Dickens at auction

The big New York sale was yesterday at Christie's; some record prices, but news reports so far have been fairly thin on detail:

A first edition of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" sold for a record $229,000 at Christie's auction house in New York Wednesday. . .

First published in 1838, the copy at auction was inscribed by the author to a friend and fellow novelist, William Ainsworth.

A total of 208 lots went under the gavel, part of the William Self family collection.

The sale was written up rather extensively beforehand; the following is from the Guardian:

The biggest auction of Charles Dickens' works for more than 35 years is to be held in New York this week. The lots include a rare manuscript page from The Pickwick Papers, written in the author's own hand with his corrections, and a special edition book inscribed by Dickens to fellow novelist George Eliot. The 400 items are expected to fetch between $1.8m (about £900,000) and $2.8m at Christie's, but there is no clear prospect of any returning to Britain.

The BBC writeup is here. Meanwhile, more Dickens relics are coming up for sale soon:

Charles Dickens' writing desk and chair, which are thought to be worth up to £80,000, are to be sold at a charity auction in London.

It is thought the furniture was where he wrote some of his later works, including Great Expectations, at his Gad's Hill Place home in Higham, Kent.

Proceeds will go to Great Ormond Street children's hospital in central London after they were donated by a relative.

From the BBC.

UPDATE: Read more about Wednesday's sale at the Christie's site.

Stoolball: next stop, the Olympics

A medieval game that is almost exclusively played in the South East has been recognised as a sport.

The Sports Council agreed that Stoolball, which is played by up to 4,000 people in Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire, met its criteria.

A round willow bat and wickets made of wooden boards on stakes are used to play the game which has links to the development of cricket. . .

The game, which has a similar scoring system to cricket, is believed to date back to the 14th century with matches traditionally held during religious festivals.

There are also records of it being played in colonial Boston in North America.

From the BBC. The National Stoolball Association website is here.

Pre-Columbian hoard returns to Mexico

A treasure-trove of about 100 artifacts, believed to be pre-Columbian, is on its way to Mexico, its presumed home, U.S. customs agents and Mexican diplomats said Tuesday.

Among the antiquities is a stone mask of a broad-featured man, which is believed to come from the Olmec civilization, the oldest in the Americas, and it dates as far back as 1000 B.C., experts said. Other items include figurines in jadeite, precious stones symbolically linked to fertility for the people of ancient Mesoamerica and once valued more than gold. . .

The goods represent several seizures in Texas and New Mexico, including an initial seizure in 2001. . .

Seems that there's some doubt about where the pieces belong, however, so perhaps other Central or South American countries may end up putting in a claim:

A spokesman at Mexico's Institute of Archaeology and History noted that no Mexican archaeologist has physically seen the pieces and they still need to be verified.

Robert Drolet, an archaeologist with the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, said he surveyed about a dozen items in 2001, when the first seizure was made. Only three were Mexican and all were memorable, he said.

Full article here.

April Fool's -- or not?

You pick 'em out: here they are.

Oldest worked gold in the Americas

A necklace found near Lake Titicaca in southern Peru is the oldest known gold object made in the Americas, archaeologists say.

Radiocarbon dating puts its origin at about 4,000 years ago, when hunter-gatherers occupied the area.

The researchers say it appears to have been fashioned from gold nuggets.

From the BBC.

So much for aptitude tests

A female agent of WWII was assessed as "not having the personality to act as a leader" before she was parachuted into France, files have revealed.

Pearl Cornioley, who died in February, ended up in command of 3,000 French resistance fighters.

Documents released at the National Archives say Mrs Cornioley was later commended for "colossal bravery" and "outstanding powers of leadership".

She was eventually given her Parachute Wings at the age of 92.

From the BBC.