Travel
not including Space.
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Ancient maps Incunabula Photos 1900s-1910s
Chronology : 1680-1699
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Ancient maps Incunabula Photos 1900s-1910s
Chronology : 1680-1699
1450 Liber Insularum Archipelagi
2012 SOLD for $ 1.76M by Christie's
The work of Cristoforo Buondelmonti is admirably typical of the spirit of the Italian Renaissance. This monk born in Florence lived in Greece for many years and traveled the islands. Hellenist, he studied the history and geography of the islands and collected manuscripts for the benefit of the bibliophile Niccolo Niccoli.
Around 1420, Buondelmonti draws a set of maps of this region, including comments judiciously arranged with the drawings, under the title Liber Insularum Archipelagi.
It indicates the monasteries, bridges, springs, ruins, monuments, and even the grave of Homer then located in Chios. This work includes the only known representation of Constantinople before the Ottoman conquest.
Executed about 1450, perhaps in Florence, the copy of the Liber Insularum Archipelagi for sale on April 10, 2012 by Christie's is probably the oldest that has survived. This Latin manuscript especially clean and fresh, size 25 x 16 cm on vellum, is a superb illuminated example, with maps in different colors of lines and washes. The period binding has been restored.
It was sold for $ 1.76M from a lower estimate of $ 800K, lot 155.
Around 1420, Buondelmonti draws a set of maps of this region, including comments judiciously arranged with the drawings, under the title Liber Insularum Archipelagi.
It indicates the monasteries, bridges, springs, ruins, monuments, and even the grave of Homer then located in Chios. This work includes the only known representation of Constantinople before the Ottoman conquest.
Executed about 1450, perhaps in Florence, the copy of the Liber Insularum Archipelagi for sale on April 10, 2012 by Christie's is probably the oldest that has survived. This Latin manuscript especially clean and fresh, size 25 x 16 cm on vellum, is a superb illuminated example, with maps in different colors of lines and washes. The period binding has been restored.
It was sold for $ 1.76M from a lower estimate of $ 800K, lot 155.
1493 The Columbus Letter
2023 SOLD for $ 3.9M by Christie's
The legendary wealth of Cathay and Cipango is much tempting and the ambitions of Cristoforo Colombo are oversized despite his modest origins. When crossing the sea from east to west he would bypass the dangerous commercial roads through Asia, no one would contest him to take possession of the visited territories and he would be rich, noble and powerful.
Having become Cristobal Colon, he seeks protectors in Portugal and Spain without giving up his extravagant demands. In 1492 the treasurer of the house of Castile cleverly observes that the expected gain is much greater than the investment and Queen Isabella accepts the project.
The successful trip and return of two of the three ships of Columbus's fleet across the Atlantic Ocean, from August 3, 1492 to March 4, 1493, was an unprecedented feat in which the officers had to calm the sailors, panic-stricken after losing sight of the land. Six inhabited lands had been discovered and Columbus correctly recognized that all of them were islands.
Columbus writes a letter which is not at all an account of the many adventures of the trip but a resolutely appealing report intended to encourage the financing of a second and even more ambitious expedition. The natives from then named Indians are shy and easy to satisfy although it is recommended to be wary against some cannibals. There will be no obstacle to the exploitation of gold and spices.
Prepared in Spanish by Columbus himself, the original letter was addressed to Gabriel Sanchez, Treasurer General of the kingdom of Aragon. It was published in Barcelona as a two leaf folio in March or April 1493, possibly without the authorization of the author. The only surviving copy is held by the New York Public Library.
Translated into Latin, it was published in Rome around May of the same year. A quarto 4 leaves 20 x 14 cm of that Epistola resided for nearly a century in a private library. It was sold for $ 3.9M from a lower estimate of $ 1M by Christie's on October 19, 2023, lot 308.
The first illustrated edition, not located and undated, is identified as the first Basel edition because it anticipates the more ambitious edition realized in that city with the same woodcuts in 1494.
