In The News: A Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, and Elvis Museum For Sale
- By Michael Stillman
This early copy of the Declaration of Independence sold for $693,500 at a Skinner auction.
By Michael Stillman
Auction sales for two of the most important documents in the history of human liberty top this month's stories In The News. A date has now been set for what auctioneer Sotheby's describes as "the birth certificate of freedom," England's Magna Carta. The sale will be held at 7:00 p.m. on December 18, 2007, at Sotheby's in New York. We recommend you not be late as this is the only lot being offered in this sale.
Offered is one of a handful of manuscript copies of the "Great Charter" produced in the 13th century. This is a 1297 or official version of a document of rights first created in 1215. It is one of only two copies held outside of the U.K. (the other is in Australia). This copy was held for some five centuries by the Brudenell family until sold to Ross Perot's Perot Foundation for $1.5 million in 1983. That will undoubtedly prove to be a bargain as this sale is expected to smash all records for items in the books and manuscripts field. The price estimate is an astounding $20-$30 million.
The Magna Carta will be available for viewing at Sotheby's daily beginning on December 7. Sotheby's has prepared an extensive, 56-page report on the Magna Carta, which will be of note to anyone interested in this great document, even if you do not prove to be the winning bidder. It is available at http://www.sothebys.com/app/paddleReg/paddlereg.do?dispatch=eventDetails&event_id=28596 (Click the link under "Overview" to download a copy).
The other enormously important document to come up for auction was a very early broadside printing of the Declaration of Independence. This copy was printed in Boston less than two weeks after the original document was signed, between July 12 and 16, 1776. It was offered by Skinner in Boston on November 19. Against a modest estimate of $70,000-$90,000, it sold for $693,500. Though a fair number of these broadsides were printed along the eastern seaboard in the days after the signing, the heavy handling and fragility of the paper destroyed most. Fewer than 100 are believed to survive.
A disappointing art sale at Sotheby's led to a huge decline in the company's stock price, and may have signaled caution to high end book buyers as well. The sale was of modern and impressionist art, and it took in $270 million against an estimate range of $355 to $494 million. Almost half of the items sold either below the low estimate or failed to sell at all. A Van Gogh, estimated at $28-$35 million, painted two weeks before he died, failed to sell. The same was true of a Picasso estimated at $25-$35 million (we are expected to pay more for another Picasso than a 13th century Magna Carta? What is wrong with us?). Punishment in the marketplace was swift and brutal, as investors cut almost one-third off Sotheby's stock price the following day.
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In The News: A Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, and Elvis Museum For Sale
- By Michael Stillman
A history and culture of oranges was sold at a Ketterer Kunst evening auction.
Did this event signal unease with current economic conditions among the wealthy who buy very expensive collectibles? Is there a warning here for the high end of the book trade too? We have not seen any such indications. A week later, Sotheby's came roaring back with a very successful contemporary art auction, featuring the highest price tag ever for a living artist ($23.6 million for Jeff Koons' Hanging Heart). In fact, this was the largest dollar sale in Sotheby's 263-year history, taking in almost $316 million. Sales exceeded the sum of high estimates by $17 million. Some in the investing community concluded that what had happened a week earlier was a "blip." Undoubtedly, many in the high-end markets breathed a sigh of relief, at least for now. While Sotheby's stock has not bounced back significantly from its tumble, it should be noted that it is still up 10% for the year.
Hamburg, Germany, auction house Ketterer Kunst announced a solid success by holding a rare book auction in the evening, a new concept for the firm. Sales totaled €600,000 (Euros). Among the top sellers was a copy of the Nuremberg Chronicles and the colorful illustrated Histoire et Culture des orangers. Americana collectors would be interested in an album of 20 original photographs circa 1867 of Niagara Falls. The photos were evidently taken by a German tourist. The album was sold to an unnamed American dealer for €16,800 (about $25,000 US dollars).
The December issue of Vanity Fair features an article on rare books, book auctions and libraries, but not in the setting we like to see them. This is an in depth look at the students who stole a bunch of rare books from the library at Kentucky's Transylvania University and attempted to sell them at Christie's in New York (see the January 2006 issue of AE Monthly - http://www.americanaexchange.com/NewAE/aemonthly/article.asp?f=2&page=1&id=331&m=1&y=2006). They hatched this lame-brained scheme back in 2004 when one of the students recalled a visit to the library's rare book room and being told how valuable some of the titles were. Amazingly, they were able to pull off the heist after subduing the librarian with some sort of a stun gun (they called it a "stun pen"). However, the plan fell apart when they attempted to sell the books to Christie's. Apparently, they did not look like typical collectors/owners of rare books. Christie's tipped off the police, who traced them through an email they had sent to the auction house. They were arrested in February of 2006, and all four were sentenced to terms of seven years and three months in prison in December 2006. For a lesson in how not to enter the bookselling business, check out the latest issue of Vanity Fair.
Good news from the eBay front - the Elvis is Alive Museum, unlike its namesake, is still alive. The contents of the Elvis is Alive Museum, dedicated to proving that the King still lives, were recently put up for auction on eBay. Owner Bill Beeny decided it was time to move on to things other than convincing us that somewhere on this earth exists an overweight, 72-tear-old man who once went by the name of "Elvis." So, he placed the entire collection of his Wright City, Missouri, museum up on eBay.
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In The News: A Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, and Elvis Museum For Sale
- By Michael Stillman
Bill Beeny's "proof" that Elvis lives is available on the Elvis Is Alive Museum website.
If you are wondering how this story relates to books, we will admit that Elvis was never noted for his library, but many books have been written about him. In fact, the aforementioned Mr. Beeny is just such an author, having penned the title DNA Proves That Elvis Is Alive! This DNA was supposedly taken from the body in Elvis's coffin and "proves" that the body in Elvis' tomb is that of an imposter. So who, then, is buried in Grant's tomb? There is also "expert" handwriting analysis which shows that Elvis helped fill out his own death certificate! All of this "proof," along with FBI files about Presley and a 1974 Cadillac, were included in the auction.
And, a taker there was. Andy Key was the successful bidder at $8,300. Mr. Key plans to reopen the museum somewhere in Elvis' home state of Mississippi, though an exact location has not yet been chosen. In the meantime, you may visit the museum online at www.theelvisisalivemuseum.com/home.htm and even purchase a copy of Mr. Beeny's book ($10).
So, is Elvis still alive? Yes, Virginia, as long as love and generosity and devotion exist, not to mention gullibility, Elvis lives. A thousand years from now, nay ten times ten thousand years from now, Elvis will continue to live. Just don't expect to meet him in person.
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