Jezebel: Auction

19th Century Schoolgirl's Embroidery Sells for Over $1 Million

Madeleine Davies — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:55:00 EST

In 1807, New Jersey schoolgirl Mary Antrim embroidered a simple pastoral scene onto linen using silk thread. Do you think it ever crossed her mind that her pastime could one day lead to a $1.07 million bid at an auction? Well, that's exactly what it did, setting the auction record for needle work, this past Sunday at Southby's. More »

J.D. Salinger's Note To The Maid On Sale For $50,000

Margaret Hartmann — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 09:30:00 EDT

When J.D. Salinger scribbled a note to his maid in 1989, he had no way of knowing that some day it would be worth about $1,600 a word. A Nevada-based company is selling the nearly-illegible note on eBay for $50,000. It reads: More »

Who Paid $5.6 Million For Marilyn Monroe's Dress?

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 15:55:00 EDT

Marilyn Monroe's iconic "subway dress" from The Seven Year Itch has sold at auction for a whopping $5.6 million. The gigantic price tag exceeded the auction house's expectation that the dress would sell for about $2 million. More »

World's Most Expensive Book Sells For Exorbitant Amount Of Money

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:18:00 EST

Last week a copy of John James Audubon's 1831 book Birds of America sold at auction in London for $10.3 million. Fun fact: Audubon killed and stuffed all of the birds before painting them. More »

Royal Skivvies Up For Auction

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 11:25:00 EST

Great news, weirdos! Some weird guy in Florida is auctioning off a really old pair of Queen Elizabeth II's underpants. More »

The $83 Million Vase

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 13:40:00 EST

While cleaning her late sister's suburban London home, a woman found a Chinese vase that was auctioned yesterday for $83 million. It was originally valued at $2 million, but is now one of the most expensive Asian artworks ever sold. More »

Video: Most Expensive Barbie Ever Auctions For $300,000

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 10:03:00 EDT

Yesterday a Barbie doll designed by Stefano Canturi was auctioned for $302,500, with the proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Christie's billed the doll as an "investment" because she's wearing a choker featuring a one-carat pink diamond. More »

Fradulent Hedge-Funder Puts Insane Teddy Bear Collection Up For Auction

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:45:00 EDT

Tomorrow Christie's will auction 1,300 Steiff stuffed animals that belonged to hedge fund manager Paul Greenwood, who pled guilty to fraud earlier this year. The collection, valued at $1.5 million, includes a 1925 Steiff Harlequin bear worth $80,000. More »

A New Avenue For Your Oscar Wilde Fantasies

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 13:18:00 EDT

Five letters in which Oscar Wilde "propositions" magazine editor Alsager Vian will be auctioned later this month in London. Alan Judd from Bamfords auction house says the letters, "help to fill in pieces of Oscar Wilde's tempestuous jigsaw." More »

Michaele Salahi's Infamous Red Sari Could Be Yours!

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:10:00 EDT

How much would you pay for the gown Michaele wore to that State Dinner she crashed? Remember, she actually touched the President! She's donated it to a charity auction, with some proceeds allegedly going to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund. Genius. More »

Lost Auction: You Can Buy Locke's Wheelchair!

Jessica Coen — Thu, 13 May 2010 17:40:37 EDT

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Attention well-off Lost obsessives: They're going to auction off basically every prop. The stuff's awesome (the Desmond/Penny photo! Eko's walking stick!), but no one man should "own" these things. They belong to all of us. Click to enlarge [Auction Preview] More »

Australian Virgins To Be Auctioned Off

Anna North — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:00:00 EDT

An Australian filmmaker is organizing a mass virginity auction and filming it as a documentary. Selling virginity, of course, is nothing new — what is new is pretending such sales are ideologically interesting. More »

Unicorns, Flying Cats, and Yetis Up For Sale

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:20:00 EDT

Yesterday items from a Victorian taxidermy museum were auctioned off in England, including a winged cat, a man with an elephant's head, and a fanged monkey/bird creature. Today Show report after the jump. More »

Animal Magnetism

Anna Holmes — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:10:00 EDT

[Beverly Hills, March 16. Image via Getty]

Online Virginity Auctions Spread To Hong Kong

Anna North — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:30:00 EST

A Hong Kong teenager tried to auction her virginity on a social networking website. The highest bid was $7,800, but the girl pulled the auction and the site posted a warning not "to sell your body for money." [SMH] More »

Elle Ne Regrette Rien!

Sadie Stein — Sat, 30 May 2009 11:30:00 EDT

Fifty-four love letters from Edith Piaf to French cycling champion Louis Gerardin are going up for auction. Writes the little sparrow, "You have pulled me up just in time... I prayed in church that if you came to me, I would never again touch another glass of alcohol." [Yahoo] More »

But, Doesn't She Want It?

Sadie Stein — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:20:00 EDT

"La Fille de l'artiste a deux ans et demi avec un bateau," Picasso's 1938 portrait of Maya, his daughter with Marie-Thérèse Walter, is expected to fetch up to £16 million at auction. [Telegraph] More »

Dial P For Powder

Sadie Stein — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:45:00 EDT

An awesome Surrealist compact, designed by Salvador Dali in 1935 for the designer Elsa Schiaparelli, is up for auction on eBay. We're guessing the bidding starts at "out of out price range." [BoingBoing] More »

Get Sarah Palin's Naughty Monkeys!

Megan Carpentier — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:30:00 EST

The Naughty Monkey shoes that Sarah Palin wore when she was announced as McCain's VP pick are now at auction on eBay. She bought 'em herself, surprisingly, and now you can, too. [Associated Content, eBay] More »

What Do You Wish You Knew Before You Lost Your Virginity?

Anna North — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST

The auction price for 22-year-old Natalie Dylan's virginity is up to 2.5 million pounds (about $3.6 million), but the Times of London has ten tips for her to remember when she does give it up. More »