Heritage Auctions

In 1903 the Wright Brothers put into the air the first successful aeroplane. Sixty-six years later Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon – carrying with his mission a piece of the propeller and section of the wing fabric from that pioneering aircraft.

If eyes really are the windows into the soul then two photographs taken nearly 120 years apart give the viewer plenty to ponder.

The silver eight-Reales coins struck in Mexico City in the 1530s are sometimes referred to as the ‘first dollar of the New World’.

In a rare cartoon depicting the Boston Tea Party the Goddess of Liberty says: “Behold the Ardor of my sons and let not their brave Actions be buried in Oblivion.”

A couple emigrating to the US from Russia in the early 20th century was not exactly headline news, but sadly for university graduates Miriam and Sinai Kantor they became part of one of the biggest stories of the day.

Frank Frazetta’s painting Escape on Venus does not feature any of the pirates, zombies or ugly communists that appear in the story it accompanies. Still, the picture easily attracted enough attention to make it the top lot at a recent Heritage Auctions sale.

Our latest look at new roles in the art and antiques trade.

A rare Star Wars concept poster printed for The Empire Strikes Back sold on July 29 for a premium-inclusive $26,400 (£20,150) at Heritage Auctions, setting a world record as the most expