Broad Arrow Auctions has released the complete digital catalog for its upcoming inaugural Chattanooga Auction, set for 12 October 2024 at the Chattanooga Convention Center in Tennessee and we have it here for you to drool over (see below).
Among the 90+ collector cars on offer at the single-day sale are no less than 15 variations of the 911 model, including such rarities as the 1984 Porsche 911 SC RS Gruppe B “Evolutionsserie”, the vertible “missing link” in any Carrera RS collection.
Friday, October 11 9:00 am – 5:00 pm ET Saturday, October 12 9:00 am – 1:00 pm ETAuction Saturday, October 12 1:00 pm ET
A desirable single-owner example offered with less than 23,643 documented miles at the time of cataloging
One of just 477 produced for the U.S. market in 2005
Finished in classic Communication Colors of GT Silver exterior over Ascot Brown leather interior
Unmodified and offered with four pieces of its factory luggage set and other delivery accessories
Features servicing and maintenance by a single authorized Porsche dealer
One of the most collectible Porsche models ever produced
Chassis No. WP0CA29875L001120
Porsche seldom exits a motorsports arena without a taste of triumph. Yet, in 1991, an exception proved the rule as Porsche ventured into Formula One, supplying engines to the Footwork-Arrows team with their newly developed 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V12. This engine, essentially a combination of two TAG-Turbo V6s from Porsche’s McLaren days proved cumbersome and prone to reliability issues. Midway through the season, Footwork-Arrows terminated their contract with Porsche due to these setbacks.
Undeterred, Porsche embarked on a solitary path of refinement over the subsequent three years, nurturing the engine’s potential through advancements in technology and engineering. Eventually, they succeeded in transforming it into a robust and potent V12 powerplant. This worthwhile endeavor of internal engineering spurred Porsche to further explore Formula One’s evolving regulations, resulting in the development of a 3.5-liter V10 engine—purely as an educational pursuit. Later iterations saw this V10 engine grow to 5.5-liters and find application in Porsche’s LMP2000 sports racing prototype, codenamed Typ 9R3 and conceived for the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. Despite its initial promise, the LMP2000 project met an untimely demise, leaving the formidable V10 engine temporarily abandoned until a pivotal turn of events.
Porsche’s engineers were fervently engaged in another ambitious project—the Carrera GT prototype, internally referred to as SCM (Super Car Millennium).
Housed in Huntington Beach, California, a select team of designers undertook the task of bringing SCM to life. In a nod to its showpiece stature, the decision was made to equip this extraordinary prototype with the same 5.5-liter V10 engine originally developed for the 9R3 project. So fantastic was the reaction to the prototype driven along the Champs-Élysées to the 2000 Paris Motor Show that the approval of a production version was a foregone conclusion.
Commencing in 2003, the Carrera GT swiftly became the quintessential analog supercar of its era. Embracing a back-to-basics philosophy, in stark contrast to its technologically intricate predecessor, the 959, the Carrera GT boasted a raw engineering ethos. Its naturally aspirated 5.7-liter V10, renowned for its rapid revving capability, paired seamlessly with a six-speed manual transmission nestled within a carbon fiber monocoque chassis. Eschewing electronic driving aids, the Carrera GT epitomized a driver-centric experience, delivering unrivaled auditory and performance thrills akin to those found on the racetrack. Produced for a short two years, just 644 Carrera GTs were sold through U.S. Porsche dealerships
This 2005 Carrera GT was constructed in the final year of production and was delivered new to Howard Cooper Porsche of Ann Arbor, Michigan with a purchase date noted in the service book as 22 December 2004 with 15 delivery miles/ 24 kms. Selected with XT Bucket Seats and finished in the Carrera GT’s official Communication Color of GT Silver Metallic over an Ascot Brown leather interior, this fantastic single-owner example features a clean CARFAX and, at time of cataloging, less than 24,000 miles/ 38,624 kms. GT Silver was a long-held bespoke color for the Carrera GT and certainly one of the most popular, echoing those giant-killing RS Spyders of the late 1950s and ’60s.
According to its CARFAX and ownership records, this Carrera GT features servicing while under single ownership by the consignor at Howard Cooper Porsche, later known as Germain Porsche and now Porsche Ann Arbor. One of the many benefits of a single-owner super sports car such as this is the familiarity between the official Porsche dealer and owner and the expected elevated level of trust between the two. Twenty visits to the selling dealer over the 19 years have ensured that this Carrera GT has remained in regular hands during those service visits, remaining at the ready for those special Michigan days that offer the most to both car and driver. Partial service records on file show a Major Maintenance in 2009 with a new windshield at 10,739 miles and two recorded maintenance visits in 2015 and 2017, the latter being a two-year service visit. Furthermore, it should be noted that all services have been conducted at the original selling dealer, Porsche Ann Arbor.
Offered with service records on file dating from 2007 to 2020, this single-owner Carrera GT is accompanied by an impressive number of delivery items including its original window sticker, owner’s manuals, hard top panel bags, centerlock socket, tools, and factory fitted indoor car cover. Furthermore, all Carrera GTs were delivered with a set of factory fitted luggage by Ruspa of Italy, color-coordinated to the selected interior color of the car. Over the years many of these sets have become disassociated with their cars, yet this Carrera GT retains a nearly complete set in Ascot Brown—an additional, and welcome benefit.
Created by specialist teams with a narrow focus and cloaked in secrecy, with little interference from the corner offices, the Porsche Carrera GT is an exquisite example of race-honed engineering brought to life on the road. Never before offered for sale, this single-owner Carrera GT, number 455, should make an enjoyable addition to those in search of the finest motorsport-derived super sports car of the 2000s. Just as Porsche intended. For the Silo, Jakob Greisen.
Internet bidding is not available for this lot. Please contact bid@broadarrowauctions.com for more information.
One of 150 Miura SVs (Sprinto Veloce) built from 1971-1973
One of just 96 late-production “split-sump” Miura P400 SVs, and one of a mere 76 examples completed during the final year of production
German delivery example originally equipped with rare factory air conditioning
Retains its matching-numbers engine benefitting from a rebuild by Top Motors Salvioli of Nonantola Modena, Italy and Team CJ Works of Austin, TX
Recipient of a meticulous restoration by ex-Lamborghini factory workers and original Lamborghini parts suppliers, overseen by legendary Lamborghini test driver Valentino Balboni
Well documented example of the groundbreaking Miura in its most desirable SV specification
Chassis No. 5048 Engine No. 30735 Body No. 835
Few cars deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the all-conquering Ford GT40, yet the Lamborghini Miura is just such a car.
Months before the mid-engined Ford would topple Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans in one of the most famous 1-2-3 finishes in motorsport history, precocious Lamborghini engineers Giampaolo Dallara and Paolo Stanzani set out to implement the radical mid-engined architecture into a road-going chassis. The unclothed P400 was presented at the 1965 Turin Auto Show with a massive Giotto Bizzarrini-designed V12 mounted transversely in the middle, appearing again just a year later at Geneva with coachwork that, to this day, is viewed by many as Bertone’s crowning achievement. The pen of 25-year-old Marcello Gandini was responsible for the Miura’s dramatic shape, which stunned attendees of the 1966 Geneva Motor Show with its impossibly low stance, voluptuous rear quarters, bulging air intakes, and distinctive “eyelash” headlights. Just as Ford had outclassed Ferrari with the ingenious packaging of the GT40, the Prancing Horse was caught flat-footed yet again when the P400 Miura went on sale in 1967, waiting until 1971 to respond with its own mid-engined 365 GT4 BB.
The disgruntled former Ferrari owner Ferruccio Lamborghini had achieved his quest of building a more outlandish and capable sports car than Enzo Ferrari.
In 1971, the industry-disrupting Miura reached its final and most developed iteration – the Sprinto Veloce, or SV. A mere 150 examples of the much-improved Miura P400 SV were produced between 1971 and 1973, characterized by their lack of headlight lashes and the addition of flared rear wheel arches to accommodate a five-inch-wider rear track. Less immediately apparent were its extensive chassis stiffening measures and its redesigned rear suspension architecture, which consisted of a conventional lower A-arm replacing the inverted A-arm and trailing link arrangement of the P400 and P400 S. Lastly, the SV received an additional 40 horsepower through altered cam timing and the use of four Weber 40 IDL30 triple carburetors, helping it achieve a production car record top speed in excess of 180 miles per hour.
The final and most significant improvement to the Miura during its production run came in the form of a split-sump lubrication system which alleviated oil starvation under hard cornering while also allowing for the use of different types of oil for the engine and transaxle. This particular Miura P400 SV, chassis number 5048, is one of just 96 late-production examples factory equipped with a split-sump system. A left-hand-drive, German delivery example, chassis 5048 was built by Marchesi & C. in Modena and dispatched to Bertone in Turin where it was clothed in body number 835 and finished in Giallo Fly (Fly Yellow). According to Bertone records sourced under previous ownership, this is one of only 19 Miura P400 SVs originally finished in vibrant Giallo Fly, and even fewer specified with a Nero leather interior featuring desirable contrasting beige cloth seat inserts, a Voxson stereo with an eight-track player, and exceedingly rare factory air conditioning. The car was sent from Bertone to Lamborghini in Sant’Agata for completion in May 1972 – making it one of 76 Miuras built during the final year of production – before joining its first German owner, Fischer Schulze, on 10 June 1972.
The Miura is understood to have remained in continental Europe until its recorded history resumes in 1983, when the car was imported to the United States via JFK International Airport by New York-based collector Stan Zagorski.
