Tag: sale

32-Years New – Stunning ‘Brand New’ 1994 Jaguar XJS To Be Auctioned

‘Brand new’ 1994 Jaguar XJS V12 convertible with just 153 miles on the clock to be sold for the same price as when it was actually ‘brand new’ 32-years ago

In 1994, nineteen years after the first Jaguar XJ-S – later changed to ‘XJS’ – went on sale, “the XJS remained a handsome and contemporary car, especially in convertible form.” Of a car lauded as a “comfortable grand tourer,” Jaguar Heritage continued: “Customers obviously thought so… An incredible 4,633 4.0-litre convertibles were sold.” A total of 115,413 units of the vehicle were made between 1975 and 1996 of which 30,946 topless XJS were produced between 1988 and 1996.

Priced new at a base of around £46,000 ($58,000, €53,000 or درهم213,000) then – or the equivalent of around £91,000 ($115,000, €106,000 or درهم421,000) now, according to the Bank of England’s inflation calculator – when ‘brand new’ in 1994, an example most unusual is to be sold at auction next month.

The odometer read 152 miles when photographed, but the catalogue listing states 153 miles. On this basis, the car has averaged an astonishing 4.8 miles per year in its life to date; at a speed of 60 miles per hour, one could travel 4.8 miles in just under 5 minutes.

In June 2018, ‘ThisIsMoney.co.uk’ reported that a 1990 Jaguar XJS V12 HE coupé with just 840 miles on the clock was being offered at auction with an estimate of £35,000 to £40,000. Rob Hull for the paper shared: “So, you might assume it is worth a fair whack by today’s standards? And you’d be right, the sale price is tipped to hit £40,000. But once you adjust for inflation it’s only valued at half the price the first owner would have paid for it. It highlights that if you do the sums and adjust for inflation, stashing a car away is not always a sure fire investment… Even allowing for it selling at the top end of the £40,000 estimate, with the impact of inflation taken into account this untouched gem has halved in value.” The car, registration G179 XAE, was eventually hammered down by Silverstone Auctions – now known as Iconic Auctioneers – for £42,188.

The aforementioned – chassis number SAJJNADW3EN179778 and engine 314000000395 – was originally commissioned by the Scottish Business Achievement Award Trust, but according to auctioneers Bonhams, “apparently the deal fell through and the car was never delivered or registered.” It has since belonged to “two major collections where it has been on museum display.”

Astoundingly, the Regency red coloured with barley hide, Bordeaux carpets and black hood vehicle – which has been with the current owner since 2014 – has covered delivery mileage only and its odometer reads just 153 miles. It has only been driven when moved between secure storage facilities and is “as new” other than “some minor paintwork retouching to the front panels.”

Bonhams will sell what is considered “a thoroughly appreciated classic” by Classics World at their Goodwood Members’ Meeting sale on 14^th April. They offer it with a staggering estimate of £80,000 to £100,000 ($101,000 to $126,000, €93,000 to €117,000 or درهم370,000 to درهم463,000) and as Jaguar Heritage conclude of the model: “Drive to a party in an XJS convertible and you’d arrive in more ways than one. That is still the case;” though in the case of this particular XJS you’d be the first to drive it anywhere glamorous.

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The interior is reflective of the model being what has been described as “a personification of 1980s excess” and it being “a favourite of the ‘gin and Jag’ set.” These after all were cars that appeared in ritzy series such as ‘Howards’ Way’ and ‘Lovejoy’ and which were driven primarily by glitzy ladies such as Jan Howard and Lady Jane Felsham.

The engine of the vehicle is clearly “as new” and described as “running and driving” but “will require recommissioning before extended use.” The XJS has a current MOT, but no registration document.

An image of an immaculate wheel illustrates how the convertible offered is well and truly in a condition just as when it left the factory.

The car’s tool kit has clearly never been used.

A view of the example offered from the rear. Of it, Bonhams remark: “The ultimate and most expensive Jaguar of its era, the V12-engined XJS Convertible nevertheless represented exceptional value for money and, given its proud pedigree, peerless road manners and exceptional specification, is no less of a bargain today.”