The Basel editions confirm the political purpose of the letter. Four naive images illustrate the life on the islands and sketch their map beside a glorious portrait of King Ferdinand and the coat of arms of Spain, reinforcing the information of Columbus's allegiance to the Reyes Catolicos against the claims of recuperation by Portugal.
Bound in the 19th century after another text to the glory of King Ferdinand, a highly rare complete copy of the second edition of Basel was sold for $ 750K by Bonhams on September 26, 2017, lot 2.
Nearly ten years later Amerigo Vespucci will finally have the intuition that the islands and coasts discovered on the other side of the Atlantic were not the Indies but a New World.
Having become Cristobal Colon, he seeks protectors in Portugal and Spain without giving up his extravagant demands. In 1492 the treasurer of the house of Castile cleverly observes that the expected gain is much greater than the investment and Queen Isabella accepts the project.
The successful trip and return of two of the three ships of Columbus's fleet across the Atlantic Ocean, from August 3, 1492 to March 4, 1493, was an unprecedented feat in which the officers had to calm the sailors, panic-stricken after losing sight of the land. Six inhabited lands had been discovered and Columbus correctly recognized that all of them were islands.
Columbus writes a letter which is not at all an account of the many adventures of the trip but a resolutely appealing report intended to encourage the financing of a second and even more ambitious expedition. The natives from then named Indians are shy and easy to satisfy although it is recommended to be wary against some cannibals. There will be no obstacle to the exploitation of gold and spices.
Prepared in Spanish by Columbus himself, the original letter was addressed to Gabriel Sanchez, Treasurer General of the kingdom of Aragon. It was published in Barcelona as a two leaf folio in March or April 1493, possibly without the authorization of the author. The only surviving copy is held by the New York Public Library.
Translated into Latin, it was published in Rome around May of the same year. A quarto 4 leaves 20 x 14 cm of that Epistola resided for nearly a century in a private library. It was sold for $ 3.9M from a lower estimate of $ 1M by Christie's on October 19, 2023, lot 308.
The first illustrated edition, not located and undated, is identified as the first Basel edition because it anticipates the more ambitious edition realized in that city with the same woodcuts in 1494.
The Basel editions confirm the political purpose of the letter. Four naive images illustrate the life on the islands and sketch their map beside a glorious portrait of King Ferdinand and the coat of arms of Spain, reinforcing the information of Columbus's allegiance to the Reyes Catolicos against the claims of recuperation by Portugal.
Bound in the 19th century after another text to the glory of King Ferdinand, a highly rare complete copy of the second edition of Basel was sold for $ 750K by Bonhams on September 26, 2017, lot 2.
Nearly ten years later Amerigo Vespucci will finally have the intuition that the islands and coasts discovered on the other side of the Atlantic were not the Indies but a New World.
Bidding for our sale FINE PRINTED BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS INCLUDING AMERICANA starts today!
— Christie's Books (@ChristiesBKS) October 5, 2023
Open until October 19 □
You can browse the sale here: https://t.co/gFfwJXBciy pic.twitter.com/BchYvnV6Mv
1691-97 Kangxi Southern Tour
The Manchu Qing Dynasty had first seized Northern China. By organizing and pacifying Southern China, the Kangxi Emperor became the great re-unifier of this vast country.
The Kangxi Emperor had a high opinion of his duties and responsibilities and his personal commitment was intense. The Qing Dynasty was still recent and it was challenged in the border provinces. The six inspection tours conducted by the emperor in the south between the 24th and the 47th year of his reign are intended for the assimilation of these reluctant regions.
Kangxi is not afraid to go to war but prefers peace. His tours are opportunities to link with the Four Occupations in their local particularities : gentry, peasants, craftsmen and merchants. The loyalty to the Emperor requires to understand and to be understood. Kangxi is a great statesman, lucid, responsible and effective.
The second trip took place during the 29th year of the reign, 1689 CE. It was fruitful and promising and they must preserve its memory. An imperial decree orders the execution of a scroll divided into twelve parts showing in a continuity the steps of the long journey.