After a short time in Zagorski’s collection, the Lamborghini was relocated to the West Coast with Len Renwick of Fullerton, California, where it joined his collection of important classics including his Miura P400. While in Renwick’s care, the SV’s original engine was treated to a rebuild and its original Bertone coachwork was refinished in red with gold rocker panels and matching gold wheels. In 1990, chassis 5048 was shipped overseas yet again, this time to Kanagawa, Japan with new owner Tomohiro Utski. The SV remained in the island nation for the next 17 years, seeing only moderate use, until passing in 2007 to SPS Automotive in Hong Kong. Shortly thereafter, the highly original Lamborghini was purchased by an English collector based in Western Australia, who saw fit to conduct a comprehensive cosmetic and mechanical restoration to factory specifications. The monumental undertaking, which is said to have exceeded £130,000/ $225,100 CAD, encompassed a bare metal repaint in its original shade of Giallo Fly, retrimming the interior with correct beige cloth seat inserts, servicing the engine and transaxle, recharging the factory air conditioning system, and overhauling various mechanical systems in need of attention.
Tragically, while newly under the ownership of noted English collector Jon Hunt, chassis 5048 caught fire in the streets of London in 2013 shortly after leaving the shops of H.R. Owen following a recent service. All of the original Bertone body panels save for the passenger’s-side rear quarter, as well as the original engine were deemed salvageable and subsequently shipped to Italy by 2015 for a total restoration. According to a letter on file from legendary Lamborghini test driver and supervisor of the restoration, Valentino Balboni, chassis 5048 was entrusted to many of the same Lamborghini experts and official suppliers who manufactured the Miura at the time of its production in May 1972! This included S.C.N. Carrozzai of Nonantola Modena, an official Lamborghini supplier, responsible for repairing the Bertone coachwork and renewing it in period-correct Argento (Silver). The major mechanicals, including the engine, transaxle, brakes, and suspension, were all salvaged and carefully rebuilt by Top Motors Salvioli of Nonantola Modena, led by ex-Lamborghini Service Department Head Orazio Salvioli. Even the wiring harness – a highly specialized component – was sourced from Christian Gatti, son of William Gatti, Lamborghini’s original wiring supplier. And finally, the interior was trimmed in period-correct blue leather by Bruno Paratelli of Interni Auto Barbieri & Bussolai in Ferrara, the original upholsterer of Lamborghini interiors since 1972.
Rarely is this level of care and attention lavished by ex-Lamborghini factory workers and original parts suppliers on a restoration, never mind being overseen and fine-tuned by the very same test driver who would have driven the car prior to its delivery to its original German owner. Following its completion, the car was briefly in the custody of Joe Macari Classics before joining its current U.S.-based owner, a prominent collector and restorer of significant European sports cars. Under current ownership, there is a further $106,734.10 USD/ $146,162 CAD worth of invoices on file from work performed by Team CJ Works in Austin, TX.
As a matching-numbers, split-sump, factory air conditioning car, this exceptionally rare final-year example of the ultimate Miura variant would be a landmark acquisition for the dedicated collector of groundbreaking Italian sports cars.
When Anthony Lago went to Suresnes in September 1933 to salvage Automobiles Talbot-Darracq, he took on a company with massive financial problems and a rather ho-hum range of cars.
The mechanical legacy left by his predecessor Owen Clegg and chief engineer Walter Becchia was staid and pedestrian. The nicest thing that could be said about the cars was that they did no one any harm. Sporty, stylish or chic, they definitely were not. In addition, models had been allowed to proliferate needlessly: too many engine sizes were served up in a bewildering number of chassis lengths and body styles, none of which were selling. One could say that while Talbot could produce a car for every occasion, there was unfortunately not an occasion for every car. Something needed to be done, and quickly.
While the many problems had seemed daunting to Lago’s predecessors, he was not going to let them or anything else stand in his way. Full of confidence, he had just completed the careful construction of the absolute deal of his life with Talbot’s British owners. Now at the age of 40, Lago was a dapper Anglo-Italian gentleman with little in the way of money, but of some sophistication: full of energy and vision for the disintegrating French company that now confronted him. In addition, he was an accomplished wheeler-dealer, who had worked very hard to get where he was.
By late 1932, Automobiles Talbot-Darracq S.A. in Suresnes just outside Paris, which was owned by the British Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq combine (STD), was on the verge of bankruptcy.
Lago presented himself to the STD board as the “man to the rescue” and was sent from England to look Talbot-Darracq over and make a report as to what could be done. Upon examination of the moribund Talbot factory, Lago found a shambles. Chief engineer and fellow Italian Walter Becchia was on the verge of leaving, and the workers were uncaring and demoralized. The few cars being turned out were poorly put together. But beneath the dust and the cobwebs, Lago could see a plum ripe for the picking. So he went back to England, and instead of recommending liquidation, Lago suggested that he be made managing director of Talbot in France for a two-year period with a put option to buy the company and its holdings at any time at the 1933 value. Not knowing how hoodwinked they were, the STD directors accepted.
Lago then returned to France in the early fall of 1933 to rake the coals out of the fire with that doozy of a contract in his back pocket: potentially it would hand everything over to him if he played his cards right—which he did. The coals were raked out so ruthlessly that Antonio Lago, who in England had changed his name to Anthony, ended up owning Automobiles Talbot-Darracq S.A, once again without paying anyone anything.
When Lago finally exercised his option in 1935, he requested as payment that he might assume an old £500,000 debt that STD still owed the bank due to a loan taken in 1924, with the French factory as collateral. As the debt exceeded the book value of the company as well as that of the real estate, once again the STD directors accepted eagerly. Imagine: not only had Lago become a car maker without a centime to his name, but through this carefully laid out deal, he had also just become STD’s biggest creditor. And that was the devious plan. In 1936, Lago then let Talbot go bankrupt in connection with the great strikes in France. STD couldn’t very well call its remaining debt in with the liquidators, as Lago was first creditor in line, and his £500,000 would wipe the estate clean. In the end, Lago obtained Talbot scot-free.
While conducting these scurrilous financial dealings, he had set about transforming the company.
The plethora of available models, engines and chassis was pared down. Walter Becchia was given the job of redesigning the existing 14-CV six-cylinder engine in order to extract some much-needed extra power. The clunky non-synchronized three-speed gearboxes were supplanted by the advanced four-speed Wilson pre-selector for which Lago so conveniently held the patent rights.
And most important of all, in the summer of 1934, Lago paid a visit to his friend Joseph Figoni and talked him into designing a series of new, lithe and beautifully proportioned bodies to be built at the Talbot factory. As a result, the Talbot stand at the October 1934 Paris Salon featured a new, rakish Talbot prototype cabriolet by Figoni mounted on a 295 cm wheelbase chassis, fitted with a 3-liter engine redesigned by Becchia. It was called the T150 Grand Sport, and it was the talk of the Salon. Then, Lago went racing. Suddenly, Talbots were a hot commodity, and it is no exaggeration to say that the rest is history.
The T150 C and T150 C-SS Chassis
The T150 Grand Sport remained in production for roughly 18 months. At the October 1936 Salon, Anthony Lago and Walter Becchia presented the fruits of their continued labors in the form of two new and spectacular chassis. The first was an out-and-out sportscar chassis fitted with Walter Becchia’s new 4.0-liter high-performance development of the 3.0-liter six: the Lago T150 C-SS, placed at the very top of the market and only available as a bare chassis for the trade.
In all, less than 30 were made, yet the Lago C-SS would go down in history as one of the great pre-war chassis, on par with the legendary Bugatti 57S and Alfa Romeo 8C 2300. Wheelbase was 265 centimeters, which was identical to the Talbot T150 C GP cars from which the chassis was developed, and it was wide enough to accommodate two-passenger bodies with side-by-side seating.
The second chassis, named the T150 C, was equally formidable as it was mechanically identical to the C-SS, and fitted with the same great engine, but stretched 30 centimeters to a wheelbase of 295 centimeters. The benefits were two-fold. On the one hand, the extra length meant that two rows of seats could be accommodated if a four-to-five-passenger configuration was desired. But more importantly, the longer wheelbase made it possible for coachbuilders to achieve beautiful and harmoniously flowing lines of great elegance—especially on closed bodies with a single bench seat, such as 90034. The engine, gearbox, electrics and suspension specification would remain unchanged for the entire production run.
The construction and layout, as well as the mechanicals, were conventional and represented classic mid-1930s fast-car thinking. Both chassis were low, as the two rails passed under the rear axle and suspension. The engine, gearbox, firewall and suspension components were bolted directly onto the chassis. The steering was worm and nut, and the front suspension was independent with a transverse leaf spring. The live rear axle was suspended by half-elliptic leaf springs, with the suspension mounts on top of the chassis rails.
There was a short transaxle between the engine and the Wilson gearbox, followed by the driveshaft. The gearbox created a hump in the middle of the floor of the cabin just in front of the seats. For repairs and maintenance, the gearbox could be accessed through the floor in the interior of the car. The chassis had a foot operated one-shot lubrication system with a pedal actuated by the driver. The gas tank was a large 120 liter affair mounted on the chassis rails behind the rear axle. The complete T150 C chassis with all components, Wilson gearbox and ancillaries remained relatively light. It was a genuine 100 mph car.
The T150 C-SS and T150 C Engine and Gearbox
Lago’s first brief for Walther Becchia had been the job of developing the 14-CV Talbot six. This engine was bored and stroked to 78 x 104.5 mm, giving 2,996 cc, or 17 fiscal CV, and mounted in a 295 centimeter Talbot chassis. This chassis had already been fitted with an independent transverse leaf front suspension since 1932, which had been patented by Becchia in 1928. Dubbed La Solution Talbot, this suspension gave the chassis the makings of a sports car. The chassis was also given the Wilson gearbox, and the Talbot T150 Grand Sport was born.
For the T150 engine, Becchia designed a new cylinder head with a pent roof that created a nearly hemispherical combustion chamber, inclined valves operated by a single camshaft in the crank case, pushrods and rocker arms. This T150 3-liter put out a very satisfactory 100 horsepower at 4,200 rpm on a 7.4:1 compression ratio with one carburetor, and 110 horsepower with three. It compared well to the 18-CV Delahaye 3.2-liter engine, which Lago saw as his main competition. Whether it was a reflection of the true build costs or Lago’s chronic need for money, the new model carried a peppery price tag. At 78,000 francs, the T150 was not much cheaper than an eight-cylinder Bugatti T57 and a lot more than a six-cylinder 18-CV Delahaye.