The front of the vehicle. It is described by Bonhams as “in effectively ‘as new’ condition throughout apart from some minor paintwork retouching to the front panels.”

March 25, 2024
Murky Maxwell’s Property & PR Projects
As her brother takes to the airwaves to PR her on Radio 4, Ghislaine Maxwell’s sale of her “showgirl-hooker-esque” London townhouse for an astonishing sum 44% lower than it was marketed at is branded a “shenanigan”

This morning, Ian Maxwell was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Talking extensively and featured in several segments, the brother of Ghislaine Maxwell went into PR overdrive and attempted to spin that his sister deserved bail. He even went as far to insist of a woman whom managed to disappear for nearly a year: “She is no longer a flight risk… This is not somebody who’s seeking to flee.”

Going further, the businessman banged on about the “grotesque” conditions within the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and bleated about his sinister sister’s hair falling out and her being served “brown water.”

Mr Maxwell claimed that he “assumes” the Duke of York – who allegedly sexually abused Virginia Roberts (now married and named Virginia Giuffre) in a bathroom at his sister’s Kinnerton Street mews house on 10^th March 2001 – still considers Jeffrey Epstein’s henchwoman “as a friend” and moaned: “The water that is provided through the prison is brown and the food that she’s given is very highly microwaved and basically inedible.”

Whilst admitting he “wished she’d never met the man [Jeffrey Epstein], obviously,” Mr Maxwell attempted to slam the fact the alleged victims of his sister have not been named, but meanwhile elsewhere The Steeple Times can today reveal that the financial shenanigans surrounding the sale of ‘Grubby Ghislaine’s’ London home are starting to look increasingly curious.

Last night, a leading property expert often quoted by the BBC who did not wish to be named, told us:

“Estate agents Aylesford were instructed to sell 44 Kinnerton Street in September 2020. They sought £2.6 million for the house and when it failed to sell, they later reduced the price to £2.1 million.”

“It’s the kind of house that could have featured in Smiley’s People, in fact it’s the kind of house where the showgirl-hooker Mandy Rice-Davies could have cavorted with John Profumo.”

Going further, Yeoman’s Row, Knightsbridge based agent Matthew Kaye of Kaye & Carey added: “Knowing the street as I do, 44 is one of the smaller houses which I assume it to be a little over 1,000 square foot in size. Depending on the condition, I estimate the freehold value to be circa £1.8 million to £2 million.”

Given that the Maxwells tried and failed to raise finance on the property – quite possibly due to its association with an incarcerated jailbird alleged sexual offender – in December 2020 and given last week that the mucky madam’s lawyers announced a sale on the property was pending at a sum of just £1.45 million, another agent remarked:

“This sum seems incredibly low and it sounds to me like the notorious Maxwell family are upto financial shenanigans yet again. This asset is most likely being moved to an entity they themselves have connections with rather than ‘sold’ to someone unconnected.”

“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” he concluded.

The Names & Numbers – 44 Kinnerton Street (AKA ‘Mucky Madam Ghislaine Maxwell’s Bathtub Bonk Pad’), Belgravia, London, SW1X 8ES, United Kingdom
- March 2021 – Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyer offered cash from the “pending sale of her £1.45 million ($2 million, €1.68 million or درهم37 million)” home as part of a package when they sought bail for the mucky madam for a third time. This sum is 44% lower than the September 2020 asking price and 400% higher than the January 1997 purchase price.
- March 2021 – Knightsbridge estate agent Matthew Kaye of Kaye & Carey tells The Steeple Times: “Knowing the street as I do, 44 is one of the smaller houses which I assume it to be a little over 1,000 square foot in size. Depending on the condition, I estimate the freehold value to be circa £1.8 million to £2 million ($2.5 million to $2.8 million, €2.1 million to €2.3 million or درهم9.2 million to درهم10.2 million).”
- December 2020 – Members of the Maxwell family attempted to raise finance on the property but are not successful.
- September 2020 – Estate agents Aylesford list 44 Kinnerton Street for sale for £2.6 million ($3.6 million, €3 million or درهم3 million) on a freehold basis, a sum 797% than the January 1997 purchase price. They subsequently later reduce the asking price to £2.1 million ($2.9 million, €2.5 million or درهم10.7 million) according to a leading property expert.
- August 2019 – According to Insider, a woman with “long hair [who] appeared to be in her 60s” was seen entering the property. She “denied that the socialite owns or lived in the house, claiming instead that the elusive socialite lived elsewhere down the street.”
- 10^th March 2001 – Prince Andrew allegedly had sexual relations with 17-year-old Virginia Roberts in a bathroom in the property. He continues to deny this occurred whilst claiming that a photograph of himself with Miss Roberts and Ghislaine Maxwell on the first floor of building is a fake also.
- 22^nd January 1997 – Ghislaine Maxwell paid £290,000 ($401,000, €337,000 or درهم5 million) for the three-storey leasehold mews house. It is situated at the heart of the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor Estate.
Murky Maxwell’s Property & PR Projects 2021 – Ghislaine Maxwell’s decision to go on record on Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme this morning on behalf of his mucky madam sister, Ghislaine, appeared remarkable. It was most likely orchestrated with the help of their PR peddler, Brian Basham.

