In one of his heats in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, champion sculler H.R. “Bobby” Pearce (1905-1976) actually stopped to let a group of ducks cross his path, and then went on to win by 20 lengths. The Australian—himself the son of the former Australian sculling champion– won gold at the 1928 and 1932 Olympics, as well as just about every other rowing crown, including the championships of America and Canada as well as Henley. His archive was the centerpiece of Bonhams’ Olympic Games Sale earlier today in London, where it fetched more than $76,000.The Olympic games, set to begin today in Wales with a women’s soccer match that pits Britain against New Zealand, were a bit more casual in Pearce’s day. For his second Olympics, he drove from Canada across the U.S. to Los Angeles with his rowing shell on the roof of his car, and still won Gold. Notwithstanding today’s soccer match, Opening Ceremonies for the London Games are on Friday.
Champion Sculler’s Archives Win Gold At Olympics Auction
July 25, 2012
Aston Martin Sells For Record $4.95m
May 20, 2013Until this past weekend, the record for an Aston Martin at auction was the $4.6m paid for a DB5 with celebrity credentials, having seen use in “Goldfinger.” That price was eclipsed on Saturday, when a factory-restored 1960 DB4GT “Jet” Coupé sold for $4.95m at a Bonhams auction in the UK. Offered for the first time in 30 years, the unique car — the only GT with body by Bertone — has won various Concours d’Elegance awards, including ‘Best In Show’ at the Villa d’Este and 1st in the Italian Coachworks Class at Pebble Beach.
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Milton Berle’s Jokes Laugh To The Bank
May 8, 2013For $158,000 a bidder got Milton Berle’s library, including books and boxes of bound scripts and personal correspondence, but he didn’t get the comedian’s thousands of one-liners and jokes carefully catalogued over the decades. That file went for another $65,000 at Bonham’s Entertainment auction this week.
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1952 Vincent Black Shadow Rules Field At Bonhams
April 29, 2013Mechanical failures prevented a specially equipped Vincent Black Shadow from setting a new 24-hour speed record in 1952 at Monthéry in France, the race for which it had been created. Nothing stood in the restored ex-works bike’s way, however, at Bonhams International Motorcycle sale at Staffordshire, where it sold yesterday for $175,860. Another bike posting a solid result was a 1914 Indian Model F, formerly owned by screen icon Steve McQueen. A European telephone bidder claimed it forjust under $50,000, well above its $43,000 high estimate.
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Rising Value of Unrestored Cars
By Malcolm Welford, Vintage Car Specialist
