If you’re made of money, Bonhams is having a big science fiction movie memorabilia auction today, featuring lots of props and original movie posters.
I’m sure the original Darth Vader costume from The Empire Strikes Back will get a huge amount of attention, but for me the most exciting items are several props from Forbidden Planet, including the original saucer spaceship:
Plus the Krell door lock:
Sadly, I’m not made of money. But if you are, you might barely have time to register…
Holy crap that’s a lot of money. I need they were collectable, but not that collectable. It’s not even “mint in box” (or probably “shipping baggie” for that period).
The estimate for the auction is $300,000 to $400,000. Frequently those are just high estimates for show, but it may actually make it this time…
Bonhams has a book auction coming up on June 8. There are a lot of interesting things outside of fiction (like Mohammed Ali’s passport), but very few items of interest to science fiction collectors.
However, there are two quite notable exceptions:
Finally something for the ultimate Steampunk enthusiast/Queen Victoria fetishist: an auction lot of her underwear.
Yes, for a mere £1,500 starting bid, you can own Her Majesty’s Bloomers.
The Dreweatts & Bloomsbury auction takes place on May 21 BST, which means you’ll either need to place a bid online or get up fairly early in the morning (if you’re in the U.S.) to bid…
There’s a reasonably big auction of animation cels drawings, production stills, etc. starting December 18 at 11 AM PST. Interesting stuff, from a number of Disney films, a few Warner Brothers (including One Froggy Evening, the animated Star Trek, and even Ralph Bakashi’s Wizards.
And those of you with $40,000 burning a hole in your pocket can bid on an original Chuck Jones oil painting of Daffy Duck:
If I were made of money, this would be very tempting indeed:
Centurion Mk 5 Main Battle Tank (MBT)
Crew: 4
Armor:
Up to 6′ (152-mm)
Weapons:
-Primary
1x QF 20-pdr (83.4mm) cannon
-Secondary
1x 7.62-mm L8A1 machine gun co-axial with main armament
1x 7.62-mm L37A1 machine gun in AA mount
-Ammunition
65x 20-pdr
4,250x 7.62-mm
Engine: Rolls-Royce Meteor gasoline, 650-hp
Power/weight: 11.8-hp/ton
Fuel Capacity: 120-USG (455-l)
Range: 65-miles (105-km)
Speed: 21-mph (35-km/h)The tank being offered, Centurion Mk 5, VRN 12BA97 K, #370/450, was built in April 1953. It is an older restoration that needs an exterior cosmetic restoration. The wheels and tracks are serviceable. The canvas mantlet cover is in good condition. All bazooka skirting is present. Spare track shoes and a tow cable are fitted to the tank’s exterior. This tank is equipped with a 20-pdr “A” barrel. Cutting the breech has demilled the gun. All gunner’s controls are present. This Centurion is powered by a Rolls-Royce Meteor engine – the non-supercharged version of the famous Merlin engine used in Mustang and Spitfire fighters of the day.
The Centurion was designed during World War II to provide a tank that could do the work of both the Infantry and Cruiser tank classes. It was designed to have firepower and protection that would allow it to survive with the latest German types of tanks and self-propelled guns seen during the war. The first Centurions entered service too late to see action in World War II. Initially, they were equipped the 17-pdr (76.2-mm) cannon which was one of the best tank guns used by the Western Allies during the war. By the time Centurions saw combat in 1950 during the Korean War, they had been upgunned to the more powerful 20-pdr (83.4-mm) cannon. This remained the standard gun on Centurions until the early 1960s when they were upgunned with the 105-mm L7 cannon.
The four-man crew of the Centurion was well-protected with armor up to 6-inches (152-mm) thick. Stowage bins mounted on the turret sides provided standoff protection from HEAT rounds while skirts along the suspension helped protect against anti-tank rockets. Various upgrades throughout the years allowed the Centurion to stay in service with many countries well into the 1980s. The Centurion has been exported to numerous countries including the Canada, Denmark, Israel and South Africa. They saw action in numerous wars including the Indo-Pakistani Wars, Arab-Israeli Wars, the 1956 Suez War, and various conflicts in southern Africa between South Africa and Cuban forces.
Transport Cost to Storage: $5,808
Alas, a few tiny problems present themselves:
Really, I’d need a ranch to buy something like this. Or, as the news reports would inevitably refer to it, a “heavily fortified compound.”
There are many other interesting items in this auction, which is happening today. Including a Jagdpanzer Kanone, which, alas, looks pretty crapped out, and, I kid you not, an actual SCUD launcher. (I’m not sure any BATFE permit would cover a working SCUD launcher…)
Hollywood auction house is having another big auction of film memorabilia, including a few interesting SF-related items:
Plus Bruce Lee’s nun-chucks, Conan’s sword, the Terminator’s gun, Jason’s machete, Maximus’ axe, Legalos’ arrow, Indiana Jones’ whip, Jack Sparrow’s sword, Captain Kirk’s phaser, a Ghostbusters proton pack, The Comedian’s pistols, Freddy Kreuger’s fingernails, Rambo’s knife, James Bond’s gun, and Scarface’s “little friend.”
The auction is online in a “Flipbook” format, evidently invented because HTML was insufficiently annoying.
Including that super rare Abraham Lincoln set that I mentioned before. Plus letters from George Washington, etc.
Lot’s of interesting stuff (though very little even remotely SF), but I’m about to go to sleep, so can’t do more than mention it in passing…
First up, from the world of auctioning, comes the offering of the exceedingly rare issue of June 1926 Zeppelin Stories pulp containing Gil Brewer’s “The Gorilla of the Gas Bags,” a holy grail for gorilla and zeppelin fans everywhere.
This issue formerly belonged to SF writer and pulp collector Frank M. Robinson. Bidding is currently up to $2,000, which does rather take it out of the impulse purchase range for me. Assuming, of course, that Rick Klaw, Jess Nevins and Mark Finn didn’t all chip in together to purchase it. But really, it’s a comparative bargain right now, since one just sold for $6,572.50…
Second, as seen on Fark, a giant mechanical gorilla was found abandoned in Witchford, Cambridgeshire, UK.
Insert your own gorilla in the mist joke here…
Here are some pics from the section of my reference library where I keep contributor copies of publications my work has appeared in. Before the contributor copies, there are several book auction catalogs (including from the auctions I covered here), as well as some old S. M. Mossberg and L. W. Currey book catalogs of interest. After that the actual contributor copies start. You should be able to figure out what these are from my bibliography. The exception is the black tape-bound volume on the first shelf, which is a compilation of materials handed out for a Danish class on science fiction which includes my review of Donnie Darko. I have so many copies of Jim Baen’s Universe because FACT had boxes to give away at the 2008 Nebula Awards here in Austin and I snagged some leftovers.
As usual, click to embiggen.
I have a few of these available for sale through Lame Excuse Books as well.
Previous entries on my reference library can be found here and here.