Cashing in the Hackney Hoard: Jar of rare gold coins hidden…
...from the Nazis in the Blitz expected to fetch £80,000 at UK auction
A jar of gold coins dug up in a London garden nearly 70 years after it was buried to hide it from the Nazis is set to sell at auction for £80,000.
A family of Jewish refugees who fled Germany for England before the start of World War II buried the coins because they feared their money would be seized in a Nazi invasion.
However, the family was later killed by a direct hit in an air raid during the Blitz and the exact location of the coins was lost.
But after nearly 70 years in the ground, the so-called 'Hackney Hoard' of U.S. Double Eagle gold coins was unearthed when householder Terence Castle dug a pond in his garden.
Realising the significance of his find, honest Mr Castle notified the local representative of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), Kate Sumnall, who in turn passed them on to the British Museum.
An inquest by the coroner for Inner St Pancras in April this year ruled that the gold should be returned to its rightful owner.
Amazingly, a descendent of the original owner was found and Max Sulzbacher, 81, was proved at the inquest to be the rightful owner of the coins.
Now that ownership has been established, Mr Sulzbacher is selling the collection of $20 coins at auction.
The treasure - described by the British Museum as 'totally unprecedented' - is expected to be keenly fought over by bidders when it goes under the hammer at Southeby's, London.
Mr Sulzbacher's family fled to England from Nazi Germany during and settled in Hackney in 1938. His father Martin, a banker, was declared an 'enemy alien' in 1940 and sent to Australia, having deposited the gold coins in the bank.
The coins belonged to Martin Sulzbacher, pictured. His brother buried the coins for safe-keeping when the Blitz started. His son Max, 81, now owns them.
It was only after the war that the full horror of the Nazi persecution of the Jews was fully revealed, with six million killed in the Holocaust. However, many families also had their wealth and possessions raided by the Nazis.
When the Blitz began it was likely obvious to the family what treatment awaited them if the Nazis successfully invaded Britain.
Martin's brother - a UK citizen - then decided to move the money from the bank and hide it somewhere safer: he buried it in two jars in the garden.
However, he and four other members of his family were then killed by a direct hit from a German bomb and the location of the money was lost.
When Martin Sulzbacher returned to the UK in 1942 he was astonished to find the bank vault empty and, as his relatives were dead, he had no idea where the money was.
He later learned that the coins had been buried in the garden and hired someone with a metal detector in a bid to recover them.
One of the jars was indeed found shortly after the war and the contents sold for a small sum, but the whereabouts of the other jar remained a mystery until Mr Castle began digging his frog pond.
Remarkably, an acquaintance of Mr Castle's recalled the publicity surrounding the discovery of in first jar being in 1952 and Max Sulzbacher was eventually traced.
At the auction, 77 of the 80 gold coins that date from 1850 to 1913, will go under the hammer.
Max Sulzbacher, a retired chartered accountant, said: 'One of the first things my father did when he was released from internment in 1942 was to go to the safe in the City of London to retrieve the gold coins.
'To his utter astonishment the safe was empty.
'Subsequently he met a friend of the family who told him of a conversation with his late brother that the coins were buried in the garden of the ruined house.
'My father then engaged a labourer with a metal detector to search the garden but without success.'
Mr Sulzbacher explained how he was traced.
He said: 'Of course, my father had died long ago in 1981.
'Then they Googled up the name Sulzbacher which revealed that a Max Sulzbacher was a correspondent of the Association of Jewish Refugees who then traced me in Jerusalem.
'From the proceeds of the auction we will give a sum to the finders and to the person who made the connection from the previous find.
'Then we will renovate the graves of our relatives who were killed in the Blitz.
'We will then have a service of dedication of the graves on the 71st anniversary of the tragedy.
'The balance will be split between myself and my three siblings.'
Dr Roger Bland, head of the department of portable antiquities and treasure at the British Museum, said after the discovery: 'The case of the Hackney gold coins is one of the most unique and compelling stories that we have been involved with.
