Contributors
Rising Value of Unrestored Cars
By Malcolm Welford, Vintage Car Specialist
Archive for August, 2012
Mammoth & Woolly Rhinoceros Skeletons Star At Paris Sale
August 31, 2012Naming rights go with a rare Siberian Mammoth skeleton, a mere 12,000 years old, that Sotheby’s will offer at its Natural History sale in Paris in early October. The Mammoth skeleton is complete, with two large tusks that give a sense of scale to the creature, the largest land mammal of all time. Its estimate is also of a certain scale: $211,000-$310,000.
Read more...PBA Offers Bradford’s “Arctic Regions” Folio
August 30, 2012The 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.
Read more...When Is A Pistol Worth $550,000?
August 30, 2012Begin with the notorious Dalton gang, who operated in the American West between 1890-1892 and specialized in bank and train robberies. This was the gun that was taken from Bob Dalton’s body, after the famous Coffeyville Raid, in which the Dalton gang attempted to rob two banks simultaneously. Residents of that town armed themselves to fight the bandits, killing two of brothers and two other gang members. Bob Dalton’s factory engraved black powder single action Army revolver will be offered at Rock Island’s Firearms sale on September 7th, 8th, and 9th, and is loaded with an estimate of $350,000-$550,000.
Read more...Hot Fahrenheit Thermometer Sale
August 30, 2012We give temperatures in Fahrenheit because 300-years ago Daniel Fahrenheit invented the mercury thermometer and the scale. Three of his handmade thermometers are known to exist. The only one still in private hands will be sold by Christie’s in London in October. High estimate for the instrument, set on brass and signed by Fahrenheit, is $160,000.
Read more...Vintage Racers Lead Goodwood Auction
August 29, 2012Once, the Invicta was the leading competition for Bentley. The English cars were ahead of their time, rakishly low and expensive, and the company that produced them a victim of the Depression. Only about 1000 Invictas were produced between 1925 and 1936. The example that Bonhams will offer at its annual Goodwood Motorcar Auction on September 15th is a 1931 4 1/2-Litre S-Type Low-chassis Tourer ‘Bluebird.’ The product of a three-year restoration, it’s estimated at $870,000-$1.1m.
Read more...Australian “Holey Dollar” Sells For $425,000
August 28, 2012In the early 1800’s, Australia ran short of coins so they acquired Spanish silver dollars, punched a hole in the center , and called them “Holey Dollars,” worth five shillings. The last one in private hands was just auctioned in Melbourne for $425,000.
Read more...English Postage Stamped By Nazis
August 27, 2012Americans often forget the Nazis occupied the English Channel Islands near Normandy from 1940 to 1945, building massive fortifications and four concentration camps. Eighteen King George VI Jersey Island stamps overprinted with a Swastika will be sold by Spink and Son in London next month. High estimate is $40,000.
Read more...Brooke Astor’s Estate Finally Comes To Auction
August 27, 2012For decades, ruling from her 14-room duplex on Park Avenue, New York socialite Brooke Astor set a standard for philanthropy, and civic responsibility. After her death in 2007 at the remarkable age of 105, relatives battled for five years over the revered heiress’ $130m estate, from which her son was convicted of stealing millions. Now, following that scandal, Sotheby’s has announced it will auction the contents of her stylish two homes. Up for grabs at the September 24-25 charity sale are everything from the guest book for her husband Vincent Astor’s yacht (est. $1000-$1500), to her 1959 Bulgari diamond, emerald and gold necklace ($250,000-$350,000).
Read more...Native American Photos May Sell For $1.7m
August 24, 2012Edward S. Curtis’ photography is an extraordinary record of Native Americans who were vanishing before his lens. J.P. Morgan and his son financed the production of 500 sets of 2222 photos and 20 volumes of text. A complete set of “The North American Indian” will be sold by Swann Galleries on October 4th. High estimate, $1,750,000.
Read more...Distinguished McCue Shaker Furniture Collection Will Be Sold
August 23, 2012From the late 18th to the mid-19th centuries, the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing or the Shakers, as they were better known, attracted as many as 20,000 to their monastic, celibate way of life. These days, they’re more likely to be known for the stern simplicity and beauty of the furniture they created. Next month in Marshfield, Massachusetts, Willis Henry Auctions will offer a particularly distinguished collection of their work, assembled over some 50 years by the McCue family. The sale’s star is likely to be a trestle table, dating from 1820-1840, that’s expected to sell for $70,000-$90,000.
Read more...Capone’s Deposition On Murder Attempt For Sale
August 22, 2012In the 1920’s Chicago gangsters were shooting each other so it was no surprise police questioned Al Capone to see what he knew about the attempted murder of mob boss John Torrio. In a 50-page deposition Capone said he knew nothing and wouldn’t tell if he did. That document (signed 4 times by “Alphose Capone”) is for sale next month at a New Hampshire auction.
Read more...A Beer Can Worth $35,000?
August 22, 2012While more people are likely to drink from beer cans than collect them, breweriana has its passionate admirers, whose interest will be piqued by a sale coming up next month at Morphy Auctions in Denver, Pa. It’s the remarkable collection, 4,000 items strong, of Adolf Grenke, who began assembling it more than 40 years ago. It includes some 500 vintage beer cans, as well as 400 beer taps and a selection of advertising signs, artwork, and promotional pieces. One of Grenke’s favorites, a rare Apache Export beer can from Arizona featuring Native American imagery, is expected to sell for $24,000-$35,000.
Read more...Ferraris Rule At RM’s Monterey Sale
August 21, 2012Gooding & Co.’s official Pebble Beach auction wasn’t the only place in Monterey where vintage car collectors were parting with millions this weekend. At RM’s two-day event, 20 cars sold for $1m or more. Ferraris ruled, as a 1962 250 GT short-wheelbase California Spyder achieved a result of $8.58m, and a 1956 250 GT LWB Berlinetta TdF realized $6.71m. “It’s only money, gentlemen,” urged the auctioneer. “You can always make more on Monday.”
Read more...Gooding $113.7m Pebble Beach Total A Record
August 21, 2012It was a stellar weekend for Gooding & Co. at Pebble Beach. With a $113.7m total for its two-day auction, the official auctioneer of the Concours d’Elegance achieved the highest automotive auction result ever. Fully 24 of the 123 lots offered sold for over $1m; in fact, the average price paid for a car was a remarkable $1,033,966. The $11,770,000 achieved by a 1926 Mercedes 540 K may have been shy of the $16m some had predicted, but it was still a double-world record for a Mercedes and a pre-war car at auction.
Read more...Inebriated Courtesan Illustrates Sanskrit Poetry
August 20, 2012It’s not often one sees a drunken courtesan portrayed in a classic Indian painting but that’s what Bonhams is selling as a 17th Century illustration to the Sanskrit love poetry of the ‘third’ Rasamanjari of Bhanu Dutta. The courtesan with crossed eyes reportedly is so upset about her lover’s absence “that she spends the day intoxicated to numb the pain.”
Read more...
Picasso Prices@Sotheby's 
Ask Alan A Question