Auction News Network

Whistler’s “Nocturne” Sets Print Record

At Swann’s two-day print sale this week, James A.M. Whistler’s etching, “Nocturne”(1879-80), sold for $282,000, a new world auction record for a Whistler print. It was also the highest price ever fetched by a print at Swann’s.

Original Rules of Basketball

Almost 119 years ago, a physical education teacher at a Springfield, Mass. YMCA was instructed to come up with a new indoor game to keep his gym class busy in winter. On Dec. 21, 1891, James Naismith wrote down 13 rules for the new sport he devised. His secretary typed them up, Naismith posted the two pages  outside the gym, and basketball was born. On Dec.10, Sotheby’s will sell those original sheets for an estimated $2 million.

Darth Vader Costume At Christie’s

In its way, it’s as familiar and iconic as Audrey Hepburn’s black dress from “Breakfast At Tiffany’s.” A Darth Vader costume, complete with helmet, mask, shoulder armor, and shin guards will be the highlight of Christie’s Popular Culture sale in London on November 25, when it’s expected to sell for as much as $365,000.

Update: bidding for the outfit reported stalled below its reserve, and the Darth Vader costume failed to find a buyer.

World Record For South African Painting

A painting by South African artist Irma Stern  (1894-1966) sold for $3.8 million at Bonhams in London yesterday, almost triple the pre-sale estimate.  The 1946 “Bahora girl,” Stern’s rendering of a Zanzibar beauty, more than doubled the previous record for a South African work of art sold at auction.

“Goldfinger” Aston Martin Sells for $4.6 Million

A Cincinnati car collector snagged James Bond’s 1964 Aston Martin DB5 for $4.61 million at RM’s Automobiles of London sale yesterday. It was a bit shy of the more than $5 million that the auction house had anticipated for what it had billed “the most famous car in the world.” RM wouldn’t comment on a rumor that it had turned down a pre-sale offer of $5.5 million for the “Goldfinger” coupe.

Sir Edmund Hillary’s Rolex Collection

The case of the 1953 Rolex Oyster Perpetual is engraved “Sir E. Hillary,” and if it looks a bit battered, it came by its appearance honestly. The watch was presented to the famous explorer after his descent from Everest, and he wore it during the TransAntarctic Expedition of 1955-58. Antiquorum will auction it, along with four other Rolexes from Sir Edmund’s collection, at its Geneva sale on November 13^th and 14^th.

Remarkable Library At Sotheby’s

We’ve already noted the inscribed 1st edition of Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” that will highlight Sotheby’s London book sale later this week. There are, however, quite a few other remarkable items in the October 28^th auction, including a 3-volume 1st edition of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”1813 (est. $118-$157,000), a 1920 1st American edition of T.S. Eliot’s “Poems” inscribed to Virginia Woolf (est. $102-$133,500), and a 6-volume 1st edition of Izaac Walton’s “The Compleat Angler,” 1653 (est. $110-$157,000).

$50 Million Soup Can?

Back in the summer of 1962, “Big Campbell’s Soup Can with Can Opener (Vegetable)” was the first painting by Andy Warhol to appear in a museum. Since that time, only three collectors have owned it. Christie’s is offering a chance to be the fourth at its New York Postwar & Contemporary Art sale in November, when –in yet another example of the artist’s pre-eminence –the pop art masterpiece is expected to bring in $30-$50 million.

Six Seurat Works At Christie’s

As a result of his death at only 31, impressionist Georges Seurat left relatively few works, which have been avidly sought by collectors. They’ll have another opportunity at Christie’s November 3^rd New York sale of Impressionist & Modern Art, when a rare group of his early paintings and drawings will be offered. The highlight: a study in oil for his most famous work, “Un dimanche d’ete a l’Ile de la Grande Jatte,” expected to sell for $1.5-$2.5 million.

Johnny Cash’s Guitars At Julien’s

Seven years after country music legend Johnny Cash’s death, Julien’s Auctions will offer a wide mix of articles from his life and career. An inscribed Grammer Johnny Cash guitar (est.$30-$40,000) will be the highlight of the December 5^th sale, which also includes handwritten lyrics, letters, stage clothing, and assorted memorabilia.

Update: The 321-lot auction brought in over $700,000, or double the pre-sale estimate.

Rare Patek Philippes At Christie’s

The $1.5-$2.5 million that Christie’s is expecting for a rare 1953 pink gold Patek Philippe wristwatch at its Geneva watch sale next month wouldn’t be close to a world auction record. That still belongs to the $5.7 million 1944 Patek Philippe sold at Christie’s last spring. All the same, the auction house is anticipating intense bidder interest for the watch, along with a number of other exceptional timepieces among the 388 lots in the sale.

Last Of Madoff Loot To Sell

The yachts are gone, and so are the homes in New York, Long Island, and Palm Beach. Most of convicted swindler Bernie Madoff’s possessions have been sold. Some 400 things remain, however, like a 10.54 carat emerald cut diamond ring, a Steinway grand piano, and a pair of monogrammed black velveteen slippers. The U.S. Marshals will sell them next month in New York for the benefit of Madoff’s victims.

Bulgari Blue Leads Christie’s Sale

The Bulgari Blue, a two-stone colored diamond ring weighing 9.87 carats, sold yesterday for $15,762,500 at Christie’s New York auction of Jewels.  Eight other items, including three diamond pieces by Harry Winston, sold for over $1 million on the way towards Christie’s $52.5 million total.

Historical Albums Lead Swann’s Sale

Portfolios and albums of historical prints sold particularly well at Swann’s October 19^th auction of Fine Photographs & Select Photobooks. Top lot, at $48,000, was Adam Clark Vroman’s “A Trip to Snake Dance,” an album with 76 platinum print photographs of Native Americans taken in August, 1895. In all, the sale brought in almost $1 million.

More James Bond At RM

Few who saw “Goldfinger” could forget pilot Pussy Galore and her helicopter, a 1960 Hiller UH-12 E4. The chopper, now restored,  has joined RM’s lineup for its Automobiles of London sale on October 27. It’s expected to sell for up to $650,000.

The helicopter joins the sale’s highlight, the Aston Martin DB5 driven by actor Sean Connery in “Goldfinger,” on which we reported earlier. And there’s yet another offering from the 007 films, a 1998 Jaguar XKR, complete with weaponry, which appeared in “Die Another Day.”

Read more at James List.