'There is an incredibly human element to this story that is absent from many archaeological finds and we are pleased to see the coins reunited with their original owners after so many years.
'The finders are to be congratulated for acting responsibly and helping to add further vital information to the corpus of material about the Second World War, Jewish immigration, and the history of Hackney Borough.'
After failing to find the coins, Martin Sulzbacher opened a book shop in Stoke Newington, north east London and ran it until his death.
Auctioneers Morton and Eden is selling the coins in association with Sotheby's in London on November 29-30.
One of the coins has been presented to the Hackney Museum and the family are keeping two of them.
Source: Daily Mail website
All that glisters: Photos of Goldfinger actress painted for iconic James Bond scene sold at auction
These black and white photos showing how actress Shirley Eaton was painted for her role in the James Bond film Goldfinger have been snapped up for £2,580.
A private collector from the UK bought the three pictures that were taken by David Hurn during the making of the 1964 movie.
In the film, Eaton's character, Jill Masterson, is liquidated in the most unusual way - by having her entire body painted gold.
She was found lying face down on a hotel bed by agent 007 - played by Sean Connery - in one of the most enduring images in cinematic history.
The signed pictures show how the actress was painted with a large brush while her breasts were covered with Madonna-style cones.
She is shown standing on a chair while the paint is applied and her reflection can be seen in the dressing room mirror.
The shots were taken by photographer Hurn who was employed by the film's producers to take pictures of the actors while on set.
While backstage he saw the opportunity to take photos of the gold-coated Eaton.
The doomed character was villain Auric Goldfinger's aide-de-camp who Bond catches helping her boss to cheat at cards.
Naturally, Bond seduces her and by doing so sentences her to death when her betrayal is discovered.
The fictional mode of death - skin suffocation - was invented by Ian Fleming when he wrote the novel the film was based on.
Eaton was sent by her agent for the role and agreed as long as the nudity was done tastefully. It took an hour-and-a-half to apply the paint.
Jocelyn Phillips, from auctioneers Bonhams, which sold the images, said: 'David Hurn was a photo-journalist who worked for the Magnum agency.
'The producers of the film commissioned him to take stills of the actors and clearly he had free reign and photographed Shirley Eaton being painted.
'The scene is one that really stands out in the memory. To see how she was painted with just a large brush is fantastic.'
Source: Daily Mail website
Marilyn Monroe’s corset from 1957 film Bus Stop set to fetch £200,000 at auction
A showstopping stage costume worn by Marilyn Monroe in one of her hit films is set to go under the hammer.
The green and black sequined garment, which has been given a guide price of £200,000, was worn by Monroe for her role in the 1957 movie Bus Stop.
The film saw the Hollywood start play the part of a naive yet determined saloon singer heading for Hollywood.
The leotard-clad character is described by auctioneers Profiles In History as becoming one of Monroe's most iconic looks.
Monroe wore the garment in some of the more memorable scenes in the film, as well as in the promotional posters.
The stage costume was worn by Marilyn Monroe to play Cherie, a saloon singer determined to make it in Hollywood
A spokesman said: 'It is one of the most indelible looks from her entire career.
'It has been a top choice for publicity images of Marilyn from the Fifties right up until the present day.
'In one of the scenes of Bus Stop when she is wearing the green garment, she performs the classic song That Old Black Magic, winning the heart of a very eager cowboy, played by Don Murray.'
The piece was created by Monroe's favourite costume creator, William Travilla.
Also on offer at the auction will be the original movie camera used by George Lucas to film Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.
It was the first of the hit film series, made in 1977.
Fully restored and working, the Panavision PSR 35mm camera is one of only a handful owned by private collectors.
The lot comes complete with a photo of Lucas with the camera on the Star Wars set, and is expected to reach up to £130,000.
Together with Monroe's leotard, the camera will go under the hammer in Beverly Hills, California on December 3.
The stage costume was worn by Marilyn Monroe to play Cherie, a saloon singer determined to make it in Hollywood
Source: Daily Mail website
Victorian masterpiece found in unlocked New England beach house where it’s been hanging for 50 years
A long lost masterpiece by Victorian artist William Frith called 'Derby Day' has been discovered in an unlocked New England beach house where it has hung for 50 years.
