Paris lender sells off stash of top wines for cash

PARIS (AP) – One fears the natural order of things has been upended if the French are giving up their wine. But financial woes have driven many to do just that.

Over the past year, cash-strapped Parisians have handed over thousands of bottles of grand cru to the Credit municipal de Paris in exchange for cash or loans.

The city-run lender and pawnbroker of sorts has seen demand for new loans soar in recent months. To help meet that growing need, it auctioned off about 2,500 bottles on Tuesday, May 12, bringing in nearly euro200,000 ($272,000) in fresh funds.

“In the wine cellars of Paris, and even in the wine cellars of the provinces, there are veritable treasures,” said Robert Gorreteau, wine expert at Credit municipal.

As the financial downturn deepens, more and more Parisians are converting those treasures to cash.
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Cortès paintings, private collections headline Cordier’s May 21-22 sale

The Sunny Bank, Edouard Cortès, oil on canvas, 12 inches by 17 inches sight. Estimate $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers/Cordier Antiques & Auctions.

The Sunny Bank, Edouard Cortès, oil on canvas, 12 inches by 17 inches sight. Estimate $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers/Cordier Antiques & Auctions.
The Sunny Bank, Edouard Cortès, oil on canvas, 12 inches by 17 inches sight. Estimate $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers/Cordier Antiques & Auctions.
CAMP HILL, Pa. – Two paintings by Edouard Cortès (French, 1882-1969) are set to headline Cordier Antiques & Auctions’ May 21-22 Spring Auction in Camp Hill, Pa. Titled The Sunny Bank and Byway In Normandy, the paintings are estimated at $20,000-$30,000 each.

Other highlights in the 750-lot sale, which will feature live Internet bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com, are a fine pair of John Bennett pottery vases and the first U.S. Beatles record, My Bonnie, by Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers. Also featured in the auction inventory are the Charles D. Morris ice cream collection and the Raymond A. Farr nautical collection.

Thursday’s session will feature the late Mr. Farr’s 50-year ice cream and soda fountain collection comprised of ice cream dippers, trays, signs, freezers, milk shake mixers and more. The more than 500 ice cream dippers in the collection include several rare examples, including the Manos Novelty Co. dipper. With its unusual heart-shaped bowl, the Manos dipper is considered one of the rarest and most desirable of all dippers and is estimated at $5,000-$7,000. It was used to fill special heart shaped dishes, two of which will be offered in Thursday’s sale.
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1948 Tucker headed for June 7 auction at Clars gallery

1948 Tucker, one of only 51 made, to be auctioned by Clars on June 7. Image courtesy Clars Auction Gallery.

1948 Tucker, one of only 51 made, to be auctioned by Clars on June 7. Image courtesy Clars Auction Gallery.
1948 Tucker, one of only 51 made, to be auctioned by Clars on June 7. Image courtesy Clars Auction Gallery.
OAKLAND, Calif. – Clars Auction Gallery will be selling a 1948 Tucker sedan on Sunday, June 7th, 2009 as part of their two-day Important Estate and Antiques Sale, with live Internet bidding provided by LiveAuctioneers.com. Several other noteworthy vintage and classic automobiles will complement this important piece of American history and engineering as it rolls onto the auction block.

The car, serial number 1041, is one of only 51 Tucker automobiles ever made, and is a prime example of what made Tuckers, according to their advertisements, “unlike anything else on the highway.”

The Tucker 48, unveiled on June 19, 1947, was the invention of car enthusiast and businessman Preston Thomas Tucker and renowned designer Alex Tremulis. Its creation symbolizes one of the last attempts by an independent car manufacturer to break into the world of high-volume automotive production.
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