Murky Maxwell’s Property & PR Projects 2021 – Of the now infamous photograph of Prince Andrew – which he continues claims to be fake, but which has never been proven to be such – on the landing of the property with Virginia Roberts on 10th March 2001 with Ghislaine Maxwell to the rear, Ian Maxwell remarked: “I recognise the setting.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGnUxiOADzY&feature=emb_logo
March 10, 2021
A Christmas Nightmare

“Mini castle” in Pennsylvania goes on sale in time for Christmas for 512% more than it sold for in 2000 in spite of its decoration being nightmare nasty

The most expensive property The Steeple Times featured in terms of price per square foot in 2020 was a 713 square foot one-bedroom pad in a development on the former Chelsea Barracks site in London, SW1.

Whilst that tiny and completely “lacking in room to swing a cat” space was ludicrously marketed at a sum of £3.5 million or £4,909 per square foot, for just £221,000 or £61 per square foot a buyer with the ability to see round a decorating disaster could bag themselves what agents Howard Hanna term a “mini castle” and “Victorian colonial” in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.

Presented “Christmas ready” in spite of the fact it will likely languish on the market for months given how nightmare nasty it is inside, 26 Cloverdale Avenue (AKA ‘The Castle on Cloverdale Avenue’) was built in 1902. The 3,678 square foot house stands on a plot of 0.35 acres and includes 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, but what gets Howard Hanna going is the Venetian portico and balcony that they boldly claim is “envied by Juliet herself” even.

We’ll let the pictures of 26 Cloverdale Avenue speak for themselves, but of its location there’s not much to note. David Bowie recorded his first live album in Upper Darby in July 1974, but beyond that there’s nothing to attract anyone to a horror of a house that’s being promoted for 512% more than it sold for in 2000.

A Christmas Nightmare – The Numbers – 26 Cloverdale Avenue, Upper Darby, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, PA 19082, United States of America

December 2020 – Listed for sale in time for Christmas for £221,000 ($300,000, €246,000 or درهم1.1 million), a sum 512% higher than the sale price twenty years prior, through Howard Hanna Real Estate Services.

April 2000 – Sold for £36,000 ($49,000, €40,000 or درهم180,000).

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The sitting room has been tiled in a clinical fashion and is filled with leather seating you’d expect to see in the waiting room area of a brothel. The fireplace surround is, quite frankly, dreadful.

Whoever fitted the kitchen decided to plonk a three-tier open shelf in an odd position above the fridge. Plainly, given it is bloody hard to reach, nobody has or will ever use it.

Described as a “bonus room” (though what’s a “bonus” about it we cannot fathom), this space is set up as a home cinema. The owner’s decision to stencil “Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much” on the wall is equally curious.

The staging of the dining table with a Christmas cloth and tree won’t be of much help when the house is still on sale in July 2021.

That the agents decided that a metal device probably used for torture in a utility room was worth photographing speaks volumes.

The owners went to lengths to tuck in the sheets for this room’s photo session. The tiled flooring is especially welcoming, but any buyer will no doubt want to put in a bid for the tasteful bedroom set.