Racing was a major motivation driving the development of the new engine. In mid-1935 however, the Automobile Club de France published their new rules for the 1936 season, which stipulated a blown 2.0-liter and an unblown 4.0-liter class. Therefore, in August of 1935, Lago demanded of Becchia that he design a new T150 C racing car from “scratch” for the 4.0-liter formula. Becchia now increased the bore of the 17 CV to 90 mm, but retained the stroke of 104.5 mm. Capacity was increased to 3,988 cc, which equated 23 fiscal CV. The light alloy hemi head remained, and the crank now ran in seven main bearings. In racing trim with three carburetors, power was a considerable 175 horsepower from this normally aspirated engine, permitting a top speed around 210 km/h on the circuits when the chassis was fitted with a light barquette body.
T150 C racers premiered on the French circuits in spring and summer of 1936, while the long and short wheelbase race-derived road-going versions of the 4.0-liter T150 C and T150 C-SS were shown at the October 1936 Paris Salon. In all cases, the “C” was short for Compétition. In the spring of 1937, the long chassis was renamed Lago-Spécial and the short Lago SS. Both featured Rudge knock-off wire wheels and a slightly detuned version of the 23-CV T150 C engine, now putting out 140 horsepower for road use. Lago had entered the Bugatti, Delage and Delahaye market for bespoke, stylish grand routières and sports cars.
By 1939, the Lago SS engine could be ordered in various stages of tune, delivering as much as 200 horsepower for competition and 165 horsepower for road use, which made a top speed of up to 200 km/h possible. This was an absolutely extraordinary figure for a road car at the time. From 1937 through 1939 and the breakout of hostilities, close to 25 T150 C-SS chassis were built, along with approximately 40 to 50 T150 C. Both types were, and are, very rare cars indeed.
Figoni, the Coachbuilder
Guiseppe Herménegilde Louis Figoni was born on 29 December 1892 in a tiny crossroads named Le Moline di Montereggio, about 45 km southwest of Piacenza in the province of Parma in the Emilia-Romagna region. Life was hard, people were poor, and in 1906, like many from northern Italy, the Figoni family emigrated to France to find work. They ended up in Boulogne-sur-Seine, the “Little Italy” of Paris, a working-class suburb far removed from what has now become posh and trendy Boulogne-Billancourt. After having served in the Great War on the Italian side, Joseph was apprenticed as a panel beater, or tôlier, to the well-known coachbuilder Lavocat et Marsaud. In 1923, he opened a modest carrosserie under his own name in Boulogne-sur-Seine.
Sometime around 1931, Joseph became a personal friend of Luigi Chinetti who ran the small and underfunded Alfa-Romeo operation in Paris. In 1932, Chinetti sent the famous racing driver Raymond Sommer to Figoni to have his Alfa-Romeo 8C 2300 chassis 2111018 rebodied to Le Mans specifications. The car won the 1932 race with Chinetti and Sommer at the wheel. For 1933, Sommer’s body was transferred to 8C 2300 chassis 2211109 that then proceeded to win Le Mans once again, driven by Tazio Nuvolari and Sommer. Suddenly, Figoni was the hottest name in French racing circles. Clients became a who’s who of legendary drivers, and for the next three years, the Figoni works virtually became an extension of the French Alfa-Romeo enterprise.
Joseph’s 1934 collaboration with Anthony Lago was another major breakthrough, not only in terms of securing clients that wanted a custom-built Talbot, but also in making the Figoni name world famous—at least in France at any rate. With all this activity, the small Figoni premises were bursting at the seams. Still, profits were not sufficient to allow for necessary expansion, and financial restrictions made it necessary to find an investor. This investor was Ovidio Falaschi, a fellow Italian who became partner in May of 1935. The company was reorganized as the Établissements Figoni et Falaschi, and several surrounding premises were leased so that bodies could now be manufactured at a rate that was a good deal faster than before. It should be noted that Ovidio Falaschi took a strictly financial interest and was not involved in the designs made by the company.
Design 9222
The star, the Figoni design that eclipses all else, remains the streamlined, two-seater coupé body that has become universally known as the Goutte d’Eau, which means water drop in French, now translated as Teardrop. It is a design of such breathtaking beauty that it has become one of the most iconic automobiles of all time. A maximum of thirteen are believed to have been built on the T150 C-SS chassis, two on the T23 Baby 4.0 Liters chassis, and only one T150 C, namely chassis 90034, the subject of this discussion.
Yet it is a body that more than 85 years after its inception, and despite its age, is instantly recognizable to automotive enthusiasts all over the world. It is one of the very few designs that is aesthetically correct, balanced and in equilibrium from any angle. This absolute harmony of line is a rare achievement indeed, and one that the Goutte d’Eau shares with only a minute number of other automotive design statements that are equally famous and universally revered, such as the “coffin-nosed” Cord 810, the Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder, the Lamborghini Miura or the first series Jaguar E-Type. Exalted company indeed.
Interestingly, it was the media who gave the Goutte d’Eau its name. While no one will dispute that it was fitting, the design was simply called a Faux Cabriolet by Figoni, and this in spite of the fact that the style has no elements that relate to the look of a classic (faux) cabriolet. Two versions existed of Figoni’s basic faux cabriolet design, a fastback and a notchback, which makes definitions even more confusing: the designations Coupé Amérique or Modèle New York were used indiscriminately by Figoni for the fastback, named so because it was first shown at the 1937 New York Auto Show, and Coupé Jeancart for the notchback as an industrialist named Jeancart bought the first body constructed to this style.
There were three Jeancart designs: no. 9220 with enclosed fenders front and rear, 9221 with exposed front wheels and enclosed rear wheels with fender skirts, and 9222 with no fender skirts and all four wheels exposed. On T150 C chassis 90034 the wheels are exposed, and it was therefore bodied to design 9222 and not 9221 as has been stated elsewhere.
Enter Antoine Schumann
In 1925, Luigi Chinetti was working as a mechanic for the Alfa-Romeo racing team. Like Anthony Lago, he was unhappy with the rise of fascism in Italy. After the team had completed its racing efforts in France and was on the cusp of returning to the home country, Chinetti decided to stay. As mentioned above, he then worked out of the premises Alfa-Romeo had established in Paris in the rue Marbeuf, just off the Champs-Élysées, which led him to sell an 8C 2300 to up-and-coming race driver Raymond Sommer. Chinetti had the car rebodied to Le Mans regulations by Figoni, and being the consummate wheeler-dealer that he was, he secured the position as Sommer’s co-driver in the 1932 Le Mans race which they won.
This marked the beginning of a lifelong friendship between Luigi Chinetti and Joseph Figoni. After he left Alfa-Romeo, Chinetti became a sales agent for Talbot-Lago, and Joseph Figoni gave Chinetti the exclusive rights for France to sell Talbot-Lago chassis fitted with teardrop bodies by Figoni et Falaschi. As a result, it was Luigi Chinetti who sold 90034 to wealthy banker and gentleman racer Antoine Schumann for the princely sum of 165,000 francs.
The car was delivered to Schumann in Paris in January 1939. Antoine Marc Philippe Jacques Schumann was born on November 26, 1905, in the home of his parents who lived in an imposing building at no. 5 rue Beaujon in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It was a family of means. Antoine’s father, Robert Schumann, was a banker, and his mother Alice, née Lehmann, also came out of a banking family. Antoine’s birth certificate was witnessed by Paul Jaillot and Gaston Grainger, both employees of the bank: it was in the cards that baby Antoine would eventually follow in everyone’s footsteps and enter the world of finance.
Antoine married Eliane Louis-Dreyfus on April 13, 1929. It may well have been true love, but the marriage certainly buttressed the coffers of the young couple, as the Louis-Dreyfus family was equally well-to-do. Charles Louis-Dreyfus, Elaine’s father was a shipping merchant, while her grandfather was a banker, a former member of parliament and a recipient of the Croix de Guerre, a military decoration given for valor during World War I.
Important for this discussion, however, is that by this marriage, Antoine Schumann became brother-in-law to Pierre Louis-Dreyfus, as he was Eliane’s younger brother. Pierre was already a repeat customer of the Figoni and making his mark as a gentleman racer. Soon Antoine shared his passion for fast cars.
But before that, Pierre Louis-Dreyfus and Antoine Schumann had become their own racing team, a secretive privateer racing duo that would garner fame in French racing circles. As gentleman racers they desired no publicity surrounding their names. In addition, daredevil antics on the tracks could reflect negatively on their careers in business, and as a result they camouflaged themselves with a number of pseudonyms. However, since these pseudonyms were in the nature of acronyms, it is moot whether many, if any, were actually fooled.
As he was more active over the years than Antoine Schumann, Pierre Louis-Dreyfus had more than one of these assumed names. When racing alone or with other co-drivers, he used the acronym Heldé, which was a transcription of the French pronunciation of the initials of the Louis-Dreyfus surname: LD. But when Pierre and Antoine raced together, the duo facetiously called themselves Ano (Pierre) and Nime (Antoine) for driver and co-driver, a play on Anonime, which means Anonymous in French.
As this daring duo they raced at Le Mans in a Bugatti Type 43 in 1931, an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 LM in 1932 and a Talbot T150 C in 1939—not with outstanding results unfortunately as they were forced to retire on all three occasions. But that is the nature of gentleman racing. You are up against factory-sponsored teams, and it is the sportsmanship, the participation and the thrill of the race that is the essence of it all. It can therefore come as no surprise that Antoine Schumann was a connoisseur of fast road cars too. This included a massive 5-liter Bugatti Type 50 that was sold by the Bugatti factory to him on February 19, 1932.
Luigi Chinetti sold Talbot-Lago chassis 90034 to Antoine Schumann in September 1938. It was delivered that same month to the Figoni et Falaschi works at no. 14 rue Lemoine in Boulogne-Billancourt. The Carrosserie assigned body order number 738 to the build, and this number can be found stamped on body parts of the car. Perhaps Schumann bought the car for himself as a consolation prize of sorts, as by this time, his marriage to Eliane was on the rocks: they were divorced on 12 November 1938 by order of the civil court. He ended as the second of her four husbands. If this was his motivation for buying 90034, one may say that Antoine Schumann certainly knew how to defuse bad feelings!
