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Science under the hammer
Science under the hammer An interest in science isn’t just good for the brain, finds Bethan Ackerley – it can also be a boost for the wallet
I
N 1976, a NASA intern named Gary George attended a government surplus auction in Houston, Texas. He was hopelessly outbid for a special agent’s car, a souped-up Porsche 911. But he did shell out $218 for three truckloads of NASA film reels, more than enough to fill his bemused parents’ garage, in the hope that they could earn him some beer money. He sold some and trashed others, donating what remained to a local church. But George followed his father’s advice and kept three reels labelled “Apollo 11 EVA”, figuring they might be worth something one day. He wasn’t wrong. Earlier this year, on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, the tapes (pictured below) – the clearest known NASA recordings of the first moonwalk – sold for $1.8 million in New York. George was lucky. But he isn’t the only person to have taken advantage of a recent boom in interest in scientific items at auction. These days, obscure scientific ephemera have become high-grossing, headline-grabbing lots at the world’s largest auction houses. From fragments of a bible once flown to
COURTESY SOTHEBY’S
Apollo 11 film reels (below) and Fabergé egg with lunar artefact (right)
80 | New Scientist | 21/28 December 2019
the moon and now ensconced in a Fabergé egg (over £8000, pictured below right), to Alan Turing’s forgotten manuscripts, rescued from a locked desk ($1,025,000), long-neglected scientific curios are on their way to becoming the new Picassos and O’Keeffes (see “Science for sale”, below). So what sells? And how can you, the sciencesavvy investor, find tomorrow’s treasures amid the uninspiring academic flotsam of today? For a long time, scientific items paled in comparison to the paintings and objets d’art that commanded the highest prices. Now, things have changed. Over the past few years, auction houses such as Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Bonhams have expanded their dedicated scientific sales, driving an explosion of interest – and profits. During its last auction season, Christie’s London sold £4.5 million worth of scientific material, comprising more than a third of its auction turnover within its books and manuscripts department. Across the pond, Sotheby’s held its first History of Science and Technology sale in New York in late 2017, raising $1.4 million. Just a year later, the company’s first “Geek Week” focusing on science, technology and space exploration yielded $7.4 million. “The first auction that I did for space exploration made $800,000,” says Cassandra Hatton of Sotheby’s. “The one that I just did made $5.5 million.” In six years, the market has changed dramatically. In that time, the going rate for certain items has rocketed. Take Enigma machines, the encryption devices used by the German military in the second world war. In 2012, you could buy a pristine example for £85,000. In 2017, one sold for more than $547,500. An object doesn’t need to be high-tech to be high-value. A shabby leather jacket of Albert Einstein’s sold for £110,500 in 2018, despite – or
Science for sale
Items that have already made a fortune at auction
James Watson’s Nobel prize sold for $4,757,000 in 2014
Apollo 11 moonwalk tapes sold for $1,820,000 in 2019
Alan Turing’s notebook sold for $1,025,000 in 2015
Apple 1 motherboard sold for $905,000 in 2014
Albert Einstein’s violin sold for $516,500 in 2018
Stephen Hawking’s wheelchair sold for £296,750 in 2018
Lots to come? Elon Musk’s unused rescue sub Created to help 12 boys trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand, Elon Musk’s mini-submarine was never used but sparked a vicious war of words between him and a member of the rescue team. The tech entrepreneur’s loyal fans might well pay good money to own a piece of his technology, however controversial.
Wool from the first sheep to survive in artificial uteruses In 2017, researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia successfully kept alive eight premature lamb fetuses in artificial uteruses. Given the revolutionary impact this technology might have, their wool could one day be knitted into a veritable golden fleece… or a very valuable Christmas jumper.
Chris Hadfield’s guitar Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield went viral in 2013 for his videos from the International Space Station. He also became an unlikely pop star, using the station’s Larrivée Parlor acoustic guitar to record an album, including a cover of David Bowie’s Space Oddity. The guitar remains on the ISS – at least until some crafty astronaut smuggles it to Earth.
