Original Apple computer sells for $365,000 at auction

NEW YORK - A fully operational Apple computer that company co-founder Steve Jobs sold out of his parents' garage in 1976 for $600 sold for $365,000 at Christie's on Thursday.

The Ricketts Apple-1 Personal Computer, named after its original owner Charles Ricketts, is the only known surviving Apple-1 documented as having been sold directly by Jobs to an individual from the Los Altos, California family home, according to the auction house.

The price fell shy of Christie's estimate of $400,000 to $600,000 and was far less than the $905,000 paid by the Henry Ford organization in October for one of the computers. Fewer than 50 original Apple-1s are believed to be in existence of the few hundred originally produced

Also at the sale, Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, with the help of various foundations and private donors, bought a Bacchic figure supporting the globe by 17th-century artist Adrien de Vries for $27.9 million, well in excess of the sculpture's pre-sale estimate of $15 million to $25 million.

The Rembrandt Society, the BankGiro Loterij, VSB fund, Mondriaan Fund and others helped fund the purchase.

"It follows the trend of masterpieces achieving outstanding prices," said Jussi Pylkkanen, global president of Christie's and the auctioneer for the sale.

One of the expected highlights of the auction, which Christie's dubbed the Exceptional Sale, was withdrawn at the 11th hour when the estate of Joan Fontaine, who died aged 96 a year ago, pulled her best actress Oscar for the Alfred Hitchcock film "Suspicion" from the sale of her collection.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

James Bond watch with geiger counter sells for $160,000

LONDON - A watch adapted for the fictional British spy 007 in the James Bond movies sold for nearly 104,000 pounds ($160,000) at a pop culture auction on Wednesday after being bought, strapless, at car boot sale for 25 pounds.

The Breitling Top Time, worn by actor Sean Connery during 007's mission to find stolen atomic bombs the 1965 movie "Thunderball", was estimated to sell for between 40,000 and 60,000 pounds.

Auction house Christie's said this was the first watch to be modified by the Q branch in the Bond movies and was equipped with a "Geiger counter" to help the suave secret agent detect the emission of nuclear radiation in the film.

Made by Breitling in 1962, it was adapted by the James Bond art department and was the only example produced for the movie, a Christie's spokeswoman said.

She was unable to give details on the vendor or purchaser of the watch that was one of 252 lots at the auction house's pop culture sale.

Among the many other items sold were Bob Dylan lyrics for an unreleased song and actress Elizabeth Taylor's first wedding dress, which she wore as an 18-year-old when she married Conrad Hilton Junior in 1950 in one of the social events of that year attended by over 700 guests.

"The dress symbolizes one of the most iconic off-screen moments of ‘Golden Age Hollywood'," Christie's said in a statement.

The dress sold for nearly 122,000

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com