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Hugh Hefner items

‘Playboy’ devotees vie for Hugh Hefner items at Julien’s Auctions

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Hugh Hefner items
Hugh Heffner’s personal copy of the first issue of ‘Playboy’ magazine sold for $31,250. Juliens Auction image

LOS ANGELES – Julien’s Auctions closed out its 2018 auction season with Property from the Collection of Hugh M. Hefner which took place Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 in Beverly Hills. Hundreds of collectors, fans and friends of the legendary Playboy founder bid live on the floor, online and on the phone for a chance to own a piece of the American icon who launched the groundbreaking men’s lifestyle magazine.

The top selling item at the auction was Hugh M. Hefner’s vintage Underwood Standard Portable typewriter that he used in college (estimate: $300-$500) as well as for the publication of the first copy of Playboy magazine that sold for an astounding $162,500.

Hugh Hefner items
Hefner’s Underwood Standard Portable typewriter that he used to edit the first issue of ‘Playboy’ magazine was the top lot at $162,500. Julien’s Auctions image

Other top selling items included Hefner’s complete personal set of bound volumes of Playboy magazines (from 1953-2013) which sold for $76,800 (estimate: $20,000-$40,000); Hefner’s 14K yellow gold ring with a black onyx plaque in the center which opens to reveal a hidden compartment containing a blue Viagra pill that sold for $22,400, over its original starting estimate of $600; Hefner’s custom leather Jeff Hamilton Los Angeles Lakers motorcycle jacket that sold for $16,000 and his 1980 “N.B.A. World Champions” Los Angeles Lakers ring that sold for $53,125 (estimate: $2,000-$4,000); Hefner’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Star that sold for $57,600; Hefner’s personal copy of the first issue of Playboy magazine, in 1953 featuring Marilyn Monroe on the cover (estimate: $3,000-$5,000) that sold for $31,250; an original vintage plate engraved “Si Non Oscillas Noli Tintinnare” from the Playboy Mansion in Chicago which translates to “If You Don’t Swing, Don’t Ring” (estimate: $400-$600) that sold for $51,200; his vintage 1946 coin-operated Wurlitzer jukebox that sold for $28,800; and a George II-style console table with a rouge marble top that sold for $25,000.

Hugh Hefner items
Hefner’s L.A. Lakers motorcycle jacket. Price realized: $16,000. Julien’s Auctions image

Several celebrity bidders who attended in person at the auction included Pauly Shore and Jim Belushi, who won the leather-bound script of Saturday Night Live script when Hefner hosted the show on Oct. 15, 1977 (estimate: $400-$600) and included his brother John Belushi in the cast for $3,125.

Hugh Hefner items
Hefner’s 1946 Wurlitzer jukebox. Price realized: $28,800. Julien’s Auctions image

Other highlights of the auction included several items that defined Hefner as a style icon including a pair of faux tortoise frame prescription reading glasses by Hans Custom Optik with “Hugh Hefner” printed on the stem in gold lettering, together with a pair of prescription Ray-Ban Aviator reading glasses that sold for $4,480; his carved briar pipe with custom Playboy symbol which sold for $11,520; and Hefner’s iconic red smoking jacket that sold for $41,600 (estimate: $3,000-$5,000).

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Hugh Hefner items