'Casablanca' Trivia-- Part 6: That Oscar and First Scene

MAGICAL TALISMAN

In 2006, David Copperfield paid $231,500 for director Michael Curtiz's Best Director Oscar for "Casablanca."

The Las Vegas showman, who kept it by his bed, said the statuette represented the excellence of old films that influenced his career:  "It keeps me hungry."

An unnamed seller later sold that statue at auction for more than $2 million.  Nice profit.

**********************************

THE FIRST SCENE

It wasn't the director's original plan to begin shooting the movie with a love scene, but when filming of "Now, Voyager" ran behind scedule and both Paul Heinreid and Claude Rains were unavailable, he had to change his mind.

The very first scene shot for "Casablanca" featured Rick and Ilsa standing over Sam's piano in Paris.

The Usual Suspects.  --Cooter

The Al Capone Auction-- Part 2: A Watch, a Money Clop and His Favorite Pistol

The Chicago Mob items were selling very well at the recent auction.

Some more items:

**  AL CAPONE'S INITIALED 'AC' MONEY CLIP  Estimate $2,500-$5,000  Sold for:  $45,000

**  Capone's diamond 'AC' pendant   Estimate $2,500-$5,000   Sold for $60,000

**  AL AND MAE CAPONE'S BED  Estimate $2,500-$5,000   Sold for $70,000

**  Capone's platinum diamond monogrammed pocket knife  Estimate $2,500-$5,000  Sold for $75,000

**  CAPONE'S MONOGRAMMED PATEK PHILLPE POCKET WATCH   Estimate $25,000-$50,000  Sold for $190,000

**  Capone's favorite Colt .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol   Estimate: $100,000-$150,000  Sold for $860,000

Somewhere, there are auctioneers really, really smiling.

They Still Love Al.  --Cooter

So, What'd Ya Get at the Al Capone Auction?-- Part 1: Madonna Bust, Cigar Humidor and a Letter

From the October 17, 2021, Chicago Tribune "Al Capone auction:  Top 10 highest winning bids" by Kori Rumore.

An auction of Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone's possessions brought in more than $3 million earlier this month.  

Here's a look at the eight lots that brought the highest winning bids:

8.  Al and Mae (his wife) Capone's marble Madonna bust.  Estimate $5,000-$10,000   Sold for $55,000.

7.  Al and Mae Capone's decorative cigar humidor    Estimate:  $5,000 -$10,000   Sold for $120,00

6.  Personal letter from Capone to his son, Sonny, from Alcatraz   Estimate:  $25,000-$50,000   Sold for $45,000.

--CootCapone

Ebony, Jet Photo Archive Fetches $30 Million at Auction

From the July 26, 2019, Chicago Sun-Times by Sam Charles and Mitchell Armentrout.

The iconic photo archive of Ebony and Jet magazines, which chronicled 70 years' worth of black history and culture, has a new owner.

A consortium of philanthropic groups announced its $30 million acquisition at auction, Thursday from Johnson Publishing, Ebony's parent company and promised to donate the treasure trove of history to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Getty Institution and other leading cultural institutions.

The collection has more than 4 million prints and negatives including photographs of Martin Luther King Jr., Sammy Davis Jr., Diana Ross, Nat "King" Cole, Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, Prince and Stevie Wonder and many others.

There are also photos of everyday life for black Americans from church to food to fashion.

As a history person, I am so glad these people bought the photos and are donating them to organizations who will take care of them as well as make them available to the public.

Thanks.  --Cooter

Ebony Photos On Auction Block

From the June 6, 2019, Chicago Tribune "On the auction block" by Robert Channick.

"The Ebony photo archives, a unique and expansive window into the African American experience, are set to go on the auction block in July, pending approval from a Chicago federal bankruptcy court."

Opening bids are expected to be about $13 million  with the proceeds going to pay off the secured creditors of the Johnson Publishing Company, who are George Lucas (of movie fame) and Mellody Hobson.

Johnson Publishing was formed in 1942 and published Ebony magazine in 1945.

