Bonhams are proud to announce their having been chosen to represent an exceedingly rare and beautiful 1930 Mercedes-Benz SS Sports Tourer at their world-famous Quail Lodge summer auction, which has – for the first time in its 13-year history – been expanded to two days.

Offered from the estate of the late Colgate Darden III, the Mercedes SS comes to market for the first time in 55 years. Originally delivered new to British owner Sir Alfred Bird in 1930, the car was acquired in the mid-1950s by the late owner’s brother for £485. It was shipped to America shortly thereafter and remained in this family ever since. Today it is expected to realize in excess of $2-million.

Created by Ferdinand Porsche while working as chief engineer for Mercedes-Benz, the 38/250 SS model is universally regarded as one of the finest automobiles of its day. Capable of more than 100mph, period press lauded its “colossal” power and the British magazine Motor Sport described it as “the most amazing car it has ever been our fortune to drive”.

Not just an astounding road car, the SS models were fitted with a formidable competition chassis whose incredible performance was manifested by Rudi Caracciola’s astounding victory in the 1929 Ulster Tourist Trophy, also becoming a significant rival to the Bentley works cars at Le Mans.

The Bonhams’ Auction of Exceptional Motorcars and Automobilia will take place August 12-13, at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley, California.

A fascinating item for anyone interested in South Africa’s recent history, is a copy of the ANC Freedom Charter of 1955 which is estimated to sell at Bonhams South African Art Sale on March 24th in London for £20,000-£30,000.

Nelson Mandela recalled in his autobiography: “The Freedom Charter captured the hopes and dreams of the people and acted as a blueprint for the liberation struggle and the future of the nation.”

The document is notable for its demand for and commitment to a non-racial South Africa, and this has remained the platform of the ANC. The new ‘Constitution of South Africa’ included in its text many of the demands called for in the Freedom Charter. In this way the Freedom Charter can be seen as a foundation for the current South African Constitution.

Because of the huge historical significance of this document it will be sold without a South African export licence, ensuring that it remains within the Republic of South Africa. It will be sold alongside 230 works of South African artists including Irma Stern, Maggie Laubser, Jacob Pierneef, Gerard Sekoto, William Kentridge, Maud Sumner and Cecil Scotness.

A PAIR of 12-bore sidelock ejector guns built for Sir Winston Churchill’s cousin as a 21st Birthday Present will be sold by Gavin Gardiner (in association with Sotheby’s) in a sale of Modern and Vintage Sporting Guns and Rifles on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 at Sotheby’s, 34-35 New Bond Street, London.

Gavin Gardiner is the only specialist firearms auctioneer holding his auctions in the heart of London’s West End, where he holds two sales each year as well as his prestigious sale at the Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland in August.

Also included in the sale will be a rare 12-bore Super Magnum Explora model hand detachable boxlock ejector rifle by Birmingham-maker Westley Richards. It is estimated to fetch £8,000-12,000

Gavin Gardiner said: “Westley Richards is a maker renowned for it’s innovative guns and rifles with “hand-detachable” lockwork, which in the case of this boxlock ejector, literally drops out of the bottom of the action when the inspection cover is removed. Designed to assist Big Game Hunters in the field, who could take a spare set of locks with them to India or Africa, and should a mechanical failure occur, it would take simply a matter of moments to fit the spare replacement locks. This rare example is of the Magnum Explora model 12-bore rifle, fitted with rifled chokes, so that it could be used both as a gun and as a rifle. Innovation indeed.”

The sale will include over 300 lots of fine sporting guns, rifles and shooting accessories including pairs and singles by all of the major makers such as Boss & Co, J. Purdey & Sons, Holland & Holland and J. Woodward & Sons. Numerous single guns, as well as sporting rifles, collector’s firearms and shooting accessories will also be offered.

For further information please contact 01798 875300 or 07831 645551 or visit www.gavingardiner.com

Over 300 lots of local estate goods will cross the block at Fairfield Auction March 21st. Offerings will include a very good selection of paintings as well as Americana, fine silver, art glass, bronzes and jewelry.

Several items of special interest will be sold. Among them is Hofner electric bass signed by Paul McCartney. As a member of The Beatles, McCartney mostly played Hofners. A storyboard drawing of Dumbo from the Disney film of 1941, a Mount Washington “Royal Flemish” vase, a bronzed figure of Miss America by Howard Chandler Christy and a Steinway type A grand piano circa 1896 will all cross the block as well.

