Blast from the Past: The Beatles on Abbey Road

This photograph, taken in August 1969, was used as the album cover for The Beatles' album "Abbey Road". Linda McCartney, wife of Paul McCartney, was on hand to document the album cover's photo shoot. The iconic album cover turned a pedestrian crossing in London into an internationally famous landmark still visited by legions of The Beatles' fans today.

Lyon with snake portrait on auction block

Phillips de Pury & Company will be having a photograph auction on October 16, 2008 in New York. The event features an exceptional selection of 18 black-and-white images from Robert Mapplethorpe’s celebrated series Lady Lisa Lyon, a pioneering 1970s female bodybuilder.

One of the photo highlights is the portrait of Lisa Lyon with snake (1982), a highly sought after works, with an estimated worth of around US$20,000 to US$30,000. This compelling photograph casts Lyon in the image of Eve, an aesthetically perfect being handling a powerful python, the controlled setting conveying both desire and fear.

Here is the place and schedule of the auction:

Auction Date: Oct. 16, 2008 at 10am & 2pm

Opening Reception: Oct. 7, 2008 6-8pm Viewing Dates: Oct. 8-15, 2008 at 10am–5pm, Mon-Sat & 12pm–5pm, Sun

Philips de Pury & Company
450 West 15th Street
New York, NY 10011
+1 212 940 1200
www.phillipsdepury.com

The "Art of Borrowing"

Art collections have long been used as collaterals for loans since the 17th century. In fact, Dutch master painter Rembrandt used his works to secure sorely needed loans to sustain his lavish lifestyle.

Currently, the practice is enjoying a renaissance as many art collectors are locked suddenly into illiquid assets cause by the popping real estate bubble and subprime credit meltdown.

New York-based Emigrant Bank Fine Art Finance says a valued client has recently borrowed against his US$100 million art collection. In the case of auction house Sotheby's, it reports that advances to sellers and term loans rose 23.2% at the end of the first quarter from a year ago to US$284 million.

However, banks are quick to point out that their borrowers are not short on means - just liquidity.

A client of Citigroup's art lending service, explains his cash is often tied up in investments; thus, he turns to financing from Citi Art Advisory when other funds aren't immediately available to build his collection.

Indeed, some collectors have used art loans to build an impressive array of antiques and master pieces.

With regard to the term of the loans, it varies according to the client's credit worthiness and paying ability, and duration of the loan. Thus, the longer the terms of the loans, which can run up to 20 years, the higher the interest rates. But other than that, banks are also examining the collections per se. Works by prominent, established artists that enjoy consistent demand are preferred.

Emigrant Bank Fine Art Finance says its lowest rates, based on LIBOR (London Interbank Overnight Rate), are currently about 4.2%, while the higher end loans are based on the U.S. prime rate, which is currently about 7%. Interest on Sotheby's advances, meanwhile, averaged 9.1%.

Paintings are usually being used as collaterals by most borrowers. Sculptures and rare musical instruments, like Stradivarius violins, are also sometimes used. But a big part of the appeal to borrowers is that the art remains with the borrower. Banks rarely demand to take possession of the art work, giving the collector some peace of mind in the process.

*Source: Financial Times (July 1, 2008).

Candid footage of Marilyn Monroe fetches US$60,000 at auction

A rare footage of Marilyn Monroe on the set of her last completed film was sold for US$60,000 at an auction of movie memorabilia held last Saturday (June 21).

The two reels of silent, 8-millimeter color film was shot on the set of "The Misfits". The 47-minute footage, which shows actors preparing for scenes and chatting with crew members on the set, was filmed by cameo actor Stanley Floyd Kilarr. It features candid moments with Monroe and co-star Clark Gable, as well as co-stars Montgomery Clift, Thelma Ritter and director John Huston.

"The Misfits" was the last completed film for both Monroe and Gable. The lead actor had a fourth heart attack just after filming was completed and died Nov. 16, 1960, about two months before the movie's release, while Monroe died Aug. 5, 1962.