These photos span more than 70 years of black history with photos of everyone from Martin Luther King Jr. to Sammy Davis Jr.. There are over 4 million photos.Including ones of Hank Aaron, Muhammed Ali, Malcom X, Nelson Mandela, Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles.

Here's hoping some institution gets them who will not only keep the photos together but also make them available to the  public.

--Cooter

You Can Buy Unclaimed Items, Just Not the Teeth-- Part 2

Among the 252 items at auction:  a signed 1983 Ryne Sandberg baseball card, coins from a  1622 shipwreck, Chicago World's Fair souvenirs and a six-sided "paddle wheel" harmonica.  Never heard of that last one.

But for those of a ghoulish bent, they don't auction ff hair or teeth.

The state is sitting on about $2 billion in unclaimed funds despite sending out about $220 million to companies and families over the last several years.  Among these beneficiaries were the children of a family that had left $1 million worth of Walgreen stock for over sixty years.

The safe deposit box items, worth an estimated $113,500, have been sitting in the state treasurers vault for a decade and will be sold to make room for more items.  Any items sold will help fix some of the state's budgetary problems.

A paddlewheel harmonica is one where three or more harmonicas are arrangedlike the paddle wheel of a steamboat where you can quickly switch from one harmonica to another.  E-Bay has several for sale.

No Teeth, Though.  --CooTeeth

You Can Buy Unclaimed Items, Just Not the Teeth-- Part 1

From the July 28, 2017, Chicago Tribune by Kim Janssen.

Lots of weird stuff gets stored in Illinois safe deposit boxes according to State Treasurer Michael Frerichs.  One of his lesser-known duties is the safe-keeping of privately-owned unclaimed cash, bonds and sticks  and safe deposit boxes that are typically lost or forgotten after Illinoisans pass on.

And some of those items are rare baseball cards such as Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider, collectible coins and jewelry.  Also unclaimed are such as swords, sneakers, human hair and teeth.

Some of the unclaimed items will be put up for auction at the Illinois State Fair on August 19.

No teeth for Me.  --CootTeeth

Album With Rare Harriet Tubman Photograph Goes for $161,000

From the March 31, 2017, Chicago Tribune.

An album containing a rare photograph of 19th-century abolitionist and Underground Railroad heroine Harriet Tubman was sold March 30 in New York City at an auction for $161,000-- far exceeding presale estimates.

The Tubman photograph was taken in Auburn, New York, in 1868 or 1869.  She was in her late 40s at the time.  Most existing photos of her were taken much later in life.  She looks very young here.

The winning bid was made by Lion Heart Autographs, a Manhattan-based dealer.

The Maryland-born Tubman, an escaped slave, helped scores of other slaves escape the South by guiding them to the North.  She served as a spy during the Civil War.  Afterwards, she settled in Auburn, in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

I wonder who else was in the photo album?

If they have to put her on the twenty dollar bill, I nominate this picture.

Harriet Tubman Like You've Never Seen her Before.  --Cooter

New Titanic Items at Auction

From the April 19, 2016 Fox News "Titanic artifact reveal gruesome discovery of tragic ship's last lifeboat" by James Rogers.

Photos and a handwritten note detailing the grisly discovery of the tragic ship's last lifeboat are to be auctioned later this week.

The phots were taken May 13, 1912, almost a month after the sinking.  It shows the RMS Oceanic's find of what is thought to be the last lifeboat to leave the doomed ship.  Inside were three decaying bodies of passengers.

This was known as "Collapsible A."

The corpse wearing a dinner jacket was first-class passenger Thomson Beattie.  A wedding was found on the boat which had belonged to Swedish passenger Elin Gerda Lindell, who briefly reached the boat but later drowned.

Always the Titanic.  --Cooter

Farm Auction in DeKalb County in 1915

From the Dec. 30, 2015, MidWeek "Looking Back."

The J.B. Rosette farm sale occurs Thursday of this week at the H.H. Bullis farm, near Elva.  The sale begins at 10 o'clock.