The Fairfield Auction gallery is located at 53 Church Hill Road in Newtown, Connecticut. Preview will take place Friday and Saturday prior, 11am to 4pm each day and 9am to 11am auction day. Most items can be previewed during the sale. For further information call (203) 364-1555 or preview online at www.fairfieldauction.com

Chartpoppers.com announces an investment report featuring company Ebay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

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In the report chartpoppers.com covers a recent Financial Summary, Analyst Consensus, Technical Analysis, Comparative Analysis and Insider Trading Activity.

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A WONDERFUL collection of pieces by innovative contemporary silversmith Stuart Devlin will highlight Matthew Barton Ltd’s auction of Silver, Works of Art and Objects of Vertu. The sale will take place on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 in West Kensington at 25 Blythe Road, W14.

Amassed over fifteen years by a collector in Cheshire, the sale will include 55 pieces by Stuart Devlin dating from the late 1960s to the 1980s. Iconic pieces include a three branch silver candelabrum with filigree globes and a matching snuffer which are estimated at £1,500-2,500; a wonderfully stylised and part textured cocktail jug and stirrer is estimated at £800-1,200, and a set of eight tapering cylindrical parcel-gilt silver goblets with hammered finish, carrying an estimate of £1,000-1,500 as is eight similarly-decorated beakers.

Matthew Barton said: “This is my second sale as an independent specialist auctioneer, and I am delighted to have been asked to sell this wonderful collection by one of the greatest contemporary gold and silversmiths. The pieces, many of which rarely come onto to the market, range from the stylised to the amusing and I look forward to it appealing to a wide range of buyers.”

For further information on the auction, please call
020 7806 5545 or visit www.matthewbartonltd.com

A table designed by Diego Giacometti auctioned for £106,000 at Bonhams, New Bond Street, as part of its Post War and Contemporary Art and Design sale. Entitled Table Torsade, and cast circa 1965, it had belonged to the late English actor James Mason (1909-1984) since the late1960s

Bonhams & Butterfields is pleased to offer Fine European Furniture and Decorative Arts on March 29, 2010 in Los Angeles. The 500-lot sale will offer an array of works for varied tastes and collecting levels from the 16th through the 20th centuries with a focus on English, French, Italian, Spanish and German property. Highlights from the sale will include a strong selection of more than 30 clocks by prominent makers as well as property from the Estate of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Z. Wick, Los Angeles, California and the University of California, Irvine Libraries.

“The spring auction boasts a good balance of both 18th and 19th century furnishings, porcelain and silver as well as a robust offering of tall case, mantle and decorative clocks. Bonhams & Butterfields is delighted to offer collectors a unique selection of property from across Europe,” said Andrew Jones, Los Angeles Director of European Furniture and Decorative Arts at Bonhams & Butterfields.

The illustrated auction catalog will be posted online for review in the weeks preceding the auction. For more information on the Bonhams & Butterfields Furniture and Decorative Arts Department and its sales, please visit: www.bonhams.com/usfurniture

The sale of a 4.6 per cent 2016 bond and a 4.5 per cent 2020 bond on March 16th is expected to raise between €1 billion and €1.5 billion.

“At its last monthly competitive auction in February, the NTMA raised €1.5bn, hitting the top of its target range at lower yields than in recent auctions in a sign that investors favoured Ireland’s debt over other weaker Euroland states,” said Bloxham’s chief economist Alan McQuaid.

“Purely on a funding perspective alone, Ireland is in better shape than the other ‘peripheral’ euro zone bond markets and we expect that to be reflected in strong investor appetite for this latest debt offering.”

Fins & Feathers Plantation will be heading to the online auction block and David Graham will be looking to see who will continue the endeavor he started.

Graham developed what was once a raw 1,240 acres of paper company land on the South Newport River into an exclusive hunting & fishing retreat. Working with Ronnie Chambers, Graham constructed a hunting lodge, luxury cabins, and an expansive operations center with boats, Jeeps, recreational vehicles, and kennels. Then they focused on habitat improvement, creating an environment where outdoor enthusiasts of all ages could pursue both deer & wildfowl hunting and red fish & tarpon sight fishing.

That value will be determined on auction day, as well as the value of three adjacent properties to Fins & Feathers Plantation. A home on Eagle Neck Air Strip and two parcels (136+ and 156+ acres) of timberland will be offered as separate tracts in individual online auctions.

For more information about this auction, visit www.fandfauction.com or call (877) 374-4437.