Bonhams is known to offer some of the most exclusive cars at its auctions. So bidders who were present at the recent Bonhams Collectors' Motor Cars sale at Silverstone were definitely not disappointed. In fact, some of them left with the most enviable wheels that have ever been created. One such mean machine that was sold at this auction and generated a high amount of interest among the bidders was the 2006 Honda F1. Nicknamed Bonneville 400, this car...
Writing instruments have become quite rare after the computer era set in. But some pens never get out of vogue, which explains the need for an auction to bring a selection of rare pens under the hammer. The auction will be headlined by some delicate and beautiful instruments from Dunhill-Namiki, especially the Dunhill-Namiki Lake Biwa maki-e fountain pen. Crafted using the finest Japanese lacquer techniques, the pen was created in 1930 through collaboration between Dunhill and Namiki. The pen...
The balls used during this year’s FIFA World Cup received more criticism than many of the players. Critiqued for their unpredictability, these balls made by Adidas were nicknamed "supermarket balls." However, their nickname hasn’t stopped a bidder from shelling out a cool $74,000 to acquire one of the balls that was used during the finals between Spain and Netherlands. The ball used during the finals was given the name Jo'bulani and colored gold and was auctioned via eBay. This...
Anything the Beatles touched turned to gold. Even today, nearly decades after the band broke up, the bands Midas touch remains intact. A battered piano for instance that was once used by the Beatles in now expected to fetch £150,000 ($229,592) at Bonhams auction. The piano in its glory days was played by the Beatles on some of their most famous tracks including Paperback Writer, Tomorrow Never Knows, Old Brown Shoe and Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da when they recorded at Abbey...
Come October and Heritage Auctions will host a sale of historic manuscripts including a letter written by Abraham Lincoln. The letter was written by Lincoln in 1864 and is said to contain a military appointment. The pre-sale estimate of this letter is between $4,000 and $5,000. Besides the letter by the late President, the sale will also boast of a copy of the Declaration of Independence. The copy of the historic Declaration of Independence was printed on thin woven...
Car auctions are best if you can get your hands on dead and rare brand of cars. And this time around, it’s the turn of U.S. auction house Russo & Steele to bring over 250 classic cars under the hammer for the Monterey Classic Car Week in California. And showcasing their lot is the beautiful 1963 Shelby Cobra CSX2009. Crafted specifically for the FIA/SCCA racing circuit, the automobile won several races between 1962 and 1971....
Another auction of rare manuscripts is all set to take place, which will showcase English Literature, History, Children's Books and Illustrations. And what is the highlight of this one you ask? Well it’s the first Sherlock Holmes adventure by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, titled A Study in Scarlet. One of the two copies of the first printing the book is inscribed by the author and also comes with a handwritten note by him....
Bonhams auction house has witnessed a number of recording braking sales. The most recent of which is the sale of a hand colored image of Edvard Munch's Madonna which sold for £1.25 million ($1.95 million), setting a record for a print. The work fetched way over its pre-sale estimate of £500,000 and £700,000 ($750,000 to $1 million). The hand colored image dated 1895, bears the artists signature and was in the same family for over a hundred years. It was...
The recent James D Julia's Toy, Doll & Advertising auction has again brought to the world’s attention, the growing community of toy collector’s and the demand for vintage toys. The auction was a success netting $2.1 million in total sales. The auction was also witness to record sales with an Althof Bergmann Santa sleigh toy fetching an astounding $161,000! This sleigh pulled by goats described as, “the rarest and most important of all early-American tin toys" has now become...
The Aston Martin DB5 did grace James Bond flick, but when it was launched in 1963, on 23 of these 282bhp engine mated to a four-speed/overdrive gearbox beauties were up for grabs. And bringing back the magic of the good old days was the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The auction raised a total of $5,600,720, with the 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Vantage Convertible highlighting the event....
Well with the life span of earth rapidly reducing (or so they say!), the wildlife has suffered the most. And to help out the World Land Trust and the Wildlife Trust of India, especially for the endangered Asian elephant, the Emeralds for Elephants auction was held. Highlighting the auction was a fiberglass elephant adorned with 678-carat Gemfields emerald called the Emerald Queen designed by Jeweler Sabine Roemer which fetched $227,300....
Napoleon Bonaparte will forever be remembered as one of the most influential leaders/emperor’s of France. His actions were responsible for shaping the politics of Europe in the early 19th century. Nearly two hundred years after his death, he still manages to soar high in popularity rankings. This was evident at a recent auction held by Art+Object Auction House in New Zealand where a lock of hair cut from Napoleon Bonaparte's head after he died fetched $13,000. The lock of...
If you are a sci-fi freak your eyes will surely light up at the mention of the movie, Tron. The sci-fi flick struck a chord with motorbike enthusiasts as well, courtesy the cool Lightcycles that were a prominent feature in the movie. Well for all you Tron fans and motorcycle enthusiasts, Parker Brothers Choppers (the same guys who made the oh-so-cool Batpod) are building five custom one off "Lightcycles" to the exact specs of the movie bikes. Not props,...
Well for collectors of vintage cars, this one is a sure charmer. Auctioned for $75,000 at the Barret-Jackson’s first Orange County auction was s color-changing Lamborghini LM002 SUV, one of the 301 of built by the car giants for the Italian army between 1986 and 1993. The SUV that has only 3,607 miles on the odometer appears purple or blue depending on the lighting and the viewing angle, thanks to a DuPont ChromaLusion paint job. Around 40 of these...
It was but obvious that Marilyn Monroe fans wouldn’t miss out on the once in a lifetime chance to get a chest X-rays of the late beauty that was to be auctioned by Juliens Auctions. In fact it was not a matter of whether the X-rays would find a bid but rather how much would the fans bid. With the auction behind us now (it took place on June 26) we have the exact figure that the X-rays fetched....