For this very special chassis, Schumann selected Figoni et Falaschi design no. 9222, which with its open rear fender style was a good deal more sporting than the enclosed rear fender of design 9221. But while sportsmanlike, 9222 is nevertheless a style which in many ways remains the most elegant and tasteful of all Joseph Figoni’s streamlined efforts in the late 1930s. Features that link the exquisite body on chassis 90034 to the other Teardrops built by Figoni include the split windshield, integrated doorhandles, the smooth execution of the grille and front fender tips, the double row of side louvers on the hood, as well as the judicious use of chromed scallops.
The extra 30 centimeters of wheelbase compared to the T150 C-SS chassis made it possible for Joseph Figoni to create smooth, flowing lines of unparalleled harmony which in their execution were simply captivating to the eye. The length of the hood and the front fenders were much the same as the proportions used on the shorter chassis, but the notchback of the Jeancart greenhouse was subtly refined and the rear deck was transformed into a long delicately sloping tail that was a masterclass in balance and proportion. Longer, lower and wider than its siblings, the sporting stance of the T150 C Jeancart coupé is unparalleled. No one could be in any doubt that 90034 was a fast car.
As a true appreciator of fine cars, Schumann had Figoni incorporate a number of bespoke details that were special orders. The livery was specified as bleu “Tango” irisée noire, which was a metallic dark blue with a black tinge, a very expensive selection as metallic paints were rare and costly to make at the time. Traces of this original dark blue may still be found behind the dashboard and inside the glovebox. The three-abreast seat was upholstered in Havana (tobacco) leather with matching wood on the door cappings. The dash was fitted with a full set of Jaeger instruments with black dials and painted in body color, while the carpets and headliner were in a delicate shade of gray. Special curtains in Havana leather were made for the rear window.
Bespoke details to the body included free-standing headlights. The enclosed headlights seen on most Teardrops provided poor light for night driving, and a number were in fact modified by their early owners, simply because they couldn’t see properly in the dark. In addition, the body received a full sliding sunroof, detachable rear fenders, a Lago Spéciale script on the rear deck and opening rear windows to improve airflow in the cabin. Most importantly, however, Schumann specified a graceful, chromed sweep spear on the body side, a unique styling enhancement that was used on a number of Figoni designs in this period but was absent on design 9222. This started as a beltline at the trailing edge of the radiator shell, ran along the edge of the hood and then swept down in a supple curve along the side of the door, only to double back on itself at the sill. Pure aesthetic genius.
Antoine Schumann was able to enjoy his jewel of a car until the Nazi invasion of France which began in May 1940. The Schumann family was Jewish, and Antoine was forced to either leave France or face deportation to German concentration camps. As so many other cars during the Nazi Occupation, the striking Talbot-Lago was squirreled away as it would have been one of the first cars the Occupiers would have expropriated for their own use without compensation. Antoine fled to Egypt, took a pilot’s license and joined the French Resistance.
There, he flew for the Compagnie de l’Air au Moyen-Orient, a squadron operating out of Cairo that fought Nazi Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s Deutsches Afrika Korps and participated in the Battle of Tobruk. From 1943, Antoine Schuman served under François Dumont in the air force of the Forces Françaises Libres, the Free French Forces. For his bravery during the war, Schumann was made an Officer of the Legion of Honor and awarded the Croix de Guerre. On April 18, 1947, he married Jeanine Constantinovitch, and on June 25, 1948, for reasons unknown, he changed his last name to Saville. At seven in the morning on August 15, 1956, Antoine Schuman died as Antoine Saville in his apartment at no. 16 rue Paul Valéry in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. He was 50 years old.
Frédéric Damman and the 24 Hours of Spa
Paris was liberated on August 19, 1944, but fighting continued in Europe until Germany surrendered unconditionally on May 7, 1945. It is not known when Antoine Schumann returned to France, but it seems that he kept 90034 until sometime in late 1946 or early 1947. Paul Frère, the late racing champion and noted automotive journalist, remembered seeing 90034 in Brussels in 1946 or 1947 where it was for sale with the Garage Masuy, located in the rue de Stassart, close to the Porte de Namur in downtown Brussels. The car was apparently in nigh on perfect condition, which is consistent with the fact that it had been laid up during the War and had not seen much use since its delivery in January of 1939.
Sometime in 1947, chassis 90034 was purchased by Frédéric (a.k.a. Freddy) Damman, owner of the Magasins Butch clothing stores which provided him with the wherewithal to finance his hobbies as amateur pilot and race driver. 90034 received registration 2536, and Damman had the car repainted in gray, after which he prepared it for participation in the 1948 Belgian Grand Prix, Les 24 Heures de Spa, which took place on July 10 and 11. Chassis 90034 was entered in the 4-liter category and given race no. 92. With Damman and co-driver and mechanic Constant Debelder at the wheel, the car placed first and won its class—an impressive result for a nine-year-old car.
Freddy Damman’s daughter has recounted that it was love at first sight when he first spotted 90034 in the Garage Masuy showroom. There is no reason to doubt this, as it turned out to be a very long love affair on Damman’s part: he kept 90034 for 32 years until July 17, 1979, a few months after its 40th “birthday”, when he finally parted with his cherished Talbot-Lago in a private sale. His daughter said that Damman owned many cars over the years, only retaining one or two important cars at a time. This included a number of exotic Ferraris, but it was always 90034 that was the keeper, the car that stayed behind when the time came to buy something new. The Talbot was simply the car he loved the most.
Moving On
The lucky buyer in July 1979 was Gaston Garino who had worked at the Hispano-Suiza factory in Bois-Colombes. In the early 1950s, Garino purchased an old garage in Puteaux where he specialized in keeping Hispanos on the road. By 1979, Garino had partnered with M. Lerouvillois, and the enterprise had become a dealer in high-end classics. 90034 was registered 1551-HN-92 by Garino, using the chassis identity of T150 C-SS chassis no. 90121, a Pourtout-boded car, on the registration document. This subterfuge may have been performed for customs reasons. Chassis number 90121 was an obscure car at the time as it was not finished until October 1944 after the French Liberation and had been exported to the USA in 1953.
On May 14, 1980, and still using the identity of 90121, chassis 90034 was re-registered 543-DAL-75 and sold to film producer and businessman Michel Seydoux, a famous early French collector in Clausonne in the Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. The car was auctioned by Poulain-Le Fur on December 16, 1981, and passed from Seydoux to Yves Rossignol, an avid motoring enthusiast of little means. Once again, 90034 received a new registration, namely 1938-KB-13. Rossignol kept 90034 for 23 years. During that time, the car received a two-tone black and burgundy livery but was subsequently repainted in a single shade of black. Importantly, it remained unmolested and complete, and had never received an actual restoration. In 1998, thanks to the help of the Talbot Club and its President Dominique Dupont, the original identity of 90034 was re-established.
In 2004, Antoine Rafaëlli, the legendary author of Memoirs of a Bugatti Hunter, contacted Toby Ross, another car sleuth, telling him that he had seen a Teardrop in Marseille some years back, and that it belonged to someone called Yves Rossignol. They located Rossignol in a garage in Nice where he was making security bars for windows. A friendship was established, and eventually, Rossignol agreed to sell.
Yves Rossignol described himself as an “Adventurer”. In the past he had been the young boyfriend of Madame Coty of Coty Perfumes. At some point, she bought the Talbot for him at a Paris auction which can only have been the Poulain-Le Fur auction. He later married a lady from Columbia and spent time in South America. At some point, “La Noire” as he called 90034, was shipped to South America, where Rossignol used it. It starred in a long-forgotten film and Rossignol had a photo of the car being rowed across a lake on a wooden raft.
At some point, Rossignol and the car returned to France—he sans wife. She had gotten fed up with him being penniless. By the time Toby Ross was negotiating with Rossignol, La Noire was hiding in plain sight in a car museum close to Geneva airport. Toby Ross went to see it, took some poor-quality photos in the gloomy museum and set about selling it. In July 2004, chassis 90034 sold to Marc Caveng of 135 Route de Chêne, Chêne Bougeries, a collector-dealer based in Geneva, Switzerland, who repaired the engine head, renewing the valves. Yves Rossignol took his payout and went back to live with his wife in Columbia. In 2005, Caveng sent 90034 to auction in Monterey, where it sold to the late John O’Quinn.
90034 was then sent to RM Auto Restorations in Blenheim, Ontario, Canada for a comprehensive restoration. The body was refinished in a deep luminous black, while the original tobacco leather was renewed in the same shade and the original wood trim was kept and refinished. The car was extraordinarily complete, so virtually all body panels remain original. The engine and mechanicals were fastidiously reconditioned. After the passing of John O’Quinn in October 2009, chassis 90034 was sold to its current owner in August 2010 at the Monterey auctions.
For the past fourteen years, this deeply historic automobile with its ground-breaking coachwork of timeless beauty has been part of and curated by an important collection on the West Coast of the United States. This is the singular motorcar that is being offered. Highly original and authentic, in beautifully restored condition, it has a continuous and unbroken history of ownership since its inception in September 1938 when ordered by Antoine Schumann. Many years after the fact, Paul Frère remembered the unique engine and exhaust note he heard when this Talbot-Lago blasted by at the 1948 24 Hours of Spa. This is a car that makes memories, a car that stays with you. One word from Cole Porter’s famous song for the Grace Kelley, Frank Sinatra and Big Crosby film High Society sums up Talbot-Lago Teardrop chassis 90034: Unforgettable. For the Silo, Caroline Cassini.