Two years later, in order to mark the prestige of this operation, Kangxi required the imperial palace workshops to display this journey through a series of handscrolls. The management of the project is entrusted to the best landscape painter of that time, Wang Hui.
I do not know where Wang was during the 1689 Imperial inspection. It does not matter. A connoisseur of the Song and Yuan landscape art, he worked by copy and imagination, including in his work picturesque scenes with numerous figures caught in everyday life.
The landscape is depicted with realism all along the way in a graphic style inspired from the Yuan maps, enough detailed to be used for guiding a trip along thousands of kilometers.
For seven years from the 31st year of Kangxi, the team of artists applies strictly on a silk strip 68 cm high the detailed instructions of Master Wang concerning the topographic features, the more or less close distance to villages and mountains, the actions of the emperor and the daily life of the people. The style is magnificent.
The overall length of the twelve scrolls, completed around the 37th year of the reign, is 200 meters. Nine scrolls are complete and kept in various museums. The scroll number 6 was plundered by the French during the Boxer War and divided in or near Bordeaux, possibly in a deceased estate in the 1930s. The whereabouts of the scrolls 5 and 8 are not known.
The Kangxi Emperor had a high opinion of his duties and responsibilities and his personal commitment was intense. The Qing Dynasty was still recent and it was challenged in the border provinces. The six inspection tours conducted by the emperor in the south between the 24th and the 47th year of his reign are intended for the assimilation of these reluctant regions.
Kangxi is not afraid to go to war but prefers peace. His tours are opportunities to link with the Four Occupations in their local particularities : gentry, peasants, craftsmen and merchants. The loyalty to the Emperor requires to understand and to be understood. Kangxi is a great statesman, lucid, responsible and effective.
The second trip took place during the 29th year of the reign, 1689 CE. It was fruitful and promising and they must preserve its memory. An imperial decree orders the execution of a scroll divided into twelve parts showing in a continuity the steps of the long journey.
Two years later, in order to mark the prestige of this operation, Kangxi required the imperial palace workshops to display this journey through a series of handscrolls. The management of the project is entrusted to the best landscape painter of that time, Wang Hui.
I do not know where Wang was during the 1689 Imperial inspection. It does not matter. A connoisseur of the Song and Yuan landscape art, he worked by copy and imagination, including in his work picturesque scenes with numerous figures caught in everyday life.
The landscape is depicted with realism all along the way in a graphic style inspired from the Yuan maps, enough detailed to be used for guiding a trip along thousands of kilometers.
For seven years from the 31st year of Kangxi, the team of artists applies strictly on a silk strip 68 cm high the detailed instructions of Master Wang concerning the topographic features, the more or less close distance to villages and mountains, the actions of the emperor and the daily life of the people. The style is magnificent.
The overall length of the twelve scrolls, completed around the 37th year of the reign, is 200 meters. Nine scrolls are complete and kept in various museums. The scroll number 6 was plundered by the French during the Boxer War and divided in or near Bordeaux, possibly in a deceased estate in the 1930s. The whereabouts of the scrolls 5 and 8 are not known.
1
2016 SOLD for $ 9.5M by Sotheby"s
The longest fragment of the sixth scroll, 68 cm x 4.75 m, was sold for $ 9.5M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Sotheby's on September 14, 2016, lot 576.
In a bird's-eye view demonstrating a remarkable control of the topographic representation, boats travel around the many islands of a river. It depicts dense poulations in their daily life and may be the terminal end of the still incomplete sixth scroll.
The tweet below shows a detail. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
In a bird's-eye view demonstrating a remarkable control of the topographic representation, boats travel around the many islands of a river. It depicts dense poulations in their daily life and may be the terminal end of the still incomplete sixth scroll.
The tweet below shows a detail. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
Single-owner collection of Chinese paintings @Sothebys after 25 years off the market. https://t.co/eMYfycoQK2 pic.twitter.com/aWOpS6WtaM
— AntiquesTradeGazette (@ATG_Editorial) August 5, 2016
2
2010 SOLD for HK 36.5M by Sotheby's
A fragment 68 cm x 3.62 m of the sixth scroll surfaced in Hong Kong in 2009 and was sold for HK $ 36.5M from a lower estimate of HK $ 2.5M by Sotheby's on April 7, 2010, lot 1824.