Valued at $775,000 (£500,000), the panorama painting shows scenes from the famous horse race meeting in 1856.
It was only discovered when a friend of the family who owned the painting recognised it as being similar to the final version in London's Tate Gallery.
It had been hanging in the main room of the beach house in New England in America, but no one knows when it was taken across the Atlantic.
The incredible painting shows a crowd of people enjoying the meeting and it includes dozens of scenes all merged into one picture.
Despite being called 'Derby Day' only two jockeys on horses are visible, and then only just.
Frith concentrated on the different characters that were attracted to the event in huge numbers because of the availability of the railway.
There are country folk, card sharks, acrobats, musicians, rich people, and a giant stand full to the rafters.
Artist: Painter William Frith whose Derby picture hung unnoticed in an unlocked beach house in New England
On hearing about the possible discovery, Peter Brown from auctioneers Christie's flew to the U.S. and confirmed it was a lost Frith.
He noted that it had a Christie's stock number on the back indicating it was sold by them in 1861. The auction house sold it again in 1881 and then it vanished.
Now Christie's is to sell it for a third time and there is great excitement among art historians and collectors.
A similar excitement was present when Frith unveiled his final version and police had to be called in to hold back the crowds.
Mr Brown from Christie's, which is selling the painting in London on December 15, said: 'It was deeply, deeply thrilling to find this painting.
'It's very exciting and the family had no idea what it was until a friend saw it and said it looked like the one in the Tate.
'Christie's sold it in 1861 and then in 1881 but then it dropped off the radar.
'Victorian paintings went out of fashion in the middle of the 20th century so it could have been picked up for quite a small sum.
'We don't know when it went to America, but the vendor is 60 and has known it all his life.
'It was kept in the beach house that was unlocked because the family didn't think there was anything valuable in it.
'At the time it was painted there was no other form of visual stimulation and the artists tried to tell stories in paint.
'Frith went to the Derby for several years and made sketches of the people, then after the 1856 Derby he painted this while on holiday in Ramsgate.
'It measures 15X35 inches and was a finished picture and was sold in his lifetime. The painting in the Tate, which has several small differences, is 7ft long.
'We know Frith drew two sketches of Derby Day but no one knows where one of them is.
'For the people at the Derby it was a mind-blowing experience. Trains were cheap enough for people to get to Epsom and they had never been in such crowds.'
UKAuctioneers
Source: Daily Mail website
Old plate taken to Antiques Roadshow in a Tesco carrier bag is valued at £100,000
Never before in the TV show's three-decade history has a plate been awarded a six-figure valuation.
But that's exactly what happened when Wendy Jones took an old piece of crockery to the Antiques Roadshow.
The grandmother was shocked to be told that the plate, which had sat on a 'rickety' sideboard in her home for years, was worth £100,000.
She only attended the roadshow event near her home in Aberglasney, Wales, because her husband wanted some books valued.
Seeking something to take long, Mrs Jones grabbed the 22-inch plate on her way out of the door and casually transported it in a Tesco carrier bag.
But it turned out to be the most valuable plate to have appeared on the BBC programme in its 31-year history.
Expert valuer John Axford told Mrs Jones that the 18th century oval-shaped plate was commissioned by the Prussian East India company for Frederick II.
Made between 1750 and 1755, it is constructed out of hard paste porcelain and is decorated with the arms of the Hohenzollern family, the order of the black eagle and the Maltese Cross.
There are pieces of the service in the best museums around the world but only two items have been sold in the last decade, Mr Axford said.
He then delivered his valuation of £100,000 to a 'speechless' Mrs Jones, who revealed that the plate actually belongs to her son after it was left to him by his grandmother.
She said: 'He didn't have room for it in his London home so I had it and for years it was on the sideboard on a rickety stand.
'One day it fell off the stand and crashed onto the sideboard but luckily it wasn't damaged.