Another bedroom – with its nasty nets – looks like it could be in use by a hooker. The floors, after all, are easy to scrub.

Perhaps the internal front door with locks and a knocker is in place to ensure “clients” bang before entering.

Bizarrely in this room dedicated to Wonder Woman, somebody’s gone to town colouring in a few of the white tiles.

The rear decked area may appeal to rats and termites this Christmas, but it’s hardly an architectural triumph.

The agent belives this balcony is something “even Juliet would have envied,” but that’s about one of the only things about this train wreck of a house that she’d have got excited about in its current state.

There’s more chance of Chris Rea making it home for Christmas than someone buying this crib in the near future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M48CDuzfgg

December 25, 2020
Elvis & Epstein’s ‘Dictator Car’

1969 Mercedes-Benz 600 ‘Dictator Car’ sedan originally owned by Elvis Presley and currently by an Epstein is being sold by auction

‘Taking Care of Business’ was said to be “Elvis Presley’s business motto and working philosophy.” Now, someone with deep pockets can buy the ‘King’s’ 1969 Mercedes-Benz 600 ‘Dictator Car’ sedan emblazoned with ‘TCB’ on its side that is being auctioned for charity this December.

Said to be one of over 200 cars that the Blue Suede Shoes, Hound Dog and Jailhouse Rock singer owned and mostly gave away as gifts, the short-wheelbase limousine was purchased by him on 14^th December 1970 at Mercedes-Benz of Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard for $15,000 (or the equivalent of £75,300, $100,600, €82,900 or درهم369,500 today).

Elvis and Priscilla Presley in the car.

And pictured standing next to it.

Presley reportedly used the 6.3-litre engine vehicle until the mid-1970s and then gave it to his vocalist friend Jimmy Velvet – who was later to become the operator of an Elvis memorabilia museum. Later sold on to the CEO of Dollar General and “refreshed” in the 1990s, a businessman turned philanthropist named Gene Epstein bought the ‘Dictator Car’ in 2002 after seeing it at the Amelia Island Concours.

Finished in silver and featuring a black leather with dark grey carpets and ‘zebrawood accents’ interior, the automatic car has privacy curtains, separate front and rear heating and air conditioning controls and a refrigerated console between the front seats. It has covered 60,500 miles and is being promoted as being in need of a new owner “with a big enough personality to pull it off.”

Of why he is selling the limousine – which comes with an array of Elvis Presley related memorabilia and paperwork – Gene Epstein (whom has no known connection to the late monster Jeffrey Epstein) commented:

“We feel that after owning and enjoying ‘Elvis’ for nearly 20 years it is time to say goodbye for the better need. Especially since Covid has shut down just about every event that we have planned.”

“Giving this car to our charity was a major decision that I’ve been advised against by my accountant who simply looks at the bottom line after taxes. I know that I exceed any tax benefit but how in the world can any of us enjoy life while seeing other people suffering?”

“The lightning bolt on Elvis is TCB could very well have been on mine. There’s not enough time in the day to do the best for everybody every day but we have to keep trying.”

“Elvis’s Mercedes is one hell of an automobile. And fun to drive… I hope it brings a world record price.”

In September 2019, a 1966 Mercedes-Benz 600 sedan The Steeple Times featured that had belonged to Nubar Gulbenkian sold for £310,900 ($415,000, €342,500 or درهم1.5 million). That car admittedly was undoubtedly a one-off in that its eccentric owner had changed the rear seats to a double bed and added a full glass roof, but by comparison the current bid of £160,400 ($214,500, €177,000 or درهم787,800) on the ex-Elvis ‘ride’ makes it seem cheap at a sum 48.4% lower.

Bring A Trailer’s online auction for this It’s Now or Never of a limousine concludes on the 18^th December.

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The black leather to the rear passenger seating is original yet in good condition.

There is some wear and tear to the front seating, however.

The car is emblazoned with ‘TCB’ on its front doors and also comes with an example of Elvis Presley’s ‘TCB’ stationery and some shot glasses marked ‘TCB’ also.

Amongst other memorabilia with the car are original documents, cuttings and an Elvis Presley bust.

