Christie’s will offer 22 lots from the estate of legendary physicist Stephen Hawking in an online sale entitled “On the shoulders of giants” which will run from October 31 to November 8. They range from Hawkings own printed copies of his most important papers including his seminal “Black hole explosions” of 1974 to a selection of medals and awards. Estimates start as low as £100.
A copy of his best selling “A Brief History of Time” is signed with his thumbprint and there is a script from one of his appearances on The Simpsons. The last lot of the auction, one of his wheelchairs, will be sold to benefit the Stephen Hawking Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Stephen Hawking died last March. UPDATE: The top lot of the sale is Stephen Hawking’s original dissertation which fetched £584,750. The 22 lots from his estate were 100% sold, realising £1,384,625, 7 times more than the pre-sale estimate. Further highlights include Stephen Hawking’s medals, which achieved £296,750 and one of his iconic wheelchairs which made £296,750 to benefit Stephen Hawking Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association. These 3 lots are the most valuable lots achieved in a Christie’s online auction in 2018.
A bomber jacket UPDATE: THIS MADE £40,000