Explore 83 Auctions Collections - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place

83 Items Tagged

Auctions

Share
Karl Martin's toothbrush holder.
ancient

This 4,000-Year-Old Pot Spent Years as a Toothbrush Holder

It was purely acci-dental.
Matthew Taub November 30, 2018
An Engima machine, photographed in 1943.
world war ii

For Sale: A Tricky Cipher Machine From WWII

Attention, tinkerers: It's still solvable.
Jessica Leigh Hester November 28, 2018
The HeliosCentric console, which may have more great music in it yet.
music

For Sale: A Wood-Paneled Console That Helped Shape Classic Rock

Bowie, Marley, Zeppelin, and more recorded on this piece of music history.
Matthew Taub November 26, 2018
The spiral staircase, waiting for its next home.
architecture

For Sale: 24 Steps From the Eiffel Tower's Spiral Staircases

Panoramic view of Paris not guaranteed.
Jessica Leigh Hester November 13, 2018
The built-in magnifying glass is sure to come in handy.
meteorites

For Sale: Very, Very Tiny Pieces of the Moon

These samples of lunar soil are very expensive, too.
Jessica Leigh Hester October 31, 2018
Abandoned street and vacant buildings at Heritage Square.
amusement parks

For Sale: The Entire Contents of a Colorado Theme Park

In the market for a roller coaster? Here's your chance.
Evan Nicole Brown October 19, 2018
Kevin, retired and flanked by other flags.
towers

Sold: The Flag That Hurricane Florence Shredded on Camera

A metaphor for weathering a storm.
Jessica Leigh Hester October 4, 2018
Elsie Wright photographed her cousin, Frances Griffths, surrounded by fairies in July 1917.
photography

For Sale: Legendary Photographic 'Proof' of Fairies and Gnomes

In 1917, two young girls with a camera pranked the world.
Jessica Leigh Hester September 28, 2018
Imagine finding this in your mailbox.
literature

For Sale: Writing Advice From Mark Twain

The famed author didn't think much of young writers (unless they experienced great personal tragedy).
Matthew Taub September 4, 2018
A fancy cancel of a Good Boy.
stamps

For Sale: Fancy Canceled Stamps That Recorded Daily Life in a Connecticut Town

Postage-sized portraits of life during Reconstruction.
Jessica Leigh Hester August 27, 2018
Dumbo!
collections

Inside an Incredible Collection of Objects From Disneyland's Past

From Dumbo to the Haunted Mansion, and much much more.
Sarah Laskow August 10, 2018
These tiny models can include dozens of cannons on a single side.
Oxnard, California

Prisoner of War Bone Model Ships

French prisoners carved these boats from the bones of their meat rations.
This 212-year-old biscuit could fetch upwards of $4,000.
food

A 212-Year-Old Ship Biscuit Is Selling for Only $3,580

This sailor's snack is well past its expiration date.
Christina Ayele Djossa April 27, 2018
The glassware within is etched with lilies of the valley.
sailors

Horatio Nelson's Grog Chest Just Sold for $95,000

Also, what is grog?
Anne Ewbank January 18, 2018
Harvard Jail House.
Harvard, Nebraska

Harvard Jail House

The two-cell building in Nebraska was briefly owned by a teenage boy and then a Hollywood dummy.
The great reveal of Elmes' chocolate box.
food

Feast Your Eyes on This 100-Year-Old Box of Chocolates

You can buy it too.
Paula Mejia December 11, 2017
art

A 19th-Century Chinese Hat Stand Spent 50 Years in Disguise as a Welsh Lamp

Chinese-porcelain expert Ivy Chan tells the story of a fancy incognito furnishing.
Ashawnta Jackson December 5, 2017
Detail from Bronzino's murals in the Basilica di Santa Croce.
art

How Great Art Can Make You a Little Crazy

Braving the long lines to see the last Leonardo in private hands.
Natasha Frost November 14, 2017