The original bill of sale from Mercedes-Benz of Hollywood.

From the front.

And from the rear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=rYCxTiEdvoc&feature=emb_logo
A video of the car to be offered.

The car to be sold arriving at Gene Epstein’s 75^th birthday party in July 2014.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex0XUS6ppas
Another Mercedes-Benz 600 sedan owned by Elvis Presley was sold by Bonhams in December 2010 in the UK.

Elvis Presley originally recorded ‘Long Black Limousine’ in January 1969.

December 13, 2020
Erecting a C(l)ock

WARNING: EXPLICIT – Chi-chi auction house auction smutty Benny Hill-esque novelty automotive clock; it’ll be erecting a lot of interest

The late comedian Benny Hill once said: “I’m not against half naked girls – not as often as I’d like to be” and added: “Girls are like pianos. When they’re not upright, they’re grand” and surprisingly this month, the normally conservative auction house Bonhams is selling a clock that most definitely would appeal to his slapstick sense of humour.

Described simply as a “novelty erotic desk clock,” the item to be offered in their automobilia online sale is shaped “in the form of a vintage limousine.” The clock is inset into the rear wheel and a hinged door opens “to reveal [an] animated erotic scene” that is “operated” by a pendulum to the rear of the car. They neglect, however, to go into detail of what sexual action the ‘gentleman’ in the rear is actually ‘enjoying.’

Bonhams have set an estimate of £500 to £700 ($672 to $941, €554 to €776 or درهم2,468 to درهم3,455) for the clock and bidding ends on the 14^th December at 14:02 GMT. Someone who doesn’t care about sparing their visitors blushes, will no doubting be erecting a bid.

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Erecting a C(l)ock – The car opens up to reveal a ‘gentleman’ with his trousers down laughing as he is pleasured in a sexual sense by a naked ‘lady.’ One could imagine it sitting in the study of the late Jeffrey Epstein’s New York townhouse.

December 5, 2020
Going Bonkers For A Bin

Auctioneers Christie’s sought to sell five waste bins for £230; they ultimately went for the astounding sum of just under £34,000

Whilst most people would rubbish around a few pounds for a waste bin to put the junk mail we mentioned on Friday, a set of five sold for £33,900 ($43,750, €37,300 or درهم160,700) in a Christie’s auction last week.

Offered with an estimate of £230 to £390 ($300 to $500, €260 to €430 or درهم1,100 to درهم1,800) to reflect that they had been supplied by the late French interior designer Henri Samuel – a man “hailed by Architectural Digest as a ‘supreme master of progressive historicism’” – the 20^th century faux wood grain and cream painted bins were supplied with Italian marbelised paper linings.

Plainly another deciding factor for the purchaser of these very expensive rubbish containers was their past ownership. The bins had previously been owned by the late American socialite and philanthropist Jayne Wrightsman.

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The collection of Jayne Wrightsman (1919 – 2019) sold for a total of £930,000 ($1.2 million, €1 million or درهم4.4 million) at Christie’s. Her waste baskets were the top performing lot in the sale.

October 18, 2020
Drip & Draining Michael Jackson

IV drip and fluid bag that was “in the arms” of Michael Jackson on his deathbed sells at auction for an astounding sum

If you thought it weird that a chair made specially for the ‘Elephant Man’ Joseph Merrick sold for £6,000 ($7,645, €6,571 or درهم28,076) at an auction in 2014, you’ll be even more astounded to learn that a Braun a blood stained IV drip that was “in the arms” of Michael Jackson on his deathbed sold today for £3,761 ($4,792, €4,119 or درهم17,599).

Plainly bought by someone quite odd, the “controversial piece” was offered by the deceased pop star’s cousin Marsha Stewart and of it, this equally twisted woman remarked:

“Shortly after Michael died I went to the house on Sunset. I was able to go in and go to the bedroom. When I went in the bedroom there was a bed there with some juice, it looked like a sandwich… and I noticed this. This was over by the stand and what I did was took it and put it in my purse. This actually belonged to Michael Jackson and it had some white like milk fluid inside of it, which later on dissolved, but this is actually Michael’s DNA on it – that’s what made me grab it, the blood. This was one of the IVs – the last actually – he had in his arm when he died.”

