Originally published in 1926 in Bavaria, this autographed copy of Hitler’s manifesto was sold at an auction in Ludlow, England last week. It was a pre-publication copy given by Hitler to a fellow inmate in 1925. In related news, I had the chance to watch Quentin Tarantino’s new film Inglorious Basterds over the weekend. This spaghetti western take on WWII and Nazi hunting made me bust a gut laughing. A highly entertaining cinematic experience. By the way, the $30,000 price ticket for the signed book was purchased by an anonymous telephone buyer. Anonymous. Now, what was it with Apache Aldo Raine’s obsession with the ambiguity of Nazi’s being unable to abandon their uniforms?

pic and info: Luxury Launches Telegraph

Since 2000, the world’s richest man, Warren Buffet has been auctioning off a lunch date with the proceeds going to Glide, a local San Francisco charity. This year’s bid came somewhat under that of 2008’s which was $2.11 million. Last year’s winner, hedge fund manager Zhao Danyang and his son Zhao Ziyang (in the pic) had his lunch last week with Warren Buffet. Some explain this year’s lower bid is due to the current financial crisis. The auction was initially held live for the first three years. Currently, eBay plays host to the charity fundraiser. The lunch venue is New York’s Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse. The table seats eight. I would think the other six in the party are paying big cash to get an invitation to that meal. No news on the identity of this year’s wining bidder.

pic and info: Reuters

Our yesterday’s post ringing in the news of Michael Jackson’s personal belongings being auctioned off seemed, at the time, an inevitable event. Lo and behold: Jacko got his way via a settlement with Julian’s Auctions. With the legal fronting now over, the King of Pop now will have most of his personal belongings returned. It’s could be somewhat a disturbing feeling, possibly even a sense of violation, knowing that most of your personal effects were put out on display to the public. So much for the mystique. Part of the mutual agreement resulted in some of Jacko’s belongings being retained and housed in some museum-like venue. Julian’s had spent some $2 million on the auction. No news on what’s to be done with the 5-volume signed and numbered auction catalogue which was to sell for $500. The catalogue of the “auction that never was” will definately be a collector’s prize. It’s gonna fetch a handsome sum for any of its owners.

pic and info: Luxist

Julien’s Auctions will be putting a large selection of Michael Jackson’s Neverland possessions under the hammer. The auction is labelled as “King of Pop: A Once in a Lifetime Auction Featuring Property From the Life and Career of Michael Jackson and Neverland Ranch.” The items are displayed in a Los Angeles department store. The vast number of items are grouped in matters of interest: Disney collectables, portraits, statues and clothing (yes, those diamond gloves are being auctioned off as well).  Some of the articles have price points under $1,000, giving the avid fan some opportunity to own a bit of Jacko. The auction will be held April 22-25, where the 1,390 items are expected to fetch some $20 million.

More after the jump.

John Dolmayan, Torpedo Comics owner and of System of a Down’s fame won Action Comics issue #1 for $317,200 at an online auction just recently. Apparently, he purchased the item for a third party. The comic storyline has the debut appearance of Superman. It was originally published in June, 1938. The previous owner of the comic book is known to have owned the “holy grail of comics” since 1950, which he had purchased second-hand for 35 cents. There are about 100 copies known to exist. To date it holds the highest price paid for a comic book.

pic and info: LA Times

Sotheby’s will be auctioning off some items of the the Maharadja of Baroda’s estate on March 19th in Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art. The famous jewelry collector from the last century, the Gaekwar, as he was known to be called, had a collection of jewels comparative to that of jewelers Alfred Van Cleef and Louis Cartier. It’s the first auction Sotheby’s had ever organized in Qatar. The Pearl Carpet of Baroda’s heritage is Indian circa 1865. It was a gift to the prophet Mohammad’s tomb in Medina. The carpet’s dimensions are 174×264 cm which has rosettes encrusted with 1.5 million basra pearls and rose cut diamonds totaling 350-400 carats (!). Furthermore, emeralds, sapphires and rubies are all set in gold embellishing this work of art. Work started on the masterpiece in 1860 and took 5 years to finish under the collaboraton of hundreds of artisans. Bidding is to start at $5 million, and some anticipate that the Pearl Carpet of Baroda will fetch some $60 million.

More after the jump.