Ordered new by gentleman race driver and banker Antoine Schumann as a replacement for his Bugatti Type 50
Sold to Schumann by Luigi Chinetti for the sum of 165,000 francs
The only Figoni Teardrop Coupé built on the T150 C Lago Spéciale chassis
Special-order body with unique features specified by Schumann
Class winner at the 1948 Belgian Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Spa
Known provenance with ownership by prominent French collectors
An outstanding design icon of remarkable and enduring beauty
Chassis No. 90034
Chassis No. 90034 Figoni et Falaschi Design No. 9222
1938 Talbot-Lago T150 C Lago Spéciale Teardrop Coupé by Figoni et Falaschi
Auction Sale Estimate: $6,500,000 usd – $8,500,000usd/ $8,900,000cad – $11,600,000cad
Widely regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali was named “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated in 1999.
Born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, he started boxing at the age of twelve. At eighteen, he took home gold in the 1960 Olympics before going pro. In 1964, he upset Sonny Liston to become the heavyweight champion of the world, converted to Islam, and changed his name. Citing his religious beliefs, he refused to be drafted during the Vietnam War, fighting a draft-dodging conviction all the way to the Supreme Court. His stance against the war and his prominence as a black sportsman during the civil rights era made him a hero to African Americans and the counterculture. His fancy footwork and unorthodox movement made him the world heavyweight champion three separate times between 1964 and 1978, while his brash style and poetic trash-talking influenced hip-hop music.
Outside the ring, he was nominated for two Grammys for his spoken word albums. The superstar retired from boxing in 1979 and died in 2016.
Muhammad Ali’s former mansion, a beautiful Italian Renaissance home in a prime Los Angeles neighborhood, is set to be auctioned by Concierge Auctions. Built in 1916 by John C. Austin, architect of the Griffith Observatory and LA’s City Hall, the estate much like the Champ exudes charm and grandeur. A stained glass personally designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany tops a collection of priceless architectural features, including antique fireplaces, French Empire chandeliers, and imported Italian marble.
Ali owned the home from 1979 to 1984.
Stone steps lead up to a European-style facade. Set up for entertaining in style, the mansion’s lower floor features a grand entry hall, a sun room with a glass roof, a spacious salon, an ornate formal dining room, a living room with oversized bay windows, and a den with a wet bar. The estate has hosted a parade of luminaries, including Sylvester Stallone, Clint Eastwood and President Obama.
Upstairs, find bedrooms and offices, including a massive primary suite with its own fireplace. The suite opens onto a columned deck that overlooks two beautifully landscaped gardens. The park-like grounds include a swimming pool, lush lawns, a pergola terrace, stone fountains, and patios. Sitting on a 1.5-acre corner lot, the 10,500-square-foot mansion and 1,000-square-foot guesthouse are surrounded by privacy hedges and nestled behind the guarded gates of Fremont Place, an exclusive gated community in Hancock Park.
Hancock Park is an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood known for its architecturally important homes.
A haven for Golden Age celebrities, some of Ali’s neighbors included Mae West, Clark Gable, and Nat King Cole, plus titans of industry A.P. Giannini (founded Bank of America) and King Gillete of Gillete Inc. Contemporary stars who call the region home include Margot Robbie and Fred Savage. Nearby options for entertainment include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Wilshire Country Club.
Previously listed for $13.5 million usd/ $18.5 million cad, the estate will be auctioned with a reserve. Bidding will close on May 15th.
Ahh the 1980s. What a time to have lived through….when the panache of the laid back 1970s transformed into an MTV generation that fueled itself with (briefly) New Coke, parachute pants, Mr. T and Miami Vice. You may already know about “the car”- the one that taught Tom Cruise how to drive a stick and made famous the line “Porsche, there is no substitute”, but as the decade closed and styles began to change so too did the vastly misunderstood yet gorgeous 928.
Enter the 1989 Clubsport
Highlights
A matching numbers German-market example initially retained by the Porsche factory per its Porsche Germany build sheet
One of just seven lightweight 928s optioned with the “M637” Club Sport package built for 1989, one of Porsche’s rarest creations
Special lightweight Club Sport package features include the absence of a sunroof, a lighter exhaust, a lack of undercoating, and lighter magnesium-alloy wheels
Special sporting Club Sport package features include manual sport seats, short throw shifter, limited-slip differential, lowering by 20 mm, 150 mm wider track, and special badging
Fitted from the factory with special “SP” stamped “M28/41” 5.0-liter V8 engine producing a conservatively factory rated 320 PS
The only 928 Club Sport finished in Forest Green Metallic (Tannengrün Metallic) over a Cashmere Beige and Black leather interior
There are rare Porsches that many know about — the 997-generation 911 Speedster (356 total) and 2010 911 Sport Classic (250 total) come to mind — yet there are those special cars built in low double-digit quantities that are exceedingly uncommon and far less known. Take this lightweight series of 911s, for example. Just 20 1967 911 Rs were produced, only 21 1984 911 SCRS, and just seven years later Porsche produced 22 Carrera 4 Lightweights. The 911 wasn’t the only model in Porsche’s lineup that received the lightweight treatment in small quantities, and it was the 928 on which Porsche engineers interestingly focused their weight saving efforts.
Their initial efforts focused on four prototypes gifted as company cars to each of the four factory 962 sports racing prototype drivers that season: Jochen Mass, Derek Bell, Hans Stuck, and Bob Wollek. All four loved the changes made to their prototypes intended to comfortably transport them across the continent at high rates of speed to the European races. In fact, Derek Bell enjoyed his so much he kept it as his daily driver for 18 years! With such a positive reception, Porsche made these changes available to the public the next year as “M637” Club Sport option. Those 928s optioned with M637 were approximately 120 kilograms lighter than their S4 stablemates due to the removal of comfort features like the rear wiper, a portion of the wiring harness, and PVC undercoating.
Heavier parts were lightened. The exhaust system, a smaller AC compressor, and magnesium wheels special to the Club Sport were added. In addition, the 928 Club Sport featured stronger acceleration due to a modified final drive ratio, short shifter, a limited-slip diff, a transmission without vibration dampening, and sports seats. The Club Sport also featured lowering by 20 millimeters and a 150 millimeter wider track along with special badging. Finally, the Club Sport was fitted from the factory with a special “SP” stamped 5.0-liter V8 engine likely producing more than the conservatively estimated 320 PS, due to special camshafts, a 1 mm increase in valve lift, a modified engine control unit, and a higher rev limit. Following their tried-and-true path, Porsche, along with their racing drivers, developed a 928 with more power, lighter weight, and better handling — a true Porsche Club Sport!
This matching numbers 928 Club Sport on offer is one of just seven production lightweights built for 1989 and is the only example finished in Forest Green Metallic over a Cashmere Beige and Black leather interior. It was originally retained by Porsche AG as a special “Werkswagen” company car for longtime Porsche employee Bernd Kahnau. Kahnau was no mere employee. After his father’s passing – a longtime Porsche employee himself — in 1979, Kahnau was personally recruited to work for Porsche at the request of Ferry Porsche. The former BMW employee quickly became immersed in all manner of important development projects, most notably as a production planner for the 928, 911 Club Sport, 911 Speedster, and 911 models from the 993 to 991.
Beyond being equipped with the highly desirable Club Sport package, this rare 928 was optioned by Kahnau with air conditioning, a tinted windshield, and a Blaupunkt Bremen radio in addition to the sporting items inherent in ordering a Club Sport. It is said that Kahnau was very attached to his Club Sport, as the green on tan livery matched the colors of his English country house! He owned it for approximately two years before it eventually landed with an individual based in Switzerland, where it was located until at least 2019.
Most recently, under current ownership, this matching numbers Club Sport has been the focus of a lavish amount of attention totaling over €65,000 worth of repairs and servicing between 2019 and 2021. Most importantly, following a 33-point Porsche inspection at 120,800 kilometers in 2019, the car visited Landsharks in 2020 for a new water pump, fresh coolant and engine oil, filters, and an oil pan gasket. At the same time the thermostat was replaced, along with the clutch disk and pressure plate, and engine electrical items including the ignition cable, distributor cap and rotor, spark plugs, and two knock sensors.
Underneath, the Club Sport received new brake discs and pads front and rear, a new brake master cylinder, the replacement of the center catalytic converter with lambda probe, and a fresh battery. This work along with other sundry items and parts totaled €22,736.91. Following an accident to the rear of the car, additional invoices from Landsharks that year show the Club Sport was the recipient of cosmetic attention as well with interior saddlery work, a new windshield, new seals, unibody work to repair the rear accident damage, and fresh paint in its original shade of Forest Green Metallic. In 2021, the air conditioning system was refurbished with a new compressor, dryer and a system clean with new liquids and fluids. Today, this rare, well-preserved 928 Club Sport with its matching number engine and transmission is offered with 122,748 kilometers at cataloging with a copy of its Porsche Germany build sheet, recent service paperwork, and manuals.
Marshmello the artic pup, also known on instagram as @cryptopup, made history last week, as the first pet digital collectible art project selected for the lunar museum (“Lunaprise”) on the moon. The project was conceived by Dallas Santana, a well-known film director, web 3.0 innovator and Founder of Space Blue, the company that oversees curation of the Lunaprise Museum. Santana first introduced Marshmello the artic pup, to the world as an digital collectable art project in 2018.
Marshmello To The Moon. NFT by Space Blue
The super rare digital collectible art of Marshmello To the Moon, selling for $950K usd / $1.3M cad each, took off from from Cape Canaveral on a ride on SpaceX Falcon 9 and landed on the moon February 22nd , becoming the first pet dog character to land on the moon since the legendary Snoopy, who traveled with Apollo 11 astronauts to the moon back in 1969. The artwork will be auctioned off with 100% of the proceeds donated towards impactful projects for humanity and animals.
Artwork of the popular adorable pet also made history as the first bitcoin art project to land on the moon and is inscribed as a very popular digital art form called bitcoin ordinals.
The Lunaprise Museum on the moon will house digital inscribed twin etched nickel and nanofiche system of the earth based digital collectibles, along with 222 other curated art projects which will last over 1 billion years on the moon. Marshmello the artic pup character has also already confirmed her official NASA boarding pass to be included in the NASA Mars missions, and other space programs coming up.