French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's nude photo sold for US$91,000 at Christie's

New York-based auction house Christie's sold the nude photograph of the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy for a high of US$91,000 - more than 20 times of the estimated price. The black-and-white picture, which was taken in 1993 in New York, featured Italian songwriter-singer-model turned French first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, posing topless with her hands covering her most intimate body part.

In the auction which was conducted a couple of days ago, it was a Chinese art collector who bought the nude photograph, which was taken about 15 years ago by photographer Michel Comte.

“The Penny” was sold at US$1.27-million

A violin made by legendary 18th century Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari was sold at Christie's auction in New York last Friday, Apr. 4, for US$1.27-million. The violin is known as "The Penny", which is named after its previous owner English musician Barbara Penny who died last year.

During his lifetime, Stradivari had made more than 1,100 instruments consisted of guitars, harps and violins, of which some 650 items had been preserved. His fine and unique craftsmanship had made these instruments such a musical gem. In fact, his violins are regarded as some of the world's most expensive musical instruments and considered to have the best sound.

The record for a Stradivari violin stands at US$3.5-million, which was set at an auction also in New York in May 2006. The violin is monickered as "The Hammer," named after a 19th century Swedish collector Christian Hammer.

Rare American Old Pennies Auctioned Off for US$10.7-Million

A collection of 301 rare American cents, which featured some of the earliest and rarest examples of US penny, has turned into a US$10.7 million auction windfall. The collection included a cent that was minted for two weeks in 1793 but was abandoned because the US Congress thought Lady Liberty looked frightened, and a 1794 cent with tiny stars added for counterfeiting prevention.

It was the biggest auction ever for a penny collection, according to the Dallas-based auction house Heritage Auction Galleries, which held the sale in Long Beach on the Friday night of February 15. There were about 168 successful bidders for the coins, which came from the collection of Walter J. Husak, the owner of an aerospace-part manufacturing company.

A Car Plate fetched for US$14.2-Million

An Emirati businessman, Saeed Abdul Ghaffar al-Khouri, dished a out a whopping 52.2-million dirhams (about US$14.2-million) just to get an Abu Dhabi car license plate bearing the number “1” at a charity auction in a luxury hotel in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates last Saturday (Feb. 16).

The sale set a new world record for the most expensive car license plate in the world as per Emirates Auction, the organizer of the event. It overshadowed the US$6.8-million car license plate bearing the number “5” bought by another Emirati, stock broker Talal Khouri, in May 2007.

Proceeds of the sale will go to charities, including one that will set up a hospital for casualties from road accidents.

A Commemorative NZ$5 Bank Note for the First Man Who Conquered Mt. Everest

In 1991, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand had breached international convention as it commemorated Sir Edmund Hillary, then very much alive and kicking, on the NZ$5 note. Known as the first person to reach the summit of Everest, Sir Hillary is probably the only living person worldwide, aside from heads of states, depicted on a bank note of a country's legal tender.

After conquering Mount Everest in 1953, he performed another feat in 1958 by becoming the first man to drive overland to the South Pole. He is indeed New Zealand's most accomplished explorer! During his prime, he became the country's High Commissioner to India from 1985 to 1989.

His portrait in the banknote was engraved from a photograph taken in 1953 around the time of his conquest of Everest. It is depicted against a background of Maori Tukutuku designs. Also, illustrated in front of the bank note is Mount Cook, the first peak he scaled in 1948, and a Ferguson tractor.

The back of the NZ$5 note features one of the world's rarest penguins, the Yellow Eyed Penguin, which can only be found in New Zealand. The scene also features swirling bull kelp, quite common around the New Zealand coastal areas, and also, a colorful yellow flowered sub-antarctic lily and a giant daisy flower.

These banknotes, personally signed by Sir Hillary, are now expected to catch more attention from collectors around the globe, especially so that the conqueror of Everest now passed away. He died just recently on Jan. 11, 2008.