'I expect my son will sell it as he has a young family.'
It was only by chance that Mrs Jones took the plate to the Antiques Roadshow.
'I only went because my husband wanted to take some books,' she said. 'I grabbed the plate and put it in a single Tesco carrier bag - and they can easily split.
'When I heard how much it might be worth I was shocked. We had no idea it was worth anything. I was left speechless.
'We are not sure where the plate came from but my son's paternal grandmother did marry into a German family.
'And the plate was made for the King of Prussia, so that's possibly how it ended up in our family.
'On the way to the roadshow the plate was just on the back seat of the car, but on the way home I kept hold of it all the way.'
Mr Axford, an expert from Woolley and Wallis auction house in Salisbury, Wiltshire, based his estimate on a much smaller soup plate from the service recently selling for £31,000.
He said: 'It is the most valuable thing by far that I have seen on the roadshow.
'It is a fantastic piece of a very rare Royal service and is very unusual.'
Source: Daily Mail Website
One of Kate Moss’s ‘best photos ever’ set to fetch £18,000 as it goes under the hammer at Uk Auction
A photograph deemed by Kate Moss to be one of the best ever taken of her is to go up for auction.
Albert Watson's candid black and white portrait of the supermodel taken at the end of a day's shoot on a Marrakech roof top in 1993, when she agreed to let Watson take some nude shots.
'Watson created probably two of the most iconic images of Moss on a shoot for German Vogue, and today they remain among his most popular pictures,' Bonhams said.
'At the end of a day shooting on a roof-top in Marrakech, Watson suggested he create nude photographs of Moss and she happily obliged.'
Watson described this picture, part of a series, as 'among the best pictures ever taken of her,' adding that 'she said so as well recently.'
Further photographs of Kate Moss will be included in the auction, including one by the late photographer Corinne Day, who is widely credited with launching Kate's modelling career. Her seemingly unposed shots hint at the raw talent that Kate possessed in her early days in front of the lens.
Other top lots featuring A-list subjects include a 1971 portrait of Brigitte Bardot, taken by Terry O'Neill (estimate £4,000 to £6,000); an Albert Watson portrait of Christy Turlington taken in 1990 (guide price £2,500 to £3,500); and Andre de Dienes' photograph of Marilyn Monroe taken at the Bel Air Hotel in 1952, which has a guide price of £2,000 to £3,000.
The photographs come as part of a sale by London auction house Bonhams on New Bond St, who are to offer up a selection of iconic images of celebrities as part of its Photographs Sale on 17 November.
Other well-known faces in the sale include Salvador Dali taken by Horst P. Horst (estimate £3,000 to £4,000); Courtney Love by David LaChapelle (estimate £7,000 to 9,000); and Frank Sinatra (with his bodyguards) by Terry O’Neill (estimate £6,000 to 8,000).
Elsewhere, the sale features an intimate portrait of Julia Jackson by British photography pioneer Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879), one of around fifty known portraits by Cameron of her niece, the earliest dating from 1864 (estimate £25,000 – 35,000); and the top lot, Robert Mapplethorpe’s spectacular Calla Lily, 1986 (estimate £30,000 – 50,000).
Source: Daily Mail website
Roy Lichtenstein painting sells for record $43million at Christie’s auction in New York
A painting by the late Roy Lichtenstein has sold for $43.2million (£27million) in New York - an auction record for the pop artist.
The 1961 artwork is called 'I Can See the Whole Room! ... and There's Nobody In It!'
It shows a man's face peering out of the painting through a peephole in a black background.
The four-square-foot work in graphite and oil work is one of the earliest and most important of Lichtenstein’s pop art pictures.
It sold last night at a Christie's auction house postwar and contemporary art sale.
Leonardo di Caprio was at the auction, in which Louise Bourgeois also broke a record with her 1996 bronze spider, which fetched $10.7million (£7million).
Andy Warhol's 'Four Campbell's Soup Cans' went for $9.8million (£6.1million), toward the high end of the estimate.