It is depicting the visit of the Kangxi emperor to the towering Jiangtian Si temple on Mount Jinshan in the middle of the Yangtze River. It features on the far left the emperor himself, standing on a terrace under a yellow canopy and escorted by many officials dotting the island,
It is depicting the visit of the Kangxi emperor to the towering Jiangtian Si temple on Mount Jinshan in the middle of the Yangtze River. It features on the far left the emperor himself, standing on a terrace under a yellow canopy and escorted by many officials dotting the island,
3
2013 SOLD for € 3.36M by Briscadieu
A fragment 68 cm x 2.48 m including dock scenes was sold for € 3.36M by Briscadieu on April 27, 2013.
Two other fragments of the same scroll, 2.58 m and 3.28 m, were listed separately on March 8, 2014 by Briscadieu. One of them was sold for € 1.17M. The other fragment was sold for € 600K before fees.
Two other fragments of the same scroll, 2.58 m and 3.28 m, were listed separately on March 8, 2014 by Briscadieu. One of them was sold for € 1.17M. The other fragment was sold for € 600K before fees.
1869 The Transcontinental Spike
2023 SOLD for $ 2.2M by Christie's
In 1862, during the US Civil War, an Act of Congress decided to build a transcontinental rail road. Superseding the cart trails, it would increase the prosperity by creating a secure link between East and West. The terminus were to be Sacramento and Omaha for a total length of 3,075 km.
In 1869 the meeting of the Western and the Eastern rails was ready to be made at Promontory Summit in the Utah Territory. The ceremony scheduled for May 8 and performed on May 10 included a spike in copper alloyed gold to join the rails of the two rival companies.
Another spike was added so that the junction could be proceeded simultaneously by both companies. Amazingly both official hammers missed the spike and fell on its rail. After the ceremony the golden spike was replaced for security with an iron spike by a team of Chinese workers. The word DONE was sent by telegraph. Travel from coast to coast had been reduced from six months to just one week.
In addition the State of Nevada and the Arizona Territory had both supplied one ceremonial spike.
The 13.5 cm long Arizona spike was inscribed on the shaft: "Ribbed with iron, clad in silver and crowned with gold Arizona presents her offering to the enterprise that has banded a continent, dictated a pathway to commerce. Presented by Governor Safford."
This piece of history was presented in 1943 by the family of an official of the Union Pacific Rail Road to the Museum of the City of New York. After de-accessioning, it was sold for $ 2.2M from a lower estimate of $ 300K by Christie's on January 27, 2023, lot 15.
In 1869 the meeting of the Western and the Eastern rails was ready to be made at Promontory Summit in the Utah Territory. The ceremony scheduled for May 8 and performed on May 10 included a spike in copper alloyed gold to join the rails of the two rival companies.
Another spike was added so that the junction could be proceeded simultaneously by both companies. Amazingly both official hammers missed the spike and fell on its rail. After the ceremony the golden spike was replaced for security with an iron spike by a team of Chinese workers. The word DONE was sent by telegraph. Travel from coast to coast had been reduced from six months to just one week.
In addition the State of Nevada and the Arizona Territory had both supplied one ceremonial spike.
The 13.5 cm long Arizona spike was inscribed on the shaft: "Ribbed with iron, clad in silver and crowned with gold Arizona presents her offering to the enterprise that has banded a continent, dictated a pathway to commerce. Presented by Governor Safford."
This piece of history was presented in 1943 by the family of an official of the Union Pacific Rail Road to the Museum of the City of New York. After de-accessioning, it was sold for $ 2.2M from a lower estimate of $ 300K by Christie's on January 27, 2023, lot 15.
Woohoo! THE SPIKE hammers at 1.8 million, benefitting the Museum of the City of New York pic.twitter.com/y9ytegobRi
— Christie's Books (@ChristiesBKS) January 27, 2023
1907-1930 The North American Indian by Curtis
2012 SOLD for $ 2.9M by Christie's
he work of Edward S. Curtis, The North American Indian, should be part of the cultural heritage of humanity. Without him, two worlds would never have met: the authentic traditions of American Indians, and photography.
