Rare Billy the Kid photo fetches $2.3 million in Auction
DENVER, Colorado — Notorious Wild West gunslinger Billy the Kid paid 25 cents to have his photograph taken outside a New Mexico saloon in late 1880 or early 1881. On Saturday, that faded picture sold for $2.3 million.
William Koch, the brother of prominent conservative political donors David and Charles Koch, won with the top bid at the Old West Show and Auction on Denver.
It was not clear what Koch might do with the two-by-three-inch (five-by-eight-centimeter) tintype, the only known adult portrait of the legendary outlaw known as William Bonney, Henry Antrim, Henry McCarty or just "the Kid."
The gunman, who according to legend shot dead 21 people -- one for each year of his life -- was himself gunned down by a town sheriff in New Mexico in July 1881.
At least two photographic portraits were taken of Bonney as a school child in Silver City, New Mexico. He also appears in the background of a photograph of a half dozen cowboys at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico.
Auctioneer Brian Lebel said the bidding, mainly between William Koch and an unidentified bidder from New Mexico, went on about 10 minutes. Koch's bid of $2 million won out. With the 15 percent buyers premium, Koch's total bill comes to $2.3 million, Lebel said.
Koch lives in Florida and has extensive land holdings in the central mountain state of Colorado. Although he has donated money to Republican causes, he has separated himself from the support his wealthy brothers give to ultra-conservative "Tea Party" movement.
Bonney was about 20 when he had his portrait taken at a saloon in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, and received four identical images on a thin metal plate that was eventually cut into quarters. The other three images have been lost.
The remaining image was kept by one of the Kid's rustler partners, Dan Dedrick, who passed it onto his grand-nephew, Frank Upham, who willed it to his sons, Stephen and Art Upham of California and Arizona.
The Uphams let a museum in Lincoln, New Mexico, display the picture for several years in the 1980s. Since then it has been kept in a nitrogen-filled envelope.
Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson had talked about posthumously pardoning Billy the Kid at the request of various people who believe they are his descendants. But Richardson left office at the end of 2010 without ever acting on the pardon.
Source: google.com/hostednews
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Al Capone’s Handgun Sells For $110,000 At UK Auction
A handgun once owned by gangster Al Capone has sold for almost $110,000 at an auction in London.
Auctioneer Christie's says the Colt .38 revolver went for 67,250 pounds ($109,080) to an anonymous bidder in the room.
The auction house says the gun was manufactured in 1929, the year of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, when seven people were slain during clashes in Chicago between Capone's gang and a rival mob.
It was sold along with a letter from Madeleine Capone Morichetti, the widow of Al Capone's brother Ralph, confirming the gun "previously belonged to and was only used by Al Capone while he was alive."
The sale price was at the upper end of the pre-sale estimate of between 50,000 pounds and 70,000 pounds.
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Source: huffingtonpost.com
Secret Mafia Files Sold At Auction In Midtown
A notebook containing mug shots, criminal associates and favorite hangouts of more than 800 Mafia members was auctioned in Midtown on Wednesday.
The infamous three-ring binder, which was found in the back seat of a yellow cab nearly 20 years ago, sold for $10,980 at Bonhams Saleroom New York.
The binder, which was compiled between 1957 to 1962 by the agency that predated the Drug Enforcement Administration, includes files on notorious mobsters such as Carlo Gambino and Salvatore "Lucky" Luciano.
It is believed about 50 copies of the file were originally printed and collectors say many of them were probably destroyed.
Source: manhattan.ny1.com
£692,000 Paid For ‘Cupid’ Clock As Staggering Prices Achieved At Bonhams
Clock Designed For Napoleon’s 1801 Exposition - Lost For Two Centuries – Fetches £322,400
A highly important, recently discovered, English ebony bracket clock attributed to Ahasuerus Fromanteel sold for a remarkable £692,000 yesterday (28 June) at Bonhams, New Bond Street, as part of its sale of Fine Clocks and Watches. The clock, which was found in a private European collection in mid-May this year, and had been in the same family since the 1950s, had attracted a pre-sale estimate of £200,000 – 300,000.
Meanwhile, the highly anticipated sale of an historic and rare clock believed to have been designed for Napoleon’s ‘Exposition publique des produits de l’industrie Francaise’ in 1801, did not disappoint. Having lain undiscovered in Europe for two centuries, it had been estimated at £200,000 – 300,000 and sold for an excellent £322,400.
Other sought after lots included a fine late 17th century timepiece by Thomas Tompion, which fetched £156,000; and a rare 17th century Roman-striking table clock by Joseph Knibb, which made £126,000.
In total, the sale realised £1,632,520 with 93% sold by value.
Source: UKauctionnews
Naval Officer’s Expedition Drawing Going Under The Hammer
A signed ink and pencil drawing by Royal Naval officer and artist William Smyth of a Brazilian village during a 19th century South American expedition is coming up for auction at a Shropshire fine art auction house Today.
The drawing of Lupuna, at the confluence of the rivers Huayabamba and Huallaga, is valued at up to £600 and has been consigned to Halls’ auction of fine paintings, silver and jewellery at the Welsh Bridge saleroom in Shrewsbury.
Smyth(1800-’87), served as a midshipman and mate on the 'Blossom' in the Pacific between 1825–28 and was commissioned lieutenant during that voyage. From 1831 to early ’35, he served under Captain Charles Henry Paget on the 'Samarang', crossed the Andes and made a voyage down the Amazon.
He later published an account of this journey - 'Narrative of Journey from Lima to Para', 1836 - jointly with a fellow officer, Frederick Lowe. From May 1836, he was senior lieutenant of the 'Terror' on Captain George Back's North-West Passage expedition to the Wager River. Smyth Harbour on Southampton Island, Hudson Bay and Cape Smyth near Point Barrow, Alaska are reputedly named after him.
