letter sold for $280,000, just below its $300,000 high estimate.

Marilyn Calendar, a bit tattered, Still In Demand

By big auction standards it won’t sell for much, it’s a bit tattered and worn, even torn in places, but it’s still Marilyn, naked on red velvet, and she even signed the 1952 calendar that was quite a shocker in its day. Heritage is auctioning the 60-year old icon next week. High estimate is $8,000+, but that may not be reflective of the final price depending on unknown demand.

Mendelssohn Manuscript Sells For Almost $700,000

Towards the end of conductor Arturo Toscanini’s life, he received a rather special gift from the pianist Rudolf Serkin. It was a complete autograph score to Felix Mendelssohn’s Melusine overture, which the composer considered one of his finest works. Last night the 46 page manuscript sold at Sotheby’s London for $694,824, which was a bit more than it’s low estimate. All told, the auction of Toscanini’s manuscripts, letters and memorabilia realized just over $2m.

“Casablanca” Piano At Sotheby’s

It’s the most famous prop from the one of the most celebrated films of all time. The upright piano from the 1942 classic “Casablanca”—the one on which Sam plays “As Time Goes By” for Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart—will be sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York on December 14th, when it’s expected to sell for as much as $1.2m.

Update: the “Casablanca” piano sold for about half its high estimate,  or $602,500.

Over $50,000 Expected For Custer’s Spencer Carbine

Over the course of his military career General George Custer had many firearms. He seems to have had a special fondness, however, for his 1865 Spencer Carbine, going so far as to mention it in his autobiography, in which he calls the rifle “my trusty Spencer which was always at my side.” When Heritage offers the weapon as part of its Political, Western Legends & Americana Memorabilia sale in Dallas on December 11, it’s expected to sell for more than $50,000.

Update: the Spencer more than tripled its high estimate, selling for $179,250.

The Old Buick Was A Star in “Rain Man”

The Buick has been called the 3^rd most important “character” in 1988 “The Rain Man” movie that won 4 Oscars. Although the car is 63-years old, the Roadmaster is expected to sell in the $80,000 range because Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman spent most of the movie riding in it. The Heritage auction will be held Dec. 14 in Dallas.