Will Seippel, CEO of WorthPoint, enjoys watching the gadgets offered at auctions held by our WorthPoint Business Companions. We thought it might be a terrific thought for him to pick a few of his favourite offered gadgets and clarify why these gross sales stood out to him. Gaining insights from Will is a wonderful approach to find out about shopping for and promoting tendencies in our trade. We wish to empower you to purchase and promote with confidence. Check out his ideas on just a few of our companions’ current gross sales.
On August 1, 2025, WorthPoint added 228,459 gadgets with a complete worth of $15,380,727.83, leading to a mean lot worth of $67.32. Quite a bit occurred within the public sale world that day, and I’m all the time amazed by the number of gadgets we come throughout.
Fierce Bidding on This One
Lion and Unicorn is thought for unearthing uncommon treasures, and at present’s public sale was no exception. Among the many standout heaps was a Royal Doulton Bunnykins prototype, which is in contrast to something I’ve seen earlier than—and I doubt many others have both. Within the late Nineteen Nineties, the famed English porcelain maker created a handful of NFL-themed Bunnykins prototypes for a licensing deal that by no means materialized. One in all these uncommon items, dressed as a Buffalo Payments soccer participant with a pink helmet, blue jersey, striped white pants, and pink socks, crossed the block at present. Fierce bidding pushed the value to $13,750—simply shy of the $17,500 document Lion and Unicorn set for a Bunnykins determine just a few years in the past.
Apparently, Lion and Unicorn holds roughly ninety of the highest Bunnykins costs in our database, which at present consists of 83,806 gross sales data. The Buffalo Payments determine was certainly one of solely about half a dozen NFL prototypes ever produced, making it a real collector’s prize. Different whimsical prototypes within the sale included a rabbit holding a Valentine’s coronary heart and a personality named “Sydney.” Measuring 3.25 inches tall, the Buffalo Payments piece bore the Royal Doulton backstamp and confirmed solely age-related put on. On the earth of Bunnykins gathering, this was a uncommon and memorable second.
Goldmine of Rock and Roll
Ripley’s newest public sale was a goldmine for rock and roll historians and Japanese whiskey fans. The star attraction got here from the property of Connie DeNave (her bio is right here), the groundbreaking PR drive behind numerous rock legends, together with early Motown artists and The Rolling Stones. The sale featured a unprecedented array of unique images, press kits, and unseen materials, equivalent to a trove of Herman’s Hermits negatives and call sheets nonetheless sealed of their unique envelopes. Rock style followers may even snag an early Faces tour shirt—a chunk any Rod Stewart devotee would cherish. The 210 heaps averaged $166 every, providing sharp-eyed collectors the possibility to attain undervalued treasures. On the whiskey facet, a coveted Yamazaki 18-year single malt fetched $750, proving that fantastic spirits can share the highlight with rock memorabilia. Collectively, the sale blended music historical past and uncommon drinks into one unforgettable occasion.
A Few Standouts
There have been far too many desirable gadgets to cowl at present in a single go, however just a few stood out. Leland Little featured a placing Picasso lithograph of his second spouse, La Femme Aux Des Jacquelline, created in 1958 and numbered 12/100. Printed and revealed by Mourlot in Paris, the piece was signed in white crayon and offered on black wove paper. Measuring 20 x 13 ¼ inches (picture) and elegantly matted and framed, it offered for $12,000. Over at Bid Tons, an 1869 Lionel Stephenson portrait of Fort Garry caught my consideration. Stephenson typically reproduced his personal work for vacationers, so variations of this picture—every with refined variations—are comparatively frequent, however nonetheless extremely collectible.
Saving probably the most lighthearted for final, we return to Leland Little for a really memorable piece: Judy Dater’s 1974 gelatin silver print Imogen and Twinka at Yosemite. This playful {photograph} depicts a nude Twinka Thiebaud flashing an amused, totally clothed Imogen Cunningham within the forest of Yosemite Nationwide Park. Revealed in Life journal that very same 12 months, it was the primary nude the journal had ever printed and rapidly turned an iconic feminist picture of the Seventies. Measuring 9 ⅞ x 7 ⅞ inches and in excellent situation, the {photograph} offered for $7,200. I labored as a park ranger round that point, although, sadly, no such scene ever unfolded for me.
Will Seippel is the founder, president, and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and supplier of nearly all issues vintage—with an emphasis on ephemera— since 1984. He’s additionally the creator and founding father of HIP, a web site dedicated to recording the perfect of the world’s historical past that has been saved on movie.
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