Lichtenstein's previous auction record was set last November when the New York artist's 1964 painting 'Ohhh... Alright...' sold for $42.6million (£26.4million) at Christie's.
That piece was a comic strip style image of a distressed redheaded woman speaking into a telephone.
The price of his artworks has soared despite the financial crisis, with last year's sale more than doubling his 2005 record of £10m for In the Car.
Lichtenstein, who died in 1997 of pneumonia, is famous for his cartoon-inspired paintings and helped launch the pop art movement along with artists including Andy Warhol and Jasper John.
He mixed text and image, drawing on adverts and bubble-gum wrappers for inspiration. His black outlines, flat vivid colors and use of Benday dots have become iconic, along with his satirical imitations of classical artists.
Marc Porter, chairman of Christie's Americas, said: 'The financial markets have been volatile all year, yet the art market has continued to perform well. It's incredibly strong.'
Hollywood ‘car of the future’ could be yours for the price of an ordinary hatchback
The futuristic car driven by Tom Cruise in Minority Report is going under the hammer.
Despite the unique nature of the vehicle, it is set to be available for no more than an ordinary family hatchback.
While in the 2002 film it was filled with holograms and video screens, the one-off Lexus is now little more than an empty shell.
Nonetheless, it is expected that a film found will be found who is keen to get the vehicle into a road-worthy condition.
For sale: The car driven by Tom Cruise in 2002 hit Minority Report is set to fetch over £15,000 at auction
The sci-fi hit Minority Report was set in the year 2054, and director Steven Spielberg asked Lexus to design the car of the future.
In the film, the vehicle runs on fuel cells and can be driven not only horizontally but also vertically.
Advanced safety features included a crash-proof structure and biometric security systems.
It now has a small engine and a sparse interior, and is expected to fetch up to $25,000 (£15,500).
Contrast: The interior of the car is considerably less impressive, but it does have a small engine
Spielberg at the time described how the car came into existence. He said: 'I've been driving a Lexus SUV.
'I thought Lexus might be interested in going into a speculative future to see what the transportation systems and cars would look like on our highways in 50 years.'
The car is owned by a private collector who has made it available for sale at auction at Bonhams in California on Saturday.
Eric Minoff, from Bonhams said: 'When Steven Spielberg was making the film he was driving a Lexus and asked them to produce a futuristic design.
Stars: The film, featuring Tom Cruise and Samantha Morton, depicted a police unit which used psychics to prevent crime
'The car was powered by fuel cells and was able to drive horizontally and vertically.
'The outside is in a better condition than the inside and there is only a little engine so it can be moved around.
'But it is a great-looking thing and there will be fans of the film who would like it. It does make quite a statement.'
The Lexus certainly seems like a bargain compared to the DeLorean from the Back to the Future, which is being auctioned off next month and is predicted to fetch at least $600,000 (£370,000).
Pricy: The DeLorean from the Back to the Future films is expected to fetch $600,000 (£370,000) at auction next month
Minority Report was loosely based on the short story of the same name by Philip K Dick. It is set mainly in Washington DC in 2054.
It follows 'PreCrime', a specialised police department, which apprehends criminals based on foreknowledge provided by three psychics called 'precogs'.
The film stars Colin Farrell as well as Tom Cruise, and is a combination of whodunnit, thriller and sci-fi.
Spielberg described the story as '50 per cent character and 50 per cent very complicated storytelling, with layers and layers of murder mystery and plot.'
Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black dress to be auctioned…
...alongside Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor's gowns
The iconic dress Amy Winehouse wore on the cover of her 'Back To Black' album is going under the hammer for charity.
The chiffon print frock, created by Thai-based designer Disaya, could fetch up to £20,000 when it is auctioned off later this month.
Profits from the sale will go to the Amy Winehouse Foundation - the charity set up by the late singer's parents in a bid to help young, vulnerable people.
The dress is being sold in London at Kerry Taylor Auctions' 'Passion for Fashion' auction on November 29th.
