James W. Heike, 83, of Mondovi, passed away Thursday, November 20, 2008 at Luther Hospital in Eau Claire, WI.\nHe was born on the home farm in the town of Canton on November 3, 1925 to Walter and Selina (Mueller) Heike. Jim attended the local one-room Tiffany School and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church where he was confirmed. After graduating from Mondovi High School at the age of 16, he attended the Wisconsin Agricultural School at UW Madison and then moved with his family and assumed operation of the current Heike Farm. He married Elizabeth “Betty” Moy on June 7, 1947. Three children were born to this marriage: Linda, Daniel and Heidi.\nIn 1958 Jim entered the auction business and later earned his real estate broker license. He was actively involved in real estate development in the Chippewa Valley. On August 3, 1961 both his wife, Elizabeth, and daughter, Linda, were killed in a tragic auto accident.\nOn August 25, 1962, Jim married B. Jean (Hanson) Robertson who brought Fred and Sarah into the family.\nJim was a community and civic-minded individual holding leadership positions in many organizations and businesses. They included board member and past president of the Zion Lutheran Church, Charter Member of the Mondovi Lions Club and recipient of the Melvin Jones Award; past board member and president of the Mondovi School District, the Chippewa Valley Realtors, the WI Auctioneers Association; past board member of the National Auctioneers Association, and Chairman of the Board of the Alliance Bank of Mondovi. In 2007 he received the Mondovi High School Hall of Fame Outstanding Alumni Award.\nJim had a lifelong appreciation for, and participation in musical activities including a vocalized dance band and a barbershop quartet. He enjoyed traveling, collecting antique John Deere tractors, operating his bulldozer, spending weekends at the Lake Pepin cottage and having early morning coffee with the gang.\nHe is survived by his wife, Jean Heike of Mondovi; four children, Dan (Lisa) Heike of Mondovi, Fred (Laura) Robertson, M.D. of Middleton, WI, Heidi (Harlan) Weber of Mondovi and Sarah Robertson of Eau Claire; eight grandchildren, Chris (Sara) Heike, Andrew (Greta) Heike, Nick Heike, Fred, Anna and Evan Robertson and Mike and Elsa Weber; three great-grandchildren, Ava, Julia and Carter Heike; a sister, Donna Armstrong of Eau Claire, WI; nieces, nephews and other relatives.\nHe was preceded in death by his first wife, Elizabeth; a daughter, Linda; his parents; an infant sister, and a brother-in-law, Robert Armstrong.
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History of Auctioneering
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In 1964, Sotheby’s expanded itself by buying Parke-Bernet, the USA’s largest fine art auction house at the time. Today, it’s noted as the oldest and largest international firm of fine art auctioneers in the world. It has 80 locations across the globe and sees an annual turnover of about $4 billion.
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In 1786, Christie’s sold the library of the famous Dr. Samuel Johnson, creator of the Dictionary of the English Language (1755). This collection included insightful books on a variety of topics, including but not limited to medicine, law, math, and theology.
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In 1824, The National Gallery was founded in London. It opened its doors with many purchases from Christie’s. New York’s MET museum also made its first connection to the London market through Christie’s, sending them their first lot for sale in 1958. Today, Christie’s boasts a worldwide influence with locations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
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In June 2019, French-Israeli telecom businessman Patrick Drahi made an offer to buy Sotheby’s for $3.7 billion. This meant that following the acquisition, Sotheby’s could be more flexible in its deals now that it didn’t have to justify expensive guarantees or other benefits to shareholders. This new structure also gave comfort to their higher-profile buyers who would rather not be scrutinized by the public eye. Following the adoption of this new private curtain, the comparison between Sotheby’s and Christie’s was more strongly apples to apples than ever before.
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The auction by candle also played a pivotal role in defining legal history. It was used as a standard procedure in the Court of Chancery, where trust property was sold off. The Sales of Land by Auction Act 1867 officially made it lawful to pay commission to an auctioneer, marking a significant milestone in the auctioneering profession.
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The most valuable picture postcard in the world was sent by Theodore Hook Esq. to himself in 1840 and was bought at the London Stamp Exchange auction, UK on 8 March 2002 by collector Eugene Gomberg (Latvia) for £31,758.75 ($45,370.60). It is also considered to be the oldest postcard in the world.
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The oldest bottle of wine to have been sold at auction was a bottle of 1646 Imperial Tokay, which was bought by John A. Chunko of Princeton, New Jersey, USA and Jay Walker of Ridgefield, Connecticut, USA for SFr 1250 (£;405) including buyers premium at Sothebys, Geneva, Switzerland on 16 Nov 1984.
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The most expensive wine sold at auction is a Romanée Conti 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti bottle, sold at $558,000 (£422,801; €481,976) including premium, auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York, USA, on 13 October 2018.
The 73 year old French Burgundy bottle, part of a 600 batch produced by Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, sold more than 17 times the original asking price of $32,000 (£24,246; €27,640). The mark up in the bottles value is suspected to be a result of Chinese market’s interest in French Burgundy. In addition, the bottle was sold by Robert Drouhin, patriarch of Maison Joseph Drouhin.
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A Batpod motorcycle used in the filming of The Dark Knight Rises (USA, 2012) sold at the 2016 Prop Store Live Auction by Prop Store (UK) on 27 September 2016 for £312,000 ($404,393).
The Batpod was the “hero” vehicle used for filming close-ups, meaning that it had more detail than others used for filming at long distance but is largely non-functioning. The motorcycle was designed by Christopher Nolan and production designer Nathan Crowley, and brought to life by special-effects artist Chris Corbould, who made six of the vehicles. Its pre-auction estimate was between $80,000 and $110,000, so it secured about four times the expected price.
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