The twin images of Marshmello’s artwork will be engraved on metallic lunar plates and digital archives which will last over 1 billion years on the moon. Marshmello’s story and her mission set many space and art history records, including the first pet art project selected for this NASA-administered project, and became the first pet dog character to land on the moon since the legendary Snoopy, who traveled with Apollo 11 astronauts to the moon back in 1969. Conceived by a well-known film director and NFT Innovator (Dallas Santana), Marshmello was first introduced to the world as an NFT art project in 2018, long before the term NFT gained widespread recognition.
The Real-life Dog
Marshmello, the real-life dog, is known for many collaborations with top celebrities, movie stars, models from “America’s Top Models”, and “Deal or No Deal” models, all who babysat the adorable pet. Marshmello found fame without even trying, went viral “peeing” on an Oscar Event Red Carpet ( getting millions of views), got over 50 million views while dating Logan Paul’s Pomeranian “Kong”, and appeared in the NFT movie The 9th Raider and many music videos.
As this pioneering canine character prepares for its historic lunar landing, fans can soon explore the captivating Marshmello furry universe through an engaging book series, with an animation series also in development- also all sent to the moon for archiving as digital twin artwork preserved on the moon. This lovable pet dog character is on the brink of capturing hearts and minds across the globe as it embarks on its groundbreaking journey to the final frontier in art history. As mentioned above, Marshmello the character has also confirmed her official NASA boarding pass to be included in the NASA Mars missions, and other space programs coming up. For the Silo, Tiffannie Ramos.
If you want to live like Nicolas Cage, David Copperfield, Johnny Depp, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, who own islands in the Bahamas, the 721-acre Little Ragged Island is going to auction.
Little Ragged Island, also known as St. Andrews, is currently listed at $14.5 million USD or $18.8 million CAD. This pristine island is located on the southernmost part of the Bahamas with miles of sandy beach and the Bahamas’ calm, blue waters. The property will sell with “no reserve” to the highest bidder regardless of price.
According to the listing from Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions, “St. Andrew’s offers a blank canvas of rolling hills and calm warm waters awaiting boundless opportunities for development.
Be it a picturesque residential settlement, an expansive tropical estate with miles of private beaches to wander, or a boutique resort with more than enough acreage left to add an entire 18-hole golf course. Surrounded by azure ocean waters and fringed with pristine white sand beaches, elevations vary from sea level to a hilly 40 feet (12.2 meters).”
The auction runs from July 25th to July 29th at Sotheby’s casothebys.com website. Buyers can bid remotely from almost anywhere in the world. From our friends at toptenrealestatedeals.com.
Today the Phillips auction house will showcase a one-of-a-kind NFT that will certainly appeal to both art and automobile collectors.
As a part of its 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in London, Phillips will auction a 1-of-1 Bugatti NFT, with a starting bid of more than 350k. The NFT is paired with a physical, handmade sculpture designed in rose gold by the iconic Asprey brand.
“This is the first masterpiece derived from the Asprey Bugatti partnership, following the hugely successful sell out of the smaller 261 collection, inspired by pop art and the current digital art movement. The NFT enables the artwork to link to two physical sculptures in the blockchain, preserving provenance and authenticity. The NFT is a secondary feature that simply enables the sculpture and artworks to co-exist together in a unique narrative, a moment in history for the art of Asprey and Bugatti.”
Ali Walker, Asprey Studio’s Chief Creative Officer
Raising fascinating questions around ownership and the object, NFTs and blockchain technology have become increasingly prominent aspects of our contemporary landscape.
You can read more about the the auction, which will take place around 2 p.m. ET today by clicking here.
The auction has drawn so much attention that an online sportsbook BetOnline.ag has even created odds for the highest bid, setting the “over/under” at 500k.
Asprey and Bugatti began its digital and physical collaboration more than three months ago when it announced an NFT collection in partnership with Exclusible. That collection consisted of 261 unique tokens with different color combinations.
Like today’s auction, each of the 261 NFTs from the “La Voiture Noire” collection were paired with handmade sculptures redeemable by the holder at a future date. The sterling silver sculptures were handcrafted at Asprey’s London workshop by master silversmiths so no two pieces will be identical.
From the Philips auction page: THIS LOT IS A “NON-FUNGIBLE TOKEN” (NFT) 35 Asprey Bugatti La Voiture Noire Token ID: 1 Contract Address: 0x9250…F0c4 Non-Fungible Token: ERC-721 PNG: 1.49 MB (1,565,152 bytes), 2835 x 6803 pixels Minted on 27 April 2022, this work is unique.
Please note the buyer of this NFT will have the option of ordering up to two physical sculptures, to be created by Asprey London Limited following the Auction.
“This exclusive partnership with Asprey will enable Bugatti customers and enthusiasts to enjoy our design values from a new perspective through this stunning Masterpiece. Featuring a Bugatti masterpiece at a prestigious contemporary art auction using NFT technology to fuse the art and the sculptures, embodies the spirt of innovation at Bugatti”
Wiebke Stahl, Managing Director of Bugatti International
Today’s physical item will be linked to the corresponding NFT via a QR code, serial number and color combination (unique base), and it will also include the Asprey and Bugatti logos. The physicals are expected to be redeemable in three months.
The current floor price on OpenSea is 12 ETH (At time of article, 1 ETHERIUM = $1,312.62 cad / $1,019.75 usd). The sales volume is 693 ETH, with an average sale of 10 ETH.
Asprey Bugatti NFT owners will be whitelisted for the Asprey Studio Club (ASC) Genesis membership in July. Genesis members will receive a physical gold signet ring with a founder edition engraving, along with special benefits such digital airdrops, whitelist for future drops, exclusive event/gallery invitations and more.
ASC members will also be able to display and offer for purchase their Asprey Bugatti NFT/sculpture on the first floor of the Asprey Studio showroom in the affluent Mayfair district of London.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. ‒ December , 2021 – Barrett-Jackson will celebrate 50 years of The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions with an extraordinary docket filled with uniquely collectible vehicles, all selling at No Reserve, including a restored 1955 300SL Gullwing Coupe (Lot #1415) during the annual Scottsdale Auction at WestWorld of Scottsdale, January 22-30, 2022. One of only 855 made in 1955, the Gullwing was initially delivered to Havana, Cuba, and subsequently rallied by professional race car driver Santiago “Chaquito” Gonzales.
“Some of the star collectible vehicles crossing the block at No Reserve in Scottsdale come with significant provenance,” said Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson. “The 1955 300SL Gullwing Coupe is one of those vehicles that we’re truly excited to offer at No Reserve. Not only is this Gullwing one of just 1,400 of a total production run, but its pedigree also includes a first-place win at the 1957 Havana Gran Premio National Race. This is an incredible chance to not just own a significant vehicle but help write the next chapter in its evolving legacy.”
Special ordered from the factory with Strawberry Red Metallic paint, the 1955 300SL Gullwing Coupe (Lot #1415) was delivered to the initial owner, the Ministry of Police in Havana Cuba, on June 16, 1955. After being rallied during the first part of its life, it was purchased in 1961 and imported to the United States. Optional features included factory beige leather, VDO gauges, wood steering wheel and custom aftermarket luggage. It is powered by the original matching-numbers M198 engine paired with a 4-speed manual transmission. This 300SL was restored by the third owner in the 1990s followed by a full engine rebuild by the fourth owner in 2003, and currently has only 59,265 miles.
The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS “Cutaway” Coupe (Lot #1369) is one of only two known “cutaway” promotional display cars used in 1968. Referred to as the “Double Header Car,” it was used by Chevrolet in 1968 to promote the new 1969 Camaro model. The Camaro’s body is a “first day of production body” and much of it is still in its original condition from the time it was modified for display. It features one of the original GM straight-6 cutaway engines and has been kept privately and out of the public eye for 52 years.
“Our bidders will not only have the chance to take home an incredible vehicle from Scottsdale, but also a true piece of automotive history,” said Steve Davis, president of Barrett-Jackson. “A rich heritage combined with exceptional collectability, many of these vehicles will be the centerpiece of any collection.”
The 1961 Chevrolet Biscayne Fleetmaster 409 (Lot #1291) is reportedly the world’s only 2-door version built and powered by the 409ci engine. It is the only documented 409 Biscayne Fleetmaster known and was ordered new by drag racer Allen May at Capitol Chevrolet in Salem, Oregon.
Lot #1312 is one of only 248 1962 Porsche 356B Roadsters that received coachwork by D’Leteren Freres. Finished in black over a tan interior, it is powered by a matching-numbers flat 4-cylinder engine with 4-speed manual transmission. For more information contact marketingdirector@thesilo.ca
A global online marketplace founded by a British car dealer has just broken the online-only world record for a car auction, selling a McLaren P1 for an incredible $1,600,888 usd or $2,010,851 cad .
No other online-only platform for collectible cars has ever achieved a higher sales price.
Unlike traditional auctions, where cars are transported to a central location and bidders attend in person, Collecting Cars has disrupted the industry with an online-only format that has already notched up multiple world records. Cars stay with their owners, and more than 90% of sales happen without a physical viewing. This is made possible by the technology and knowledge behind the platform, which gives bidders a ‘virtual viewing’ of the car in question; supported by more than 150 photos and comprehensive detail on its features and maintenance history.
Bids entered during the online-only auction are legally binding, and Collecting Cars levies a low buyer’s premium of just 5% (+ VAT for UK buyers), which is substantially lower than traditional auction houses that typically charge 12% or more. Furthermore, the buyer’s premium is capped at £5,000 / $5,000 (+ VAT if applicable). On hammer prices above £1m, this means that the buyer’s premium is 0.6% or less.
The world-record car in question was a McLaren P1, one of just 375 examples built, and with only 433 miles from new. Motortrend.com: “The twin-turbocharged hybrid V-8 engine develops 903 horsepower and will launch to 62 mph in under 3 seconds. It’s made of exotic materials like carbon fiber and titanium.”
An original US-market vehicle; it was collected from the McLaren factory in the UK by its first and only owner. The car had also covered less than 100 miles since its most recent maintenance, which also included full checks of all electrical and battery equipment, at a total cost of more than $7,000 usd.
The Founder and CEO of Collecting Cars, Edward Lovett, said: “For around 60 years, car auctions have traditionally charged substantial commissions and premiums, often taking more than 15% out of the total value of the deal. We knew there was a better approach, and we have developed a world-class online marketplace for sellers and buyers without the unnecessary overheads, which is breaking records.
“This result shows the game-changing power Collecting Cars now wields in the global market, with online-only auctions that are cost-free and hassle-free for the seller, and which represent outstanding value for the buyer. In this case, the buyer’s premium for the winning bidder was just 0.3%.”
The company, which has sold over 4,700 lots since launch, was founded by British car dealer Edward Lovett in 2019.
Lovett was born into the family car business, and in more recent years has provided a private brokerage service, finding homes for some of the most sought-after collector cars in the world. Drawing on his significant experience, he saw the opportunity to develop a dedicated online-only platform for iconic, collectible and sporting cars.
This P1 is a daily driver for renowned Tokyo Lawyer Hiramatsu.
As well as its very low premium for buyers, Collecting Cars offers significantly better value for sellers. The detailed photographic presentation and professional descriptions mean their car is showcased in the best possible way, and it is marketed to a huge captive audience of passionate enthusiasts. Furthermore, there is no listing fee, and they receive 100% of the hammer price.For the Silo, Jules Tipler.
About Collecting Cars:
Collecting Cars is an online auction platform that curates consignments from around the world and markets them to a global audience. The streamlined and transparent process makes buying and selling cars, motorbikes, and automobilia via its online auctions one of the most effective and hassle-free ways of transacting.
To date, the Collecting Cars platform has sold more than 4,700 lots, and total sales value generated for sellers exceeds £170 million or $2,864,53718 cad . It also has more than 50,000 registered users around the world. The multi-national auction company has headquarters in London, and offices in Munich, Sydney, and Los Angeles.
More than 90% of sales since launch have happened without a physical viewing, underscoring the significant trust that Collecting Cars has earned among its customers.
NEWS from The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change- Ontario has announced the results of the province’s fourth auction of greenhouse gas emission allowances, held Nov. 29, 2017. A total of 20,898,000 current (2017) allowances were sold at a settlement price of $17.38 CAD and a total of 3,116,700 future (2020) greenhouse gas emission allowances were sold at a settlement price of $18.89 CAD. The auction generated an estimated $422,081,073 in proceeds, which by law will be invested in programs that will reduce greenhouse gas pollution and help families and businesses reduce their own emissions through the Climate Change Action Plan.
Proceeds from the province’s carbon market auctions are funding programs in 2017-18 that help people and businesses across Ontario reduce pollution, including:
$64 million to improve energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gases and redirect savings into patient care at 98 hospitals across the province
Up to $377 million to establish the Green Ontario Fund to help homeowners and businesses save money and fight climate change through programs and rebates
Up to $657 million for repairs and improvements to social housing apartment buildings over five years, contingent on carbon market proceeds
$200 million for public school energy improvements
Up to $100 million to support municipalities in fighting climate change through projects such as renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements
$93 million for cycling upgrades
$25 million to establish the Low Carbon Innovation Fund to help create and commercialize new low-carbon technologies
The auction was administered by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change using services contracted by the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) Inc., with oversight from an independent market monitor to ensure the integrity of the process. The summary report of the results has been made available to the public. For the Silo, Anna Milner. Disponible en Français.
QUOTES
” The goal of Ontario’s carbon market is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our largest
sources of pollution. The proceeds generated are being invested into Ontario’s economy
through programs and projects that will do even more to reduce greenhouse gases, and help
people in their everyday lives.”
– Chris Ballard
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change
QUICK FACTS
On May 18, 2016, Ontario passed landmark climate change legislation that ensures the
province is accountable for responsibly and transparently investing proceeds from the
cap and trade program.
The Climate Change Action Plan and the cap and trade program form the backbone of
Ontario’s strategy to cut greenhouse gas pollution to 15 per cent below 1990 levels by
2020.
On September 22, 2017, Ontario signed a cap and trade linking agreement with Quebec
and California. The linkage will become effective on January 1, 2018.
After introducing its cap and trade program and putting a price on carbon, California’s
economy grew at a pace that exceeded the growth of the rest of the U.S. economy.
The number of jobs in California grew by almost 3.3 per cent in the first year and a half
of the program, outstripping the national rate of job creation, which was 2.5 per cent over
the same period.
In the United States, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) has invested more
than $1.3 billion of auction proceeds since 2009 in programs that include energy
efficiency, clean and renewable energy, greenhouse gas abatement and direct bill
assistance.
RGGI investments are projected to return more than $4.67 billion in lifetime energy bill
savings to more than 4.6 million participating households and 21,400 businesses.
We’re EBTH- Everything But The House- the largest and most trusted digital marketplace for shipping estate sales, but we started small, in front yards and tag sales. Our founders,-Brian Graves and Jacquie Denny, met while working in the Cincinnati auction and antiques world. While they loved uncovering the potential of pieces waiting inside their clients’ homes, they couldn’t help feeling like the traditional estate sale formats made it difficult for families to earn fair market value for their belongings. Not to mention the fact that design lovers and deal-hunters were limited to shopping for home furnishings and decor in their areas alone.
EBTH founders, Brian and Jacquie.
They also realized they liked helping people and they liked working together and so naturally, EBTH was born, and its online auctions let fans from Ohio to Anchorage in on a well-kept secret: that there were thousands of one-of-a-kind treasures waiting in the America’s best homes and now, at their fingertips.
Eight years later, EVERYTHING BUT THE HOUSE ( CEO Andy Nielsen , CBO Mandana Dayani ) sells furniture, jewelry, art coins, cars, collectibles, and more in over 27 US cities and counting. We’re bigger, but no less committed to giving buyers access to incredible homes around the country, fueled by the sellers who inspire us every day. We feel lucky to be at the center of a community that celebrates the rare, historical, weird, and wonderful.
An abandoned United States Navy Information Operations Command spy town with 80 homes and amenities such as bowling alley and football field is going to auction and featured this week by our friends at TopTenRealEstateDeals.com.
View from just outside the main gate.
“United States Spy Town Auction”
It’s not the first time that an entire American town has gone on the auction block, but it might be the most unusual. Sugar Grove Station, West Virginia was originally a United States Navy military base to support part of the National Security Agency’s surveillance operation. Though the array of giant parabolic dishes that continue to track location and content of international telecommunications activity is still in operation and not part of the sale, they are completely obscured from view behind thick forest on their ridgetop one mile distant. When it became unnecessary to house related analytical staff at the base, it was retired in the fall of 2015 and put up for auction to the highest bidder over $1 million.
Lincoln Housing homes looking very inconspicuous.
Built between 1960 and 2014, the fenced and gated rural town has private full-service utilities to support as many as 500 people on over 120 acres. Included are 80 homes on tree-lined residential streets in like-new condition, a swimming pool, bowling alley, youth daycare center, community center with fireplace which was designed to function as a restaurant with bar, a gym, full-sized indoor basketball court, tennis and racquetball courts, a football field, large playground with kiddie pool, and twelve guest cabins for visitors. There are also several large buildings for multiple use as well as a four-section hobby building for working on cars, woodworking shop and other creative pursuits. For community safety, a police station and fire station are already in place.
Sugar Grove is surrounded by the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests between the Allegheny Mountains and the south fork of the Potomac River. It is located within a 13,000-square-mile area known as the National Radio Quiet Zone, so cell phones, WiFi and any equipment operating on radio frequencies are restricted from use. The Quiet Zone was established in 1958 by Congress so as not to interfere with the operation of the nearby parabolic dishes or the National Radio Astronomy Observatory 30 miles away.
Interior of dorm housing unit. Note the security desk.
Former U.S. Navy base, Sugar Grove Station, perfect as a corporate retreat, academic campus, corporate training center or left to one’s imagination is up for auction by the U.S. General Services Administration with a minimum bid of $1 million. Auction ending date not yet determined. For the Silo, Terry Walsh.
“Las Vegas Primm Ranch”…….Michael Jackson called it “Wonderland” and his daughter said it was “Candyland.” The 10-acre compound in a Las Vegas neighborhood of casino owners, entertainers and royalty (Wayne Newton lives nearby and the Sultan of Brunei was a neighbor) was designed to be a secure and safe haven for a family, a memorable experience for their guests and a place to safely enjoy their expensive hobbies. This was its appeal to Michael Jackson, who had sights on a Las Vegas residency show and, according to Las Vegas media, had toured the home several times. Jackson was planning on making an offer on the home when he returned from his “This Is It” London residency show scheduled to run through early 2010. However, Michael died just three weeks before the start of the tour.
Completed in 1994 for Nevada casino and resort developer Gary Primm, the compound was designed for luxury, but security was Primm’s biggest concern. Primm is a big-game hunter and car collector including the “Bonnie and Clyde Death Car” that he has displayed at several of his casinos. The home was completed soon after Las Vegas casino developer Steve Wynn’s daughter was kidnapped from the kitchen of their Las Vegas home. Primm was worried about the safety of his own two children and designed the home with a 10-foot wall surrounding the property and three gates that can be controlled by the owner, eliminating the need for round-the-clock guards who might be bought off by a rival. Throughout are security tunnels, bulletproof doors, secret rooms with entries disguised as walls or cabinets and a panic room with an oxygen supply and separate underground phone lines.