Although most naval officers learnt to draw for navigational reasons, Smyth had artistic talent and produced fine drawings and watercolours of his travels, including ship portraits.
His views on the North-West Passage expedition were lithographed to illustrate the official account and he became a lifelong Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He rose by seniority to admiral on the retired list in December 1875 and died two years later.
Source: UKauctionnews
Stamp Sells For £1 Million At UK Auction
The World’s Most Famous Stamp “Post Office Mauritius” Sold Today At Spink In London
London, 28th June 2011- The world’s most famous stamp, the elusive “Post Office Mauritius”, was sold today for a record breaking £1,053,090 at Spink in London. The auction room was buzzing with excitement as the famous stamp, lot 31, came up for sale as part of The Chartwell Collection. Nearly half a dozen bidders in the room participated as the price of the lot shot skyward. However, the final and winning bid came from a bidder who was participating in the sale via telephone. This is a record price for a stamp sold in the United Kingdom.
Over the next 18 months, through a series of 9 auctions, Spink will sell The Chartwell Collection, which is the most valuable collection of stamps to come up for auction in modern times. The Chartwell Collection, formed by the custodian of the collection Sir Cyril Humphrey Cripps, consists of some of the finest material for Great Britain and the British Empire ever seen before and it is all material that is fresh to the marketplace.
Currently held in just over 80 stamp albums, The Chartwell Collection is estimated to fetch well in excess of £20,000,000 before the last lot is sold in December 2012. This is a collection that will undoubtedly rewrite the book for auction records and bring in collectors from around the globe.
Tomorrow’s auction of rarities from Great Britain includes the quasi “mythical” 1840 1d. Black Plate II Corner Inscriptional Plate Number Example, Used on Cover and dated 13th May. Many have spoken of its existence but few have ever seen this unique piece. This is estimated to fetch between £150,000 - £200,000 and is considered to be one of the finest and most beautiful Penny Black covers in existence today.
Source: UKauctionnews
The Exceptional Sale 2011
Christie’s London In July
London – Comprising 52 highly important works, The Exceptional Sale 2011 will go under the hammer on the evening of Thursday 7 July. Spanning the 16th to 19th centuries, the furniture, silver, sculpture, clocks and objects of vertu featured exemplifies the very best European Decorative Art. The sale is expected to realise in excess of £18 million.
Robert Copley, Christie’s International Head of Furniture and Decorative Arts, and Deputy Chairman of Christie’s UK: “This evening sale builds on the success of the 2008 Exceptional Sale in which we saw the record for English Furniture broken four times. For The Exceptional Sale 2011 we have extended the parameters to include pieces from all of the Decorative Arts which will give the market the opportunity to bid for some of the rarest and finest works of art to come to auction, many of which are offered for the first time.”
Picture shows the recently discovery previously unrecorded 17th masterpiece by the Dutch master of Mannerist sculpture Adriaen de Vries (1550-1626): a bronze Mythological Figure Supporting the Globe, which is estimated to realise between £5 million and £8 million.
Source: Ukauctionnews
Lady Gaga to auction cup with lip print for Japan quake victims.
Flamboyant pop star Lady Gaga who has arrived in quake-hit Japan to perform at the MTV Video Music Aid Japan (VMAJ) charity gig promised to set for auction a coffee cup with a message in Japanese "Pray for Japan" and traces of her lip print.
Lady Gaga has so far donated $3 million for people in the disaster zones, including revenues from selling the wristband and personal contributions, Kyodo news agency reported.
"The most important thing, and the best thing, we could do for Japan right now is to boost tourism, and so everyone come to Japan and come enjoy the beautiful country," the singer said.
"I would like to use my position here today and all week long to run around Tokyo and enjoy the beautiful city, and kiss all the beautiful little monsters and scream at the top of my lungs that everyone should visit this beautiful place," she told a news conference in Tokyo.
Many performers and sportsmen have canceled trips to Japan after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that caused widespread destruction and set off a crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant about 140 miles (220 kilometers) north of Tokyo.
Tens of thousands of people were forced to leave homes near the plant because of the radiation danger, but even far from the evacuation zone, Japanese tourism has suffered because of the disaster.
Source: en.rian.ru/culture
Lady Gaga will sell these bracelets and all the money raised will go towards helping Japan.
Picasso Sells At Auction For $22M To Benefit Scientific Research At University Of Sydney
Jeune fille endormie
SYDNEY -- A Pablo Picasso painting given to the University of Sydney by an anonymous American donor has sold at a London auction for 13.5 million pounds ($22 million), school officials said Wednesday.
The 1935 painting "Jeune fille endormie" was donated to the Australian school last year on the condition that it use proceeds from its sale to fund scientific research. The money will help pay for research into obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, said the university's vice chancellor, Michael Spence.
There was fierce bidding at Christie's auction house on Tuesday for the painting, which depicts Picasso's lover, Marie-Therese Walter.
"We understand it was a British buyer," university spokesman Andrew Potter said. "We're not aware of the name. There is some suggestion the name will be released in the next few weeks."
The donor personally flew the painting to Sydney last year.
"The sale of this remarkable work is the result of one donor's extraordinary generosity who said, 'This painting is going to change the lives of many people,' Spence said in a statement. "They were right. We are grateful for their extraordinary generosity and delighted with the outcome of the auction."
Last year, another Picasso portrait of Walter sold for $106.5 million – a world record price for any work of art sold at auction.
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Source: huffingtonpost.com
Fake or Fortune
Fake or Fortune - this is worth seeing if you missed it this week
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate a painting found dumped by a rubbish tip, which turns out to be a lost work by one of America's most important 19th century artists.
Source: BBC iPlayer