Fascinating Rarities at Auction Team Breker’s Nov. 27 sale

Nov. 10, 2004

A superb variety of rare collector's items like the Märklin Lighthouse (estimate $48,000-72,000) or the extraordinary musical and doll automata of famous manufacturers Gustave Vichy, Phalibois, Decamps and many more are on offer in Auction Team Breker’s Nov. 27 sale. Real time Internet bidding from anywhere in the world is available through www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

The Office Antiques section offers early examples of typewriters and calculators, telephones, telegraphs and cipher machines, and armed forces telecommunications. Among them are the Swiss calculator known as the Millionaire (estimate $2,100-3,000) and the rarest of primitive German adding machines, a 1907 AdSuMuDi (estimate $12,000-18,000. Only five are known to exist.

Also to be sold is an example of the first personal computer: the 1975 Altair 8800, which is said to have inspired Bill Gates and Paul Allen to establish Microsoft. And among the typewriters, a stellar lot is Edison’s Mimeograph Typewriter no. 1. The 1894 invention is estimated at $9,600-12,000.

The sale of Antique Toys on the same day offers far more quality than quantity: rare tin and battery-op toys, automata, dolls, dollhouses and shops, scarce model trains of all gauges, and a comprehensive selection of steam and hot air engines.

The Science & Technology section includes rare mechanical musical instruments, such as a Salon Gramophone, several lots of early 78 rpm shellac records, classical phonographs, cylinders, high-quality Swiss cylinder boxes, German disc boxes, jukeboxes, classical barrel organs and pianolas and orchestrions in excellent working order.

Extremely desirable scientific and surveying instruments, and microscropes top the examples in the Technical Antiques category. Also included are rare early gambling and vending machines and even and entire pharmacy and general store.

Of the many remarkable lots in the sale, you won’t want to miss seeing the world-famous Kuba-Komet de Luxe TV set, estimated at $7,200-9,600; the aluminium design prototype of the legendary 1938 Mercedes Silberpfeil racecar (estimate $6,000-9,000), or the 1845 Albion printing press made by Harrild & Sons, London (estimate $5,000-7,500).

View the entire illustrated catalog and bid absentee or live online through www.LiveAuctioneers.com

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