When Curtis began to visit the western America, the tribal populations had declined dramatically, and many of them were snapped up by other forms of civilization. This is the end of an era.
When Curtis began recording thousands of photographs, this technique was already fully mastered. The photographer is no more a chemist or an experimenter, he can concentrate on his subject. This is the beginning of another era.
Compare dates: the first issue of Camera Work is published by Stieglitz in 1903. The first delivery of The North American Indian by Curtis, sold by subscription, in 1907.
Tirelessly, Curtis visited the 80 most authentic tribes. His friendship with some chiefs was facilitated by his application to use their own language, opening to him the path for the other communities.
When the publishing venture of The North American Indian ends in 1930 because of financial difficulties, Curtis had managed the most extraordinary and unsurpassed photographic documentary of all time : 2,200 selected photographs distributed among twenty volumes of text and twenty portfolios.
The copy for sale by Christie's on April 10, 2012 is complete. Kept in excellent condition, it is certainly the finest surviving example of this unusual work. It was sold for $ 2.9M from a lower estimate of $ 1M, lot 38.
Started with enthusiasm in 1907 during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, the project had lasted too long. When it was finally completed in 1930, with its twenty portfolios of large size photogravures 58 x 24 cm and twenty volumes of text 31 x 24 cm also illustrated with photographs, it was already a failure. With 222 subscribers, Curtis was far from achieving the target of 500 copies given to him by his sponsor, the banker Morgan.
When Curtis began to visit the western America, the tribal populations had declined dramatically, and many of them were snapped up by other forms of civilization. This is the end of an era.
When Curtis began recording thousands of photographs, this technique was already fully mastered. The photographer is no more a chemist or an experimenter, he can concentrate on his subject. This is the beginning of another era.
Compare dates: the first issue of Camera Work is published by Stieglitz in 1903. The first delivery of The North American Indian by Curtis, sold by subscription, in 1907.
Tirelessly, Curtis visited the 80 most authentic tribes. His friendship with some chiefs was facilitated by his application to use their own language, opening to him the path for the other communities.
When the publishing venture of The North American Indian ends in 1930 because of financial difficulties, Curtis had managed the most extraordinary and unsurpassed photographic documentary of all time : 2,200 selected photographs distributed among twenty volumes of text and twenty portfolios.
The copy for sale by Christie's on April 10, 2012 is complete. Kept in excellent condition, it is certainly the finest surviving example of this unusual work. It was sold for $ 2.9M from a lower estimate of $ 1M, lot 38.
Started with enthusiasm in 1907 during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, the project had lasted too long. When it was finally completed in 1930, with its twenty portfolios of large size photogravures 58 x 24 cm and twenty volumes of text 31 x 24 cm also illustrated with photographs, it was already a failure. With 222 subscribers, Curtis was far from achieving the target of 500 copies given to him by his sponsor, the banker Morgan.
1912 Titanic Watch
2024 SOLD for £ 1.18M by Henry Aldridge
The Titanic was a liner of high luxury and refined entertainment. She sank in her maiden voyage on April 14, 1912, taking the lives of 1,497 of the 2,209 people aboard.
The Titanic legend established a fortnight after the tragedy tells that the bandmaster Wallace Hartley convened the band on the deck and started playing the latest popular melodies in an attempt to calm the passengers and that they did not manage to save themselves while lifeboat places were still to be filled. This scene was staged in the 1997 Titanic movie.
Hartley's violin was retrieved in water beside his body on May 4, 1912. Found in 2006 in a British attic, it was connected to Hartley through an engraved silver plate. The auction house Henry Aldridge and Son, leading specialists in Titanic artifacts, then spent six years investigating its authenticity including through an audio archive. The instrument is implayable with large cracks in its body. It was the centerpiece of dedicated exhibitions of the Titanic centennial.
