A rare, complete copy of John James Audubon’s Birds of America was sold for £7,321,250 ($11,365,000), including buyer’s premium, at Sotheby’s in London, UK, on 7 December 2010. The book contains 1,000 life-size illustrations of 435 birds drawn and printed by the Haitian-born American artist Audubon (1785–1851) between 1827 and 1838. The illustrations were originally sold a page at a time to collectors, and only 119 complete editions are known to exist. Prior to the auction, the book formed part of the collection of Frederick Fermor-Hesketh, 2nd Baron Hesketh (1916–1955).
At the time, this was the most expensive book sold at auction overall, extending its own record following another copy of Birds of America that was auctioned for $8,802,500 (£5,567,573) by Christie’s in New York City, USA, on 10 March 2000.
The book was purchased by Michael Tollemache, a London art dealer who was present in the room for the auction. Only 120 complete copies of this book are known to exist, of which a mere 13 are in private hands.
Currently, the most expensive book is the Bay Psalm Book (1640), the first book ever printed in British North America. A copy sold at Sotheby’s in New York City, USA, on 26 November 2013 fetched $14,165,000, purchased by American businessman David Rubenstein. Just 1,700 copies were produced by the residents of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and there are thought to be only 11 surviving copies.
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History of Auctioneering
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A limited edition Swatch watch – one of only 140 made – designed in 1984 by French artist Christian Chapiron (known as Kiki Picasso) sold at auction at Sotheby’s, Milan, Italy in 1989 for $45,000 (£27,450).
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The earliest official online game auction site was Station Exchange. Launched by SOE in June 2005, it provided a legitimate means for players to buy and sell characters, items and money to other players, for real money, woth SOE making a cut from the profits. As well as raising revenue for the company, Station Exchange provides players with a safe way of performing transactions, without having to use third party websites.
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A Hong Kong based investor paid US$2.1 million (?1.3 million) on 28 June 2008 for a lunch date with Warren Buffett, the world’s richest man. Zhao Danyang (Hong Kong) enjoyed a meal for himself and seven friends accopmanied by Mr. Buffett at Smith & Wollensky’s steakhouse in New York.
All proceeds from the auction went to a charity which helps the poor and homeless in San Francisco.
Warren Buffett is an American investor and the largest shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
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The most expensive music single sold at auction is a rare seven-inch copy of unreleased 1965 single Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) by Frank Wilson (USA). It sold for £25,742 ($39,294) to a buyer who wished to remain anonymous. Seller Kenny Burrell, a DJ and record collector stated that he was selling his copy in order to gain credibility as a record expert.
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Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), painted by British artist David Hockney (b. 9 July 1937) in 1972, sold for $90,312,500 (£69,547,900; €79,919,300) – including buyer’s premium – at Christie’s auction house in New York City, USA, on 15 November 2018. This makes the acrylic-on-canvas the most expensive painting by a living artist sold at auction to date.
The dimensions of the painting are 213.5 x 305 cm (84 x 120 in).
Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) takes this record from Jeff Koons’s Balloon Dog (Orange) – a 3.6-metre (12-foot-high, orange-tinted, stainless-steel sculpture resembling a dog made from balloons that sold at Christie’s in New York City, USA, on 12 November 2013 for $58.4 million (£36.49 million; €43.6 million).
Hockney first created a painting based on this composition in 1971, but unhappy with the results, he destroyed it. The current work was a second attempt, created in April 1972 in just a few weeks (working for up to 18 hours a day) for an exhibition at the André Emmerich Gallery in New York City, USA.
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The most expensive book illustration sold at auction is E.H. Shepard’s “Original Map of the Hundred Acre Wood”, which sold for £430,000 ($571,369; €485,860), including premium, auctioned by Sotheby’s in London, UK, on 10 July 2018.
Ernest Howard Shepard is a renowned English artist, best known for his illustrations in The Wind and the Willows and Winnie-the-Pooh.
The “Original Map of the Hundred Acre Wood” illustration was created for Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh woodland setting. The illustration is supposed to be the work of the character Christopher Robin and includes locations on the map purposely misspelled (“Big Stones and Rox” and “Nice For Piknicks”). The map is signed off by Christopher with “Drawn by me and Mr Shepard helpd”.
The illustration has remained in a private collection for the past five decades.
The record title was previously, held by E.H. Shepard’s illustration “For A Long Time They Looked At The River Beneath Them…”, a drawing of Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin playing Poohsticks, which sold for £314,500 ($492,727; €398,031).
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Mecum Auctions, Inc. is an American auction company specializing in collector cars and motorcycles. It was founded by Dana Mecum in 1988, and was originally based in Marengo, Illinois. Since 2011, it has been headquartered in Walworth, Wisconsin. The company hosts various auction events across the United States. Television coverage began in 2008, contributing to the popularity of the events.
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Mecum Auctions, Inc. is an American auction company specializing in collector cars and motorcycles. Since 2011, it has been headquartered in Walworth, Wisconsin. The company hosts various auction events across the United States. Television coverage began in 2008, contributing to the popularity of the events.
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Napoleon Bonaparte’s real tooth was auctioned off in 2011. It was taken out while he was in exile on St. Helena, turning it into a one-of-a-kind historical artifact. The tooth sold for an impressive £13,000, bought by a dentist eager to add a piece of the French emperor’s dental legacy to his collection.
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