As such, expect the market value and demand for the said bank note to reach its peak this year. And this article is only meant to guide you somehow in determining what's fake and what's real. Patronizing original crafts over pirated ones is more than paying a tribute to this great explorer of our time.

Beware of counterfeits!

A 1975 United States Postage Stamp honoring Jewish Broker Haym Salomon as an American Revolutionary War Hero

The United States Post Office issued a commemorative postage stamp on March 25, 1975 which honored Haym Salomon as a revolutionary war hero. This Polish-born Jewish investment broker who made most of his fortune in the U.S. is being depicted in the stamp writing on his desk where the words "Financial Hero" is written below his portrait. Likewise, a message appeared on the back of the stamp, reading: "Businessman and broker Haym Salomon was responsible for raising most of the money needed to finance the American Revolution and later to save the new nation from collapse."

The Encyclopedia Britannica says he was a “U.S. patriot who was the principal financier of the fledgling American republic… He subscribed heavily to government loans, endorsed notes, gave generously to soldiers, and equipped several military units with his own money…” As per estimates, Salomon gave approximately US$800,000 in 1784 dollars of his personal funds, which were never repaid to him. If one takes that figure and adds interest over the last 200 years, America owes him over US$2.5-trillion.

*Reference: http://www.revolutionarywararchives.org/salomon.html

Prince Al-Waleed's diamond-studded Mercedes Benz

Prince Al-Waleed (born March 7, 1955) is a member of the Saudi Royal Family. He is the richest man in royalty with a net worth of around US$29.5-billion, which made him as the 19th richest person in the world in 2007 as per Forbes.

Below you will see a showcase of his vast wealth - a diamond-studded Mercedes Benz SL550. This one was unveiled at a car show in oil-rich Dubai to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the legendary Mercedes Benz SL550 model. The car costs around US$4.8-million, and if you want to touch it, you will have to pay US$1,000 as entrance fee to the exhibit.

By the way, this is the prince's 38th car!

Another Inverted Jenny Sold for US$ 825,000

A rare 1918 24-cent stamp depicting an upside-down Curtiss JN-4 airplane known as “Jenny”, a World War I training aircraft that became an airmail plane, was auctioned privately on Dec. 27, 2007.

A collector from New York, a Wall Street executive who did not want to be identified, has purchased the flawed stamp for US$ 825,000, according to Heritage Auction Galleries.

The winning bid price is slightly lower than the winning bid price last November 2007 where another “Inverted Jenny” was sold for US$ 977,500, making the Inverted Jennies as the most expensive airmail stamps in the world.

This latest Inverted Jenny stamp, in mint condition, is one of the finest known surviving stamps from the original sheet of 100 misprints.

710-year-old Magna Carta document sold for US$21.3-Million

A 13th century copy of the declaration of human rights known as the Magna Carta Libertatum, the Latin for “Great Charter of Freedoms”, was auctioned on December 18 at Sotheby's in New York for US$21.3-million including auction house's commission.

Considered as a foundation of modern democracy, the Magna Carta was the first document that enshrined the rights of the people. It is regarded as the birth certificate of freedom. The Magna Carta was originally issued in 1215, but the sold copy dated 1297, which bears the seal of King Edward I, was the version that became part of the English Law. It is one of 17 known copies of the historic tract and one of two that exist outside Great Britain.

Expected to draw bids of more than US$30-million, the old but durable parchment was bought by an American investor, David Rubenstein. Prior to the bidding, the document belonged to Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot's Perot Foundation which it fetched for US$1.5-million in the early 80's from an affluent British family.

The Magna Carta came into existence when a group of English barons demanded that King John affix his seal to a list of protections at Runnymede in 1215. Those edicts were not fulfilled, but subsequent versions of the document followed for the next 80 years, until 1297, when it was codified into law.

The reason gave by Rubenstein, the founder of private investment firm The Carlyle Group, to the media on why he had decided to bought the document is that because he was determined to see the document remain in the US.

"It's a good day for our country," said Rubenstein after buying the document. "I was determined to do what I could to see that the National Archives can continue to display this", he added.