A rare manuscript of a speech by Abraham Lincoln calling on the country to unite amid civil war in 1864 sold at auction Thursday for 3.4 million dollars.

The sale, held at Christie’s in New York on the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, was a record for a US historical manuscript, according to the auction house, and inside the three to four million dollar estimate.

In the November 10, 1864 speech, made shortly after he won re-election, Lincoln wrote: “Now that the election is over, may not all, having a common interest, reunite in a common effort, to save our common country?” Source: AFP

At the “Ferrari Leggenda e Passione”, an exclusive event held annually in Maranello, Italy, during the Mille Miglia, this year on May 17, RM/Sothebys auction will present the 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa race car.

This masterpiece of design and engineering is expected to break the world record for the most expensive vintage motor car ever to be sold at auction.

The record is currently held by a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder which was sold for USD 10,894,400 (€7,040,000, £5,598,208 GBP) at least year’s Ferrari Leggenda e Passione, on May 18, 2008.

Christie’s on Wednesday sold an extremely rare, 17th century fancy deep grayish-blue diamond for $24.3 million, a world record price for any diamond or jewelry sold at auction in London.

The 35.56-ct. Wittelsbach diamond was once owned by King Philip IV of Spain, who purchased for his daughter, Margarita Teresa, for her engagement to Leopold I of Austria in 1664. It was mined in India and owned by the same private collector since 1964.

The price for Wittelsbach topped the previous record of $16.5 million for a 100ct diamond in 1995 in Geneva.

If you are a record collector, your significant other is a very special person. They are able to take and accept your love of 180 gram vinyl and the reality that it will be part of the family – always there and sounding real good. For years, the solution to your partner’s acceptance of your vinyl was to store it in either a backroom, basement, or in the living room using the IKEA Expedit shelving system.

The good people at Atocha Design raise the bar in vinyl storage with their “The Record Cabinet”. Finished in American Walnut and fashioned in the form of a bureau, this cabinet not only stores 95 LPs per drawer but it can also hold CDs as well as 7 inches vinyl. The price does not come low though. The cabinet retails at $12,500.

Question : What is the most expensive record in the world?

Answer : An early disc created by three of the original Beatles has become England’s most expensive record of all time and has an estimated value of £100,000 ($200,000).

Recorded in 1958 by the band Quarry Men, (Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, Colin Hanton and John Duff Lowe), the first pressing of their version of “That’ll Be The Day” would be a jewel in any collection.

Most members of the band attended Quarry Banks grammar school, from which they derived the name. The band lasted until 1958, when Lowe and Hanton left the group.

After that, the group went through several names before settling on The Beatles.
Sir Paul McCartney owns the first pressing. Record Collector, a magazine, arrived at the £100,000 figure through information from experts, collectors and dealers.

The expensive single also contains an original B-side by McCartney and Harrison, “In Spite of All the Danger.”

A seal of the Chinese emperor Kangxi sold at auction in the southern French city Toulouse for 4.7 million Euros (USD 7.2 million), a world record price for such an object, the sale`s organisers said on Saturday.

It is a world record for a seal and a European record for a Chinese object. It was bought by an unnamed buyer or buyers from China bidding by telephone.

The three kilogram (six-and-a-half pound) beige soapstone seal was one of 130 personal seals used by the emperor Kangxi, who ruled between 1662 and 1722.