The Primm Ranch includes a main estate house with 15,000 square feet, a guest villa, grotto villa, staff quarters, horse trainer quarters, equestrian barn, arena, pens and pastures, a dog villa, grotto pool with spa, waterfall and slide, all surrounded by lush lawns and palms. There is also a garage/car showroom that will house 20 cars with its own gas station for diesel and unleaded fuels, a car wash with deionized water and mechanic’s lift. With a total living area of over 21,000 square feet, there are 10 bedrooms and 19 baths. Highlights include a beauty salon, trophy room with recorded animal sounds, driving range, 5,000-bottle wine cellar, theater, casino room, gym and sauna. The grounds include a greenhouse, outdoor kitchen adjacent to the pool with a bar and guest suite accessed under the waterfall, and a tennis court. Equestrian facilities include stalls for ten horses with training and riding areas. According to the estate’s listing agent, Jackson planned on converting the home’s underground shooting range into a recording studio.
Currently listed at $14.5 million USD, Primm Ranch will go up for auction on October 10th with no reserve. The auction company handling the sale is Concierge Auctions of New York City.
Real estate is never boring at TopTenRealEstateDeals. Check out today’s most entertaining, important and unusual real estate news stories of the week. News such as “Florida Foreclosure King Losing Home,” “Burt Reynolds Finally Sells Florida Home,” and “Exotic Islands For Sale.”
We may never know who the artist was that made the auctioned cel. Walt Disney employed many young, pretty women to work in the inking and cell departments. Image: Still from an early 1940’s Walt Disney film explaining how cartoons were being made. CP
“It’s an extraordinary price for an extra ordinary piece,” said Jim Lentz, Director of Animation Art at Heritage. “This is really a Holy Grail piece of animation and one of the best I’ve ever seen, from one of the best early Mickey cartoons and one of the very last black and white Mickey cartoons before Disney changed everything by going to color.” Besides the rarity of the cel and the background, it is also believed that this is the only known black and white production cel featuring Goofy in private hands. In the classic cartoon Mickey (voiced by Disney himself), along with Goofy and Donald, do their best to find a squeaking sound in Pete’s roadster. Naturally, they take the car apart looking for the source of the annoying sound, which turns out to be a cricket.
One of the great surprises of the auction came in the form of a set of 1961 storyboards from The Bullwinkle Show (Jay Ward Studios), three extremely rare trimmed storyboards by Roy Morita for the episode “Buried Treasure,” on Ward Inc. storyboard paper, which crushed its $750+ USD pre-auction estimate to finish, amidst very spirited bidding, at $44,460 USD. One panel features Rocky and Bullwinkle, one has a close up of Bullwinkle, and one is an amazing drawing of Frostbite Falls, Minnesota, with the handwritten notation “B+R House” and an arrow pointing out the specific abode.
PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR (French, 1841-1919) and RICHARD GUINO (French, 1890-1973) Grande Vénus victorieuse (Large Venus Victorious), 1914-15 Original plaster 71 inches (180.3 cm) high Published by Vollard, Paris THE RENOIR COLLECTION With her weight rested on her right hip, holding a drape in her left hand and the golden apple in her right, this standing female nude is said to be the culmination of Renoir’s sculptural works. Transforming paradox into perfection, Renoir marries contradictory attributes to personify his idea of female quintessence. Vénus victorieuse the Woman is majestic yet simple, engaged and yet isolated, familiar but also obscure. With this sculpture, Renoir redefines classical theme and form to portray the eternal beauty of Woman – a leitmotiv apparent in much of his work. LITERATURE: P. Haesaerts, Renoir Sculptor, New York, 1947, p. 24, no. 6, illustrations of another cast pls. XIV-XXI. NOTE: This original foundry plaster is not copyright protected. images :ha.com
The collection is an intimate glimpse inside the personal and professional life of the master painter through a trove of important documents, including his marriage certificate, photographs and letters written to Renoir from friends and contemporaries such as Monet, Manet, and Rodin. The collection also features a selection of original sculptural plaster maquettes created at Renoir’s estate in Cagnes, France, in the twilight of his career. Battling severe arthritis, Renoir collaborated with a young and able-handed artist, Richard Guino, at his dealer Ambroise Vollard’s suggestion.
This museum-level collection is superb in its completeness and reveals volumes about the man and his art,” said Brian Roughton, Managing Director of Fine Art at Heritage Auctions. “It touches every corner of his life and represents the last time this collection will appear assembled ever again. In addition to the personal letters and objects, we’re also thrilled to have the opportunity to offer 20 carefully collected original plaster maquettes.”
PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR (French, 1841-1919) Médaillon de Coco Piece Mold & Original Plaster of Relief, 1907 Original plaster 8-1/2 inches (21.6 cm) (relief diameter) 11-1/2 inches (29.2 cm) (diameter with borders) Published by Hodebert, Paris & Flechtheim, Berlin THE RENOIR COLLECTION Renoir’s first sculptural work, this medallion and the bust of his youngest son, Claude “Coco” Renoir are the only two sculptures Renoir executed entirely with his own hands. The work was intended to decorate the fireplace in the dining room of Les Collettes at Cagnes, where it was displayed once finished. Estimate: $20,000 – $30,000. LITERATURE: P. Haesaerts, Renoir Sculptor, New York, 1947, p. 19, no. 1, illustration of another cast pl. III.
Renoir’s pince-nez, spectacles popular in the 19th century supported without earpieces by pinching the bridge of the nose, in a hinged leather case with royal purple velvet lining. Estimate: $1,000 – $1,500. Artist Unknown:. Condition Report*: 4.25 x 1.5 inches
The very first handcrafted mock-up of GI Joe, the original 12″ tall Real American Hero and simply the most prized collectible there could be for generations of men, crossed the block at Heritage Auctions on Aug. 10, 2013 as the centerpiece of the company’s Entertainment and Music Memorabilia event. It carried a starting bid of $125,000+ usd.
“There are few more hallowed pop culture artifacts that could come up for auction than this,” said Ed Jaster, Executive Vice President at Heritage Auctions. “Ten years ago when we sold this piece at Heritage it realized slightly over $200,000, which we believe it may bring or exceed again. To help make sure that it finds a new steward, however, we’ve joined with the consignor and placed what we feel is a conservative $125,000+ estimate on it.”
Also being offered in the auction are the prototype for the first G.I. Joe dressed in an Air Force uniform (Palitoy/Hasbro, 1964) and an early production model G.I. Joe Navy Talking Action Figurine (Hasbro Circa 1967), both formerly from the collection of G.I. Joe creator Don Levine, and both estimated at $12,500+.
Early production model G.I. Joe Navy Talking Action Figurine (Hasbro Circa 1967)
G.I. Joe First Dressed Air Force Prototype Action Figure”The two rare Joes, while not as historically important as the prototype, both mark important evolutions in the toy,” said Jaster. “Not only do you have GI Joe branching out into the other U.S. Military branches, these also represent the broadening of the character that would lead to the entire world of G.I. Joe characters that exists today.”
The prototype, carefully constructed of hand-shaped and shaved plastic, hand-crafted metal, and hand-sewn fabric, was the brainchild of Don Levine, Creative Director at Hasbro in the mid-1960s, who developed an idea first proffered by licensing guru Stan Weston, that little boys would play with a doll as much as little girls would — it simply had to be the right doll, and it had to be called an “action figure.”
“In 1964, Hasbro’s proposed 12″ GI Joe toy line flew in the face of conventional wisdom,” said GI Joe expert Mark Bellomo. “The company defied a nation of traditionally-minded consumers who considered poseable dolls a product expressly made for girls. Hasbro saw an opening and invented their GI Joe line, marketing him as a ‘Moveable Fighting Man.’ The rest is history.”
G.I. Joe Navy Original Talking Action Figurine Adopting the roles of Action Marine, Action Pilot, Action Sailor, and Action Soldier, GI Joe became the central figure in countless backyard adventures. Thanks to Hasbro, boys could now commandeer a strike force of realistic, 12″ tall, fully-articulated GI Joe action figures, all of them descendent from this single example.
The prototype is crafted and consists of a plastic body with wire-spring joints, a hand-painted plastic head that was created by pulling a temporary mold from a carved wooden original and a completely hand-sewn uniform of olive-drab fatigues and requisite four-pocketed field jacket with a set of hand-stitched, superbly-detailed three-tiered chevrons worn on each shoulder, reflecting the rank of E-5 [sergeant].
The GI Joe brand has rightly been inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame (ca. 2004), and this irreplaceable iconic artifact exists as one of the most important cultural touchstones on the planet. The toy is about to celebrate its’ 50th anniversary and has seen an upsurge of popularity in recent years with a variety of licensed toy properties, television programs and movies. CP
“We presented the Pittman-Krause Dot Cent nine years ago and are now ready to help write a new chapter for this famous coin,” said Warren Tucker, Vice President of World Coins at Heritage. “It’s being offered as part of the excellent Nikita Collection of Canadian Coins, where it went after Heritage auctioned it off from The Chet Krause Collection in 2004.”
The George V 1936 Dot Cent, KM28, MS63 Red PCGS, Ex: John Jay Pittman Collection, as it is known by its full name, is far and away the most famous of the three known Dot cents, having been stolen from the Pittman home in 1964 and later returned (with scratches in the right obverse field) in an envelope with other coins.
While the Dot Cent is the star of the auction, collectors will find international numismatic treasures from all over the world, and from across the epochs, to satisfy most every collecting taste.
“Our CICF auction has become quite an extraordinary event, with a broad range of numismatic interests, in a relatively short amount of time,” said Cristiano Bierrenbach, Vice President of International Numismatics at Heritage, “due to the hard work of the team at Heritage, the foresight of our consignors and the enthusiasm of collectors. From Goetz medal dies, to Ancients, European, Latin America and beyond, this auction offers more than 5,800 lots that will appeal to every taste in the hobby.”
We’re EBTH- Everything But The House- the largest and most trusted digital marketplace for shipping estate sales, but we started small, in front yards and tag sales. Our founders,-Brian Graves and Jacquie Denny, met while working in the Cincinnati auction and antiques world. While they loved uncovering the potential of pieces waiting inside their clients’ homes, they couldn’t help feeling like the traditional estate sale formats made it difficult for families to earn fair market value for their belongings. Not to mention the fact that design lovers and deal-hunters were limited to shopping for home furnishings and decor in their areas alone.
