COLOGNE, Germany — Vintage technology specialists Auction Team Breker return on Saturday, September 14 with nearly 500 lots of technological wonders from the past. The sheer size of the offering spans categories as diverse as adding machines, cameras, early Apple and IBM computers from the 1980s, and telegraphic and telephonic devices. The complete catalog is now open for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.
The sale’s top-estimated lot is a marvel of early 20th-century mechanized music players. The Hupfeld Phonoliszt Violina Model A dates to around 1910 and includes violins, piano, and other instruments, all coordinated by paper rolls, of which 93 are included. The unit plays perfectly, as seen below in a video provided by the auction house. The Hupfeld is estimated at €300,000–€500,000 ($333,000-$555,000).
Dating to around 1840 is an Albion-type handpress manufactured by F. Uytterelst of Brussels, Belgium. The cast-iron, toggle-lever letterpress allowed small publishers to produced low-cost papers, advertising, and other printed goods. Described as ‘A spectacular exhibition piece with practical application,’ the printing press is estimated at €10,000–€15,000 ($11,100-$16,700).
Noted by Breker as ‘one of the most beautiful and desirable of early table telephones’ is this example created by Elektrisk Bureau Kristiania in Oslo, Norway around 1894. Ornate and frankly a work of art, the phone would have been at home in the residences of both royalty and captains of industry. The device is made of nickel-plated cast metal, tin, and gilt decoration. It includes its original manufacturer’s label and boasts an original cradle and handset, and is estimated at €4,000–€6,000 ($4,500-$6,700).
This L.M. Ericsson Model AC200 skeleton telephone was manufactured in 1892 in Stockholm, Sweden. The very same Ericsson company was a pioneer in the early cell phone industry, with its handset’s distinctive ringtones audible everywhere in the late 1990s and early 2000s. What makes this phone so unique is that it could be used by two people sitting opposite each other at a desk. Described as ‘very rare,’ the phone is estimated at €3,000–€4,000 ($3,300-$4,500).
