CHICAGO and PHILADELPHIA – Chicago auction house Hindman has announced a merger with Philadelphia-based Freeman’s and the opening of a permanent saleroom in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The new firm, which consolidates two of America’s top regional firms, will henceforth operate under the name Freeman’s Hindman.
Vintage computer that helped launch the Apple empire offered at auction
BOSTON (AP) – A vintage Apple computer signed by company co-founder Steve Wozniak is being sold at auction. The Apple-1 set in motion the company that in June became the first publicly traded business to close a trading day with a $3 trillion market value, according to RR Auction in Boston. The computer has been restored to a fully operational state and comes with a custom-built case with a built-in keyboard.
Vintage Batman toys net $1.4 million at Heritage Aug. 4-5
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DALLAS — After a fierce bidding war, a 1966 Japanese domestic-market Batmobile tin toy set a record at $150,000 as the top lot in Heritage Auctions‘ Ultimate Batman Collection Signature auction.
Made by leading Japanese toymaker Yonezawa, the friction-powered Toyopet (Toyota) Crown with Batman at the wheel, which survived with its original box, is now the most valuable Batman toy ever auctioned.
In all, the sold-out August 4-5 event brought in a whopping $1,395,762.
“Japanese Batman tin toys certainly made their mark,” said Heritage Consignment Director of Action Figures and Toys, Justin Caravoulias. “They accounted for more than $459,000 of the total.”
More than 1,000 bidders worldwide participated in the sale packed with toys, dolls, robots, action figures, dioramas, original packaging art, prized trinkets and other memorabilia featuring Batman, Robin and their famous foes. These treasures, most in or with their original packaging, also spanned the globe, hailing from Japan, England, the United States, South America, Europe and beyond.
“This weekend’s results show, as we’ve long known, that there is an incredible international appetite for Japanese popular culture,” says Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena. “These Japanese toy rarities are largely unknown except in Japan, but it’s clear from this auction’s runaway success that a worldwide audience is eager to bid on and compete for the best of the best in character collectibles.”
All prices listed are inclusive of buyer’s premium.
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Yonezawa Japanese domestic-market Batmobile from 1966, $150,000.
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Bandai battery-operated walking Batman from the 1960s, $42,500.
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Derasco Batpen point of purchase display with pen, dating to 1966 and made for the UK domestic market, $20,000.
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Masudaya battery-operated Batcopter from 1966, $22,500.
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Marx bendable Batman set dating to 1966, $21,250.
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Block of early North Korean stamps triumphed at Chiswick
LONDON – A block of one of the first stamps issued in North Korea sold for £27,500, or about $34,900, at Chiswick Auctions on July 19. The near-mint sheet of 104 copies of the 1946 Gen. Kim II Sung 50ch was part of the second tranche of a remarkable postal history collection assembled by John Newell, who is described as being ‘a former British journalist and presumed diplomat’ during the Cold War era.
Clark Art Institute surveys Edvard Munch’s use of landscapes
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Clark Art Institute presents the first exhibition in the United States to consider how the noted Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (1863–1944) employed nature to convey meaning in his art. Munch is regarded primarily as a figure painter, and his most celebrated images, including his iconic The Scream, are connected to themes of love, anxiety, longing and death, yet landscape plays an essential role in a large portion of Munch’s work. Edvard Munch: Trembling Earth considers this important but less-explored aspect of the artist’s career. The Clark is the sole U.S. venue for the exhibition, which is on view through October 15. Organized in collaboration with the Museum Barberini in Potsdam, Germany and the Munch Museum (MUNCH) in Oslo, Norway, the exhibition is presented in Potsdam from November 18–April 1, 2024, and in Oslo from April 27–August 24, 2024.
Heaviest animal ever may be ancient whale found in Peruvian desert
NEW YORK (AP) – There could be a new contender for heaviest animal to ever live. While today’s blue whale has long held the title, scientists have dug up fossils from an ancient giant that could tip the scales. Researchers described the species – named Perucetus colossus, or “the colossal whale from Peru” – in the journal Nature on August 2. Each vertebra weighs more than 220 pounds (100 kilograms) and its ribs measure nearly 5 feet (1.4 meters) long.
Elias Howe patent document sells for 100x estimate at Devin Moisan
EPPING, N.H. – A 19th-century document referencing Elias Howe Jr.’s patent for the first modern sewing machine sold for more than 100 times its estimate at Devin Moisan Auctioneers, Inc. on July 15-16. Estimated at just $100-$150, the folded and torn manuscript agreement between Howe and school friend George Fisher brought $12,500. Absentee and Internet live bidding was facilitated through LiveAuctioneers.
Smithsonian American Art Museum receives $2M gift from Frankenthaler Foundation
WASHINGTON, DC – On July 31, the Smithsonian American Art Museum announced a $2 million gift from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation that culminates a major campaign to support the museum’s fellowship program, considered the preeminent program for American art scholarship since being founded in 1970. The gift will establish an endowment to support the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation Fellowship in modern and contemporary art and the professional development of fellows at the museum. It is the largest single gift to the campaign and the largest gift ever to the museum’s fellowship program.
Boots, dog tags Alan Alda wore on M*A*S*H raise $125K for charity
DALLAS (AP) – The combat boots and dog tags Alan Alda wore while playing the wisecracking surgeon Hawkeye on the beloved television series M-A-S-H sold at auction July 28 for $125,000.
Collection of renowned interior designer Robert Kime to sell at Dreweatts this fall
NEWBURY, U.K. – Dreweatts Donnington Priory will auction the personal collection of Robert Kime (1946-2022), the man known across the world as a titan of design and a polymath who was dubbed the ‘great assembler’ of beautiful things. Kime’s unique eye and aesthetic sensibility led him to become a leading interior design figure. The culmination of his lifetime of collecting will form a three-day auction at Dreweatts titled Robert Kime: The Personal Collection, which will take place on October 4-6 and will comprise more than 750 lots ranging in value from £30 to £100,000 ($38 to $127,700). It is expected to achieve in excess of £1.5 million (roughly $1.9 million).