Disaya lent the dress to the then relatively unknown Winehouse in 2006, when the singer's stylist Louise Winwood was searching for clothes for the 'Back To Black' cover.
After the photoshoot, the frock was returned to the designer and stored away in her archive. 'Back To Black', meanwhile, went on to sell more than 3.2 million copies.
Following Winehouse's death on July 23, 2011, Disaya decided the iconic outfit should be displayed and sold to raise money for the Amy Winehouse Foundation.
The launch of the charity, which aims to help the young and vulnerable, was announced on what would have been the singer's 28th birthday.
Kerry Taylor Auctions have estimated that the dress will fetch between £10,000 and £20,000 when it goes under the hammer in London.
'Over the years I have sold many highly valuable couture pieces related to celebrities and style icons, including the Duchess of Windsor, Audrey Hepburn and Princess Diana,' auctioneer Kerry Taylor said.
'In my opinion, what makes this particular dress so special, is that it is an emblematic reminder of the magic voice and sublime talent of Amy Winehouse - a sound that resonates with an entire generation and always will.
'I am pleased to help raise funds for her charity and encourage fans, the music industry and museums the world over to bid with us on November 29th.'
Also going under the hammer at the 'Passion For Fashion' auction are the dress worn by Audrey Hepburn to collect her Oscar for 'Roman Holiday' in 1954 and two gowns worn by Elizabeth Taylor.
Source: Daily Mail
Look familiar? Early version of famous Victorian ‘Derby Day’ painting found hanging in New England beach house…
...and now it's worth $800,000
An early version of 'The Derby Day,' a panoramic painting by famed Victorian artist William Powell Frith, was found in a New England beach house.
It is one of the era's most famous pictures.
The picaresque image shows crowds at an 1850s horse race, from a rich family in their carriage to gamblers, acrobats, and prostitutes.
Sketch artist: A sketch of William Powell Frith's 'The Derby Day' hung in a New England beach house. It is now up for auction at Christie's
The painting hung in a family's unlocked summer home for half a century and could fetch $800,000 when it is sold next month, Christie's auction house said today.
The finished painting hangs in the Tate Britain gallery in London.
Peter Brown, Christie's director of Victorian pictures, said the rediscovery of the oil sketch was 'immensely exciting.'
It had been hanging in a modest New England beach house for decades before a friend of the owner suggested it might be worth something.
Christie's won't be more specific about the location because the owner wants to remain anonymous.
Mr Brown said the vendor, who is in his 60s, believes his parents bought the painting some time before World War II, when Victorian art was often dismissed as garish and sentimental.
'It's a testament to the change in fortunes of Victorian pictures over the last century that these things could have been acquired very cheaply indeed in the '30s, '40s and '50s,' said Mr Brown.
Since the 1970s, critical opinion has changed, and works by the best Victorian artists are coveted by collectors.
'It's really a novel in paint and would have been read as such by the Victorian picture-going public,' Mr Brown said.
The painting goes on sale December 15 in London, with an estimate of $477,000 to $800,000.
Mr Frith, one of the era's most successful painters, specialized in busy scenes of daily life, and his subjects ranged from beach-goers to railway stations to royal weddings.
He rose to fame by way of his meticulously painted scenes, which often depicted both the very rich and the very poor.
In 1853, the painter was appointed a full member of the Royal Academy.
By this time, Mr Frith had made plenty of high-profile friendships. He was familiar with fellow painter William Turner, as well as Charles Dickens, who he immortalized in a portrait in 1859.
He was also a favourite of the Royal Family.
'The Derby Day' was so popular when first exhibited in 1858 that a special rail was installed at the Royal Academy in London to hold back the crowds.
In fact, rails had to be installed at no less than six of his paintings.
'The Derby Day' depicts three main scenes.
In the first, on the far left, men in top hats focus on the 'thimble-rigger.'
An acrobat and his son are in the center of 'The Derby Day,' greedily eying a lavish picnic laid out by a footman.
Racegoers on the right hang about their carriages and flirt and also prepare picnics, while a ragged, hungry-looking girl begs for food.