Of the item, a spokesman for auctioneers Ask Memorabilia Expert who only goes by the name ‘Kieta’ told Meaww.com:

“This is the IV bag that was taken from Michael Jackson’s room after he passed and it’s important to note that this has come directly from Michael’s cousin. It’s from Joe Jackson’s estate the provenance is really important with this piece.”

“For me I feel that with Michael Jackson we have to embrace all of him, that’s his iconic pop status as well as the troubles that he had with addictions and not being able to sleep, pushing himself to perform for his fans and his artistry. The IV bag – although maybe morbid to some – I don’t see it as that I embrace it as part of Michael Jackson.”

“Addiction is close to many families – it knows no age, race, gender. The IV bag is significant to Michael Jackson and how he ended up dying. It is a controversial piece but it’s still part of Michael.”

Reporting on the sale – which also included Joe Jackson’s dentures – the Mirror cornily remarked: “[This] appears to be an attempt to cash in and drain every last bit of income from the global singing star.” We’ll go further: It’s nothing but BAD and a sick reminder of BLOOD ON THE DANCE FLOOR.

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September 27, 2020
Firing Up A 20th Century Limo

‘Stretched’ 1994 Toyota Century for sale for less than the price of a brand new Ford Fiesta; the rammed full of gadgets limousine comes with a food heating compartment and privacy curtains favoured by notoriously shy Japanese people even

Whilst a 1967 Mercedes-Benz ‘Dictator Car we featured in April eventually sold for £237,000 ($298,000, €264,000 or درهم1.1 million), a lover of limousines with far shallower pockets might care to bid on a Japanese example that is headed to auction this month.

Though the word “limousine” originally derived from the “type of carriage hood that physically resembled the cloak worn by shepherds in the Limousin region of France,” this automotive category is now sadly more generally associated with that especially ghastly, much over-used adjective “luxury.”

Limousines are not only considered the preserve of the aforementioned despots, but they’re also the favoured modes of conveyance of business titans, young Arabic and Russian showoffs and rappers now even. A well-known reader of ours even once stated she’d like to have several herself. This friend of royalty added that a collection of security guards running alongside with torches also would complete her ideal spectacle.

Coming in the form of a four-seat, stretched saloon car, the 1994 Toyota Century to be offered was imported to the UK by Mohamad Issa in 2019. It is longer than a Rolls-Royce Phantom, but slightly shorter than a Maybach at 19-feet in length, is presented in black with a black leather interior and was fully serviced in Japan prior to being shipped. The odometer reads 34,500 miles.

Historics Auctioneers will sell the 1994 Toyota Century limousine at their Windsorview Lakes sale on 18^th July. They have set an estimate of just £13,000 to £17,000 ($16,300 to $21,300, €14,500 to €18,900 or درهم59,900 to درهم78,300) and describe the car as being: “A stunning example of a rare car even in Japan, this is a real collector’s car that is a sign of wealth and power for the price of a new Ford Fiesta!”

Featured earlier this year in a 19-minute video by two vloggers named Ben and Alfie of a YouTube channel named The Department of Motoring Affairs, of this particular Century they surmised: “People are surprised that this is a Toyota… If you don’t get it by now you don’t belong in the club anyway… If you know, you know” and indeed they’re right: Here is a quirky limousine that you could only originally have had if the Japanese ‘powers that be’ allowed you.

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The passenger “compartment” is described as “richly appointed” and includes not only “soft and supple” heated power, leather seats with variable speed massage functions, but also gadgets galore. Most importantly for the notoriously shy Japanese market, the compartment has all-round curtains as well as an electric privacy partition to separate it from the driver’s compartment (with an intercom communications system).

There is a cordless 1990s mobile telephone, a television (described as “working but TV to Japanese specification”) with a VHS player, as well as a tape deck built into the rear centre armrest that even has an in-built recording device. A mini fridge also has a heating function for hot food and there is a cabinet containing crystal glasses and a decanter even.

