William “Bill” Edward Miedema, 88, of South Beloit, IL, passed away March 10, 2015 at Willowfield Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Delavan, WI. William was born May 7, 1926 in Brodland, SD, to Claus and Rachel Miedema. Bill attended school there until enlisting in the United States Navy and serving in the South Pacific Arena on the USS Saratoga-03 in World War II. He later received a purple heart for his military service. Bill married Carol Williams Ranft in Huron, SD on December 19, 1947. After working for the Chicago Northwestern Railroad in South Dakota, he opened an Auction House in Huron, which he and his wife owned until moving to the Stateline area in the 1960’s. Bill and Carol operated Miedema Auction in South Beloit, IL until 1980. He then continued auctioneering for many years with Beloit Auction Service, a family business. Bill was awarded the coveted Golden Gavel by the State of Wisconsin Auctioneers Association for his 50 years as an auctioneer. Bill participated in the first Vets Roll trip to Washington D.C., where he rekindled memories of his WWII service. Known as “Wild Bill” to many, he leaves a legacy of pride in his service to his country, love of his family and special friends, and memories of his years as an auctioneer. Bill is survived by his two sons, Richard (Pat) Ranft of Beloit, WI, and Michael (Linda) Miedema of Hockley, TX, two daughters, Debora (David) Burdick of Sun Prairie, WI, and Beth (David) Norris of South Beloit, IL, six granddaughters, Tracy (John) Ferraro of Arlington Heights, IL, Nichole (Brad) Cheske of Beloit, WI, Erica (Gabriel) Vogel of Austin, TX, Danielle (Jason Hawkins) Burdick of Madison, WI, Jessica (Logan) Lucas of Austin, TX, and Darcy Burdick of Sun Prairie, WI, three grandsons, William Burdick of Madison, WI, Joshua Norris of South Beloit, IL, and David (Kristin Toon) Norris of Freemont, CA, fourteen great-grandchildren, three brothers, Claus Jr, Steven, and Eddie, and two sisters, Lillian, and Nellie, and his dog, Willie. He was preceded in death by his wife, Carol, and three brothers, James, Robert, and Clarence.
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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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