LONDON (AP) – The fossil of a 170 million-year-old pterosaur, described as the world’s best-preserved skeleton of the prehistoric winged reptile, has been found on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, scientists said February 22.
SAN FRANCISCO – Turner Auctions + Appraisals will present The Armond Conti Collection of Model Trains, Part 1, on Saturday, March 12, beginning at 10:30 am Pacific time. Featuring more than 250 lots from the estate of a Northern Californian who collected trains during the course of 75 years, the sale presents a variety of fine, distinctive and desirable pre-war and post-war train offerings – some new old stock, some limited editions, some unused and some with original boxes. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
DALLAS – A leather helmet that Amelia Earhart wore on a flight across the Atlantic in 1928 and later lost in a crowd of fans in Cleveland has sold at auction for $825,000. The helmet went to an anonymous bidder in an online-only sale that closed February 27, a spokesperson for Heritage Auctions said.
NEW YORK – A 34-star canton from an American Flag, a carved heart-in-hand Odd Fellows lodge staff, and a red and white antique quilt with a Princess Feather pattern should rank among the top lots in New Hampshire Antiques Dealers: Americana, a Jasper52 auction that will take place on Thursday, March 10, starting at 6 pm Eastern time. As always, the sale is curated by Clifford Wallach, an expert in tramp art, folk art and Americana. Other notable items in the 481-lot sale include a cast iron star-shaped windmill weight, schoolgirl samplers, stoneware jugs and whirligigs; Native American sterling silver turquoise jewelry, a circa-1840 grain-painted Pennsylvania blanket chest, and trade signs, including a circa-1930s example touting “Foot Long Hot Dogs” Additional highlights include a tramp art box by Gus Wynn, a large painted bride’s box or marriage box with a 1931 date, an 1840 tureen in the Columbia Star pattern, a trumpet vase by Carl Sorenson, a circa-1960s hanging bar light advertising Schlitz beer, Victorian majolica compotes, and an iron duck target from a shooting gallery. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.