A desk can fold out for a mogul who wishes to work whilst on-the-road inside their Toyota Century limousine. It is made of mahogany and for those that wish to ‘drink-and-ride’ there are mahogany glass holders as well.

The chauffeur also gets to sit in luxury (unlike in many other limousines). Whilst in original limousines, the chauffeur’s compartment was open, here they get not only a roof, but a leather seat also.

Technology is the order of the day given this Toyota Century limousine was manufactured in Japan. The car has automatic transmission, cruise control and a fully functional digital dash.

The soft-closing boot contains the original tyre and jacking equipment.

The engine is a Lexus 4-litre 5V-EU V8. Of it, Historics Auctioneers remark: “We are informed by the vendor that [it] starts well and pulls strong with the temperature gauge reading a little below half and the automatic transmission shifts are firm and smooth.”

From the front; this Toyota Century stretched saloon is described as “clean and straight, the chrome trim and bumpers are all intact and gleaming.”

And from the rear; here is a car that Historics Auctioneers laud as having a look “denoting conservative success.”

Historics Auctioneers have produced a video tour of the vehicle to market it to potential purchasers during the coronavirus lockdown.

The 1994 Toyota Century limousine to be auctioned featured in an amusing 19-minute long YouTube video in March this year by vlogger Alfred Munkenbeck and his co-host Ben (surname unknown). They plainly loved the vehicle.

July 8, 2020
A Borderline Bonfire Bargain

Manhattan mansion listed for 77% less than in 2014 as part of a “bankruptcy sale;” it is situated on a street featured in Billy Joel’s ‘Close to the Borderline’ that was once termed: “Bloody, Bloody Beekman Place: Where the Wealthy Wind Up Dead”

On 10^th April 1936, Good Friday, a writer named Nancy Titterton was found dead in her bathtub at the home she shared with her husband at 22 Beekman Place in Manhattan. She had been raped and strangled by an upholsterer’s assistant, John Fiorenza, who had ironically repaired a loveseat for the couple. The case of the ‘Beauty in the Bathtub’ ended with Fiorenza’s conviction and execution at Sing Sing on 22^nd January 1937, but for Beekman Place this was not the first nor last murder.

Aside from the killing of Dr Fritz Gebhardt, an industrialist and associate of Hermann Göring, by his lover Vera Stretz in a hotel in the street on 12^th November 1935, on 4^th January 2015, a Princeton graduate named Tommy Gilbert, Jr. shot his financier father in the head at his apartment at 20 Beekman Place. Prior to committing the murder, after a row about his monthly allowance, the 30-year old had sent his mother out to buy him a can of Coca Cola and a sandwich. As a result of these series of slayings, in January 2015, the Daily Beast ran an article about the street with the headline: “Bloody, Bloody Beekman Place: Where the Wealthy Wind Up Dead.”

The naked body of 33-year-old Nancy Titterton was discovered in her bathtub at 22 Beekman Place on 10th April 1936; “Pampered Ivy-leaguer” Tommy Gilbert, Jr. was sentenced to 30 years to life in jail in September 2019 for murdering his father, Thomas Gilbert, Sr. in his apartment at 20 Beekman Place in January 2015.

Owners of 29 Beekman Place – Mary Lasker, William S. Paley and Princess Ashraf Pahlavi.

Now, for altogether different reasons, the street – whose more ‘happy’ residents have included variously not just the Second Lady of the United States, Happy Rockefeller, but also Prince Aly Khan and A&P supermarket heir Huntington Hartford – Beekman Place is making headlines once again.

Whilst the asking prices of properties are often reduced, the case of 22 Beekman Place is an extreme one. Built in 1934 for William S. Paley, the man who “turned CBS from a small radio network into the foremost radio and television network in the United States,” and owned subsequently by a philanthropist and then the twin sister of the Shah of Iran, the house was placed for sale for the plainly extremely over-ambitious sum of £40.2 million in February 2014.

In the period since, the nine floor, 12,260 square foot “trophy mansion| has yo-yoed on and off the market and now after being listed as a “BANKRUPTCY SALE!! Excellent Value – Price Reduced to Sell!!” has just reappeared for ‘just’ £9.2 million.