It was sold for £ 1.1M by Aldridge on October 19, 2013. Please watch the post sale video shared by On Demand News. Its bag was sold for £ 360K by the same auction house on April 27, 2024, lot 251.
The First Class passenger John Jacob Astor IV was amidst the casualties. This US business magnate and real estate developer was one of the wealthiest people in the world. His corpse was recovered eight days after the sinking. His effects included his gold watch and cuff links.
That 14 karat Waltham pocket watch is engraved with his initials JJA on the case. It had been restored to working order after its restitution to the family. It was sold by Aldridge on April 27, 2024 for £ 900K before fees, £ 1.18M including premium from a lower estimate of £ 100K.
The Titanic legend established a fortnight after the tragedy tells that the bandmaster Wallace Hartley convened the band on the deck and started playing the latest popular melodies in an attempt to calm the passengers and that they did not manage to save themselves while lifeboat places were still to be filled. This scene was staged in the 1997 Titanic movie.
Hartley's violin was retrieved in water beside his body on May 4, 1912. Found in 2006 in a British attic, it was connected to Hartley through an engraved silver plate. The auction house Henry Aldridge and Son, leading specialists in Titanic artifacts, then spent six years investigating its authenticity including through an audio archive. The instrument is implayable with large cracks in its body. It was the centerpiece of dedicated exhibitions of the Titanic centennial.
It was sold for £ 1.1M by Aldridge on October 19, 2013. Please watch the post sale video shared by On Demand News. Its bag was sold for £ 360K by the same auction house on April 27, 2024, lot 251.
The First Class passenger John Jacob Astor IV was amidst the casualties. This US business magnate and real estate developer was one of the wealthiest people in the world. His corpse was recovered eight days after the sinking. His effects included his gold watch and cuff links.
That 14 karat Waltham pocket watch is engraved with his initials JJA on the case. It had been restored to working order after its restitution to the family. It was sold by Aldridge on April 27, 2024 for £ 900K before fees, £ 1.18M including premium from a lower estimate of £ 100K.
BREAKING! John Jacob Astor's Watch sells for £900,000 / $1,124,000 in an 'Internet Bid'.
— Save Titanic Memorial Lighthouse (@TitanicNewYork) April 27, 2024
□ https://t.co/Ozm4lceoJq#Titanic #RMSTitanic pic.twitter.com/u4npItBLrA
1940 General Motors Futurliner
2006 SOLD for $ 4.3M by Barrett-Jackson
The Parade of Progress is an idea of the engineer and inventor Charles F. 'Boss Ket' Kettering, head of research at General Motors since 1920. He had conceived this great tour dedicated to technical progress when he visited the 1933 World Exposition in Chicago.
The first parade starts in 1936. The exhibitions are installed for two to four days in small towns in North America. They look like a circus. The lectures are made in a large tent with more than 1200 seats. The parade buses display the equipment.
The idea of Boss Ket was educational and generous. The themes were not limited to automobiles, but this great marketing operation enabled General Motors to meet in three years 12.5 million visitors in 251 towns in USA, Canada, Mexico and Cuba.
The Parade of Progress was a great success, which enabled GM to organize their sales network throughout North America. In 1940, the original eight buses are replaced by twelve huge vehicles 3.5 m high and 10 m long manufactured by GMC Trucks and bodyworked by Fisher : the Futurliners.
The war interrupted the operation, and the Futurliners waited until 1953 to go on parade. Communication techniques had changed in the meantime and the operation, now less efficient than the direct exhibition of cars in the GM Motoramas, was stopped in 1956.
The Futurliners were dispersed. GM offered two of them to the Michigan State Police, who used them for awareness of road safety under the name of Safetyliners.
A Futurliner was sold for $ 4.3M by Barrett-Jackson on January 21, 2006. This bus carefully restored in its original GM colors and inscriptions was sold at no reserve to benefit the Armed Forces Foundation by the same auction house on January 17, 2015, lot 2501. The total raised for this lot including additional charities was $ 4.6M. The hammer price was $ 4M with no fees applied.