"15 head iof horses, 3 cows, one bull, 60 Poland China Hogs, 150 chickens, and a lot of farm machinery are included in the sale list.  H.E. Walker will cry the sale."

--DaCoot

LBJ Letter to MLK's Widow Up For Auction

From the Feb. 20, 2015, Chicago Tribune "LBJ letter to King's widow up for auction" by Ian Shapira, the Washington Post.

It was written April 5, 1968, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered in Memphis, Tennessee.  And it was sent by President Lyndon B. Johnson to Coretta Scott King to express his condolences and determination to find the murderer.

"We will overcome this calamity," he wrote.  She kept it until 2003 when she gave it to her husband's confidant, singer Harry Belafonte.

But he considered auctioning it in 2008, shortly before Coretta King died and King's three children objected and it wasn't.

But now, it is slated to be auctioned again.  Belafonte gifted the letter to his half-sister and brother-in-law who figured it was a good time to sell it because of all the 50 anniversary of the Civil Rights movement going on these days.  The minimum bid is $60,000.

They seem to be a bit too money-oriented and should have gifted it or sold it for a low price to the Civil Rights museum in  Memphis.

A followup in March in Reuters said it sold for $60,000 to an online bidder, but auctioneers had been expecting twice as much as I am sure Belafonte's relatives were as well.  Too bad, a piece of American history gone.

Kennedy Auction Back in 2013

From the Feb. 18, 2013, Yahoo! News "JFK birthday card from son, other items auctioned off for up to $2 million" by Daniel Loverwig.

The auction ended Monday.

In it, a birthday card from his son went for $17,000.

A flag flown on Kennedy's motorcade limo went for $55,000.

The seal that hung above the aide's desk in the West Wing-- $17,000.

Kennedy's Air Force One bomber jacket was expected to go for between $20,000 and $40,000, but went for $570,000.  This was found in the home of David Powers who was close to JFK from 1946 to the assassination.

There were also books inscribed by the president.

--Cooter

Last Titanic Lunch Menu Goes On Auction-- Part 3: The Unjust Inquiry"

The Duff-Gordons were the only passengers to testify at the subsequent hearings on the sinking and were cleared by the British Wreck Commission who determined that they had not deterred others from being rescued.

A letter from Lady Duff-Gordon, angry about the treatment they received in the press and public on their return to England sold at a Boston auction earlier this year for nearly $12,000.

Francantelli wrote Salomon that she hoped he had recovered from his experience and "the unjust inquiry."

Abraham Lincoln Salomon was the owner of a wholesale stationery business in New York.

--DaCoot

Last Titanic Lunch Menu Going to Auction-- Part 2: Turkish Baths

Abraham Lincoln Salomon also had a printed ticket from the Titanic's Turkish Baths which recorded the person's weight.  It also has the names of three of the other first class passengers with him on Lifeboat No. 1.  It is one of only four weigh-in chair tickets known to remain and is estimated to get between $7,500 and $10,000.

The third artiact to go at auction is a written note from Mabel Francatelli yo Salomon at New York's Plaza Hotel six months after the ship sank.  She had climbed into Lifeboat No. 1 with her employer, fashion designer Lucy Duff-Gordon and her Scottish husband Lord Cosmo Duff-Gordon who allegedly bribed the boat crew to row them away even though the boat could carry 40 people.  This is estimated to go for between $4,00 to $6,000.

--Cooter

Last Titanic Lunch Menu Going to Auction-- Part 1: From "The Money Boat"

From the August 30, 2015, Yahoo! News "Last Titanic lunch menu, saved by survivor, going to auction" by Ula Ilnyyzky.

It was saved by a passenger who climbed aboard the "Money Boat" and expected to get between $50,000 and $70,000 by Lion Heart Autographs who will be offering it along with two previously known artifacts from Lifeboat No. 1.  The auction was on September 30th, the 30th anniversary of the Titanic's discovery.

