Skinner Inc.’s June 2, 2012 science, technology and clocks auction grossed just more than $1 million, to include a Tornek-Rayville TR-900 Dive wristwatch for $36,735. Read More +
A legendary ‘Enigma’ ciphering machine from 1938, which influenced WWII dramatically, was the top lot at Auction Team Breker’s May 26 sale of vintage science, technology and toys.
So complex are the Enigma’s 22 billion possible combinations, an original prospectus claimed, that it would take one man working continuously day and night, and trying a different cipher-key every minute, 42,000 years to exhaust all the possibilities. However, it took a private buyer just a few minutes to bid the machine’s final sale price to $101,450, more than 10 times the published reserve. Read More +
Auction Team Breker celebrates 25 years of sales with its 121st specialty auction May 26, 2012, including a complete set of 18th century French trepanning instruments. Trepanning is the practice of removing a small circular section of the human skull. Read More +
The renowned Milhous Collection of vintage automobiles, music machines and carousels sold for more than $38.3 million Feb. 24-25, 2012. Fellow collectors recognized the passion behind Bob and Paul Milhous’s 50-year collection and rewarded their dedication by purchasing every single lot in the sale. Read More +
One of the world’s finest private museums, the Milhous Collection, will be offered during a multi-day sale in late February in Boca Raton, Fla.
RM Auctions, in association with Sotheby’s, is handling the sale comprised of over five decades of judicious collecting by brothers Bob & Paul Milhous. The extraordinary collection features an unparalleled series of mechanical musical instruments, automobiles and collectibles, handpicked from around the world and representing the ‘best of the very best’. Read More +
Those who know me well know that I never go anywhere without my single-serve personal coffee maker. I have two of the pretentious little things, actually. One at home and one at work. They take expensive little “kups” sold in … Read More +
In the April 6, April 20 and May 4, 2011 editions Antique Trader honored me by breaking tradition and for the first time in their history ran an article over three editions. The article was titled, “One Collector’s Holy Grail” and was the complete (actually, almost complete) story of the rise and fall of the Acme Semaphore Traffic Signal Company. For those who missed any part, and even for those who read it all, the article can now be found in a full-color download posted online. Read More +