The first parade starts in 1936. The exhibitions are installed for two to four days in small towns in North America. They look like a circus. The lectures are made in a large tent with more than 1200 seats. The parade buses display the equipment.
The idea of Boss Ket was educational and generous. The themes were not limited to automobiles, but this great marketing operation enabled General Motors to meet in three years 12.5 million visitors in 251 towns in USA, Canada, Mexico and Cuba.
The Parade of Progress was a great success, which enabled GM to organize their sales network throughout North America. In 1940, the original eight buses are replaced by twelve huge vehicles 3.5 m high and 10 m long manufactured by GMC Trucks and bodyworked by Fisher : the Futurliners.
The war interrupted the operation, and the Futurliners waited until 1953 to go on parade. Communication techniques had changed in the meantime and the operation, now less efficient than the direct exhibition of cars in the GM Motoramas, was stopped in 1956.
The Futurliners were dispersed. GM offered two of them to the Michigan State Police, who used them for awareness of road safety under the name of Safetyliners.
A Futurliner was sold for $ 4.3M by Barrett-Jackson on January 21, 2006. This bus carefully restored in its original GM colors and inscriptions was sold at no reserve to benefit the Armed Forces Foundation by the same auction house on January 17, 2015, lot 2501. The total raised for this lot including additional charities was $ 4.6M. The hammer price was $ 4M with no fees applied.
$4,600,000 raised at #BarrettJackson all going to #HelpSaveOurTroops pic.twitter.com/Ycn5bqCxrq
— Armed Forces FNDN (@SupportAFF) January 18, 20151953 Rolex Deep Sea Special
2021 SOLD for CHF 1.9M by Christie's
In 1931 the Swiss balloonist Auguste Piccard and his assistant were the first men to enter the stratosphere and watch the rotundity of the Earth. Piccard had invented for that purpose the pressurized capsule, which he later also applied to withstand the extreme pressure of the deep seas.
On September 30, 1953, accompanied by his son Jacques, Auguste travelled his Trieste bathyscaphe down to 3,150 m below sea level off the Italian coast.
Rolex had caught that opportunity to develop the Deep Sea Special model for depth pressure testing. This water resistant prototype is an Oyster Special in a 17 mm thick hemispherical stainless steel case, stripped of unnecessary components that could break under high pressure.
The No. 1 was fixed outside the Trieste during the travel. Jacques telegraphed to Rolex : ‘Watch performed perfectly. Depth 3,150 metres. Piccard’.
This No. 1 riveted with a Rolex gold bracelet was sold for CHF 1.9M by Christie's on November 8, 2021, lot 33. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The population of this experimental series was extended in period to 7. The No. 3 accompanied the 1960 10,900 m dive in the Mariana Trench. The Rolex Submariner is the commercial version of the Deep Sea Special.
In the 1960s, Rolex produced commemorative units of the Deep Sea Special with a new caliber. One of them, completed in 1966, was sold for CHF 1.06M by Phillips on November 7, 2021, lot 248.
On September 30, 1953, accompanied by his son Jacques, Auguste travelled his Trieste bathyscaphe down to 3,150 m below sea level off the Italian coast.
Rolex had caught that opportunity to develop the Deep Sea Special model for depth pressure testing. This water resistant prototype is an Oyster Special in a 17 mm thick hemispherical stainless steel case, stripped of unnecessary components that could break under high pressure.
The No. 1 was fixed outside the Trieste during the travel. Jacques telegraphed to Rolex : ‘Watch performed perfectly. Depth 3,150 metres. Piccard’.
This No. 1 riveted with a Rolex gold bracelet was sold for CHF 1.9M by Christie's on November 8, 2021, lot 33. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The population of this experimental series was extended in period to 7. The No. 3 accompanied the 1960 10,900 m dive in the Mariana Trench. The Rolex Submariner is the commercial version of the Deep Sea Special.
In the 1960s, Rolex produced commemorative units of the Deep Sea Special with a new caliber. One of them, completed in 1966, was sold for CHF 1.06M by Phillips on November 7, 2021, lot 248.