Abraham Lincoln Salomon, one of the handful of first class passengers who boarded the "Money Boat," also called "The Millionaire's Boat"    Lifeboat No. 1 was dubbed this by the press because reportedly one of the people aboard bribed the crew members to quickly row away instead of trying yo rescue others..

The menu listed corned beef and dumplings along with other 1st-class offerings.  It is signed on the back by another 1st Class passenger, Isaac Gerald Frauenthal, who escaped in another lifeboat.  It is believed they ate together that day.

--DaCoot

Million-Dollar Penny

From the March 22, 2015, Parade Magazine.

A rare 1792 Birch Cent will be auctioned by Stack's Bowers during the Whitman Coin and Collectibles Spring Expo March 26-29 in Baltimore.

It's one of only a handful of the original coins still in existence that were produces just after the founding of the U.S. Mint.

One sold earlier this year for more than $2.5 million.

Follow Up:  It sold for $1.175 million.

Chump Change Indeed--  DaCoot

Titanic Auction

Continued from previous post. //// A total of 180 lots were sold for more than $600,000. I am not sure if all the lots were Titanic related, but some of the others included a silver certificate from the head barber of the Titanic who survived brought in $35,193. //// A small piece of the ship's Grand Staircase went for $15,800. //// The Wallace Hartley letter, of course, went for $154,974 and topped the previous highest letter amount of $87,000 paid in 2004 for one from Father Thomas Byles, a Catholic priest. //// --Cooter

Titanic Band Leader's Final Letter Sells for $154,974: Record Price

From the April 27, 2012, Chicago Tribune by Jason McClure, Reuters. //// Wallace Hartley, 33, bandleader of the eight-piece group on the Titanic, wrote the letter five days before the ship struck the iceberg that sank it. He mailed it April 11, 1912, during a stop at Queenstown, Ireland. "We have a fine band and the boys seem very nice." He also promised to see his parents the following Sunday when he returned. //// Not at auction, but of interest, tips were a major source of income for him and his musicians. Various national currencies were found in the pockets of his uniform when his body was recovered some two weeks after the ship sank. //// An unnamed investment group bought it for $154,974 at the online auction. The letter had previously sold for $2,431 at auction in 1981, so someone made a tidy profit. //// A Real Piece of History. --DaCoot

While On the Subject of the Titanic

From the December 29, 2011, AFP "Titanic artifacts up for auction in NY in April."

More than 5,000 artifacts will be offered in one lot at an auction 100 years to the date of the famous ship's sinking.  Premier Exhibitions, owns the sole salvage rights to the ship )and only from the debris field, has engaged New York auctioneers Guernsey's to do it.

No reserve price is set, but in 2007, the lot was appraised at $189 million.  Some of the artifacts are on display in Brazil and Singapore now.

No reason for the auction was given, but Premier exhibitions has a $2 million second quarter loss.

A new 3D version of director John Cameron's 1997 "Titanic" is to be released April 6th in Canada and the United States.

In a lot that size and expensive, I hope that if someone buys it, they will keep it available to the public and not to go to a private collector and hidden away.

And, I'm Getting Real Tired of All This 3D Junk.  --DaCoot

1865 Baseball Card Brings $92,000 At Auction

From the Feb. 6, 2013, Northwest (Il) Herald "Rare 1865 baseball card to be auctioned in Maine."

And Mom either threw my cards out or sold them for pennies at a garage sale.  Well, actually, I did not have this one so no harm done.

This article was before the auction, but I found out it did sell for $92,000.

A six-figure amount was expected for the 148-year-old Brooklyn Athletics baseball card that was discovered in a photo album bought at a yard sale in Balleyville, Maine, on the Canadian border.  I would have liked to know how much they spent for the album?

This card, however, is not the same as modern baseball cards which became popular in the late 1800s.  It is an original photograph mounted on a card.

The Library of Congress says only one other copy exists and they have it.

(Of course, baseball cards sold in stores today have sure gotten expensive.  I used to spend just 5 cents for a pack of five and that break-your teeth piece of bubble gum.)

Should Have Been Mine.  --DaCoot