Described by Curbed New York as having “truly lovely architectural details” and an oval-shaped dining room that has been frequented by “heads of states and foreign dignitaries from all over the world,” the red brick and limestone property has 10 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms. Additionally, it includes 1,500 square foot of outdoor space in the form of two private terraces, a chef’s kitchen, a wine cellar, a lift and a banquet hall.

Agents Compass laud 29 Beekman Place as being “designed with grand scale entertaining in mind” and suggest it “appropriate for a private mansion, live/work, a foundation, or an ideal consulate or diplomat residence.” They add: “Do not miss this opportunity to purchase a piece of New York history,” (but unsurprisingly don’t mention any of the infamous murders in the neighbouring buildings).

The Names & Numbers – 29 Beekman Place, Midtown East, Manhattan, New York, NY 10022, United States of America

April 2020 – Relisted for £9.22 million ($11.45 million, €10.58 million or درهم42.05 million) through Compass as a “bankruptcy sale.”

September 2019 – Relisted for £11.7 million ($14.5 million, €13.4 million or درهم53.3 million) through Compass.

October 2017 – Relisted for £22.5 million ($28 million, €25.9 million or درهم102.8 million) through Sotheby’s International Realty.

January 2016 – Relisted for £27.4 million ($34 million, €31.4 million or درهم124.9 million).

May 2015 – Relisted for £30.2 million ($37.5 million, €34.7 million or درهم137.7 million) through Douglas Elliman.

February 2014 – Listed for £40.2 million ($49.9 million, €46.2 million or درهم183.3 million) through Brown Harris Stevens.

Mid 1970s – Sold to Princess Ashraf Pahlavi (1919 – 2016), the twin sister of the Shah of Iran.

1940s – After Mr and Mrs Paley divorced, the house was first rented to and then bought by the philanthropist Mary Woodward Lasker (1900 – 1994). She lived there with her second husband, advertising executive Albert Lasker (1940 – 1952), and remained there after his death until circa 1975.

1934 – Built for the “notorious womaniser” and first CEO of Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), William S. Paley (1901 – 1990) and his first wife Dorothy Hart Hearst (ex-wife of John Randolph Hearst).

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April 29, 2020
A Meterless Cab

Black cab (in green) that has never carried a paying passenger to be auctioned in May; it was originally owned by construction giants Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd.

What do the Duke of Edinburgh, Noel Edmonds, Yvette Fielding, Stephen Fry, Simon Hughes, Stanley Kubrick, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Kate Moss, Sir Laurence Olivier and Arnold Schwarzenegger have in common? All of them, variously, have owned black cabs (also known as ‘Hackney carriages’ and ‘hacks’).

Stephen Fry with the black cab he owns.

The ex-Nubar Gulbenkian 1960 Austin FX4 Brougham Sedanca taxi with coachwork by FLM Panelcraft. It was sold at auction for £31,900 ($39,000, €36,200 or درهم143,600) in 2015 by Bonhams at their Quail Lodge auction in Carmel, California.

Whilst in the past, the eccentric Armenian business magnate and socialite Nubar Gulbenkian went one stage further and “dolled-up” a 1960 Austin FX4 taxi to his own specifications, a more modern adapted example is to be sold by Bonhams in May.

Lacking a traditional amber light on its roof, the 2006 London Taxi International TXII Gold to be offered has “never carried a fare paying passenger in its life.” This vehicle, instead, was bought new by the construction company Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd. and subsequently given a “bespoke upgrade” costing £12,000 ($14,700, €13,600 or درهم53,900) by LTI dealers KPM Automotive.

Fitted with replacement green velour seating in the passenger section, the 2.4-litre, automatic car has two Motorola telephones, air-conditioning, an intercom and a fold-down wheelchair access ramp. It has covered 18,000 miles from new and is described as being in generally “superb condition” and having a “distinguished air.”

Bonhams will offer the taxi at their online Bicester sale on 30^th May. They have set an estimate of £12,000 to £18,000 ($14,700 to $22,000, €13,600 to €20,400 or درهم53,900 to درهم80,900).

As someone named Lou Erickson once said: “Life is like a taxi. The meter keeps a-ticking whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still.”

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April 3, 2020