COURTESY SOTHEBY’S
perhaps because of – the lingering smell of tobacco. The same year, a first edition copy of Ada Lovelace’s Sketch of the Analytical Engine, which some claim contains the first computer program, sold for £95,000. What sets these particular items apart? “It is quite natural that the great scientists should increasingly be seen as the foundational figures of our modern age,” says Thomas Venning of Christie’s. “We live in a scientific
age. I think it’s just in the zeitgeist.” Predicting what will make millions and what will flop isn’t an exact science, however. Hatton says she judges items on four key factors: condition, rarity, story and impact. Those last two are crucial. “A really great example is Nobel prizes,” she says. “They’re all worth about $10,000 in gold, but when you engrave the name Richard Feynman on it, [or] Crick or Watson, suddenly that is transformed. You’re doing alchemy.” When it comes to prices, brevity is key. “The shorter the story, the more it’s worth,” says Hatton. Venning agrees: “We sometimes joke in the department that the auction appeal of a lot is in inverse proportion to the number of words you need to explain what it is.” The three little words “taken to space” can do a lot of heavy lifting. “Everyone knows who Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are, no matter where you are in the world, what language you speak, how old you are,” says Hatton. “It’s a democratic collecting field that has a much
GIACOMO GAMBINER
Greta Thunberg’s “SKOLSTREJK FÖR KLIMATET” sign Greta Thunberg, the teenage activist whose protest outside the Swedish parliament made her one of the most influential environmental activists in the world, came to prominence alongside her hand-painted sign calling for a school strike for climate. The original item is a simple but potent symbol of the fight against climate change.
easier learning curve. There are low-risk items. You can get small things that flew in space for not a tremendous amount of money.” As for the future of the scientific market, experts are reluctant to speculate – but that shouldn’t stop the rest of us from some educated guesswork (see “Lots to come?”, above). Some treasures may not be easy to lay your hands on. But for those enterprising few who are willing to think creatively, there are no doubt riches waiting to be unearthed. ❚
Bethan Ackerley is a trainee sub‑editor at New Scientist. She is a sound investment
21/28 December 2019 | New Scientist | 81
I
N 1976, a NASA intern named Gary George attended a government surplus auction in Houston, Texas. He was hopelessly outbid for a special agent’s car, a souped-up Porsche 911. But he did shell out $218 for three truckloads of NASA film reels, more than enough to fill his bemused parents’ garage, in the hope that they could earn him some beer money. He sold some and trashed others, donating what remained to a local church. But George followed his father’s advice and kept three reels labelled “Apollo 11 EVA”, figuring they might be worth something one day. He wasn’t wrong. Earlier this year, on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, the tapes (pictured below) – the clearest known NASA recordings of the first moonwalk – sold for $1.8 million in New York. George was lucky. But he isn’t the only person to have taken advantage of a recent boom in interest in scientific items at auction. These days, obscure scientific ephemera have become high-grossing, headline-grabbing lots at the world’s largest auction houses. From fragments of a bible once flown to
COURTESY SOTHEBY’S
Apollo 11 film reels (below) and Fabergé egg with lunar artefact (right)
80 | New Scientist | 21/28 December 2019
the moon and now ensconced in a Fabergé egg (over £8000, pictured below right), to Alan Turing’s forgotten manuscripts, rescued from a locked desk ($1,025,000), long-neglected scientific curios are on their way to becoming the new Picassos and O’Keeffes (see “Science for sale”, below). So what sells? And how can you, the sciencesavvy investor, find tomorrow’s treasures amid the uninspiring academic flotsam of today? For a long time, scientific items paled in comparison to the paintings and objets d’art that commanded the highest prices. Now, things have changed. Over the past few years, auction houses such as Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Bonhams have expanded their dedicated scientific sales, driving an explosion of interest – and profits. During its last auction season, Christie’s London sold £4.5 million worth of scientific material, comprising more than a third of its auction turnover within its books and manuscripts department. Across the pond, Sotheby’s held its first History of Science and Technology sale in New York in late 2017, raising $1.4 million. Just a year later, the company’s first “Geek Week” focusing on science, technology and space exploration yielded $7.4 million. “The first auction that I did for space exploration made $800,000,” says Cassandra Hatton of Sotheby’s. “The one that I just did made $5.5 million.” In six years, the market has changed dramatically. In that time, the going rate for certain items has rocketed. Take Enigma machines, the encryption devices used by the German military in the second world war. In 2012, you could buy a pristine example for £85,000. In 2017, one sold for more than $547,500. An object doesn’t need to be high-tech to be high-value. A shabby leather jacket of Albert Einstein’s sold for £110,500 in 2018, despite – or
Science for sale
Items that have already made a fortune at auction
James Watson’s Nobel prize sold for $4,757,000 in 2014
Apollo 11 moonwalk tapes sold for $1,820,000 in 2019
Alan Turing’s notebook sold for $1,025,000 in 2015
Apple 1 motherboard sold for $905,000 in 2014
Albert Einstein’s violin sold for $516,500 in 2018
Stephen Hawking’s wheelchair sold for £296,750 in 2018
Lots to come? Elon Musk’s unused rescue sub Created to help 12 boys trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand, Elon Musk’s mini-submarine was never used but sparked a vicious war of words between him and a member of the rescue team. The tech entrepreneur’s loyal fans might well pay good money to own a piece of his technology, however controversial.
Wool from the first sheep to survive in artificial uteruses In 2017, researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia successfully kept alive eight premature lamb fetuses in artificial uteruses. Given the revolutionary impact this technology might have, their wool could one day be knitted into a veritable golden fleece… or a very valuable Christmas jumper.
Chris Hadfield’s guitar Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield went viral in 2013 for his videos from the International Space Station. He also became an unlikely pop star, using the station’s Larrivée Parlor acoustic guitar to record an album, including a cover of David Bowie’s Space Oddity. The guitar remains on the ISS – at least until some crafty astronaut smuggles it to Earth.
COURTESY SOTHEBY’S
perhaps because of – the lingering smell of tobacco. The same year, a first edition copy of Ada Lovelace’s Sketch of the Analytical Engine, which some claim contains the first computer program, sold for £95,000. What sets these particular items apart? “It is quite natural that the great scientists should increasingly be seen as the foundational figures of our modern age,” says Thomas Venning of Christie’s. “We live in a scientific
age. I think it’s just in the zeitgeist.” Predicting what will make millions and what will flop isn’t an exact science, however. Hatton says she judges items on four key factors: condition, rarity, story and impact. Those last two are crucial. “A really great example is Nobel prizes,” she says. “They’re all worth about $10,000 in gold, but when you engrave the name Richard Feynman on it, [or] Crick or Watson, suddenly that is transformed. You’re doing alchemy.” When it comes to prices, brevity is key. “The shorter the story, the more it’s worth,” says Hatton. Venning agrees: “We sometimes joke in the department that the auction appeal of a lot is in inverse proportion to the number of words you need to explain what it is.” The three little words “taken to space” can do a lot of heavy lifting. “Everyone knows who Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are, no matter where you are in the world, what language you speak, how old you are,” says Hatton. “It’s a democratic collecting field that has a much
GIACOMO GAMBINER
Greta Thunberg’s “SKOLSTREJK FÖR KLIMATET” sign Greta Thunberg, the teenage activist whose protest outside the Swedish parliament made her one of the most influential environmental activists in the world, came to prominence alongside her hand-painted sign calling for a school strike for climate. The original item is a simple but potent symbol of the fight against climate change.
easier learning curve. There are low-risk items. You can get small things that flew in space for not a tremendous amount of money.” As for the future of the scientific market, experts are reluctant to speculate – but that shouldn’t stop the rest of us from some educated guesswork (see “Lots to come?”, above). Some treasures may not be easy to lay your hands on. But for those enterprising few who are willing to think creatively, there are no doubt riches waiting to be unearthed. ❚
Bethan Ackerley is a trainee sub‑editor at New Scientist. She is a sound investment
21/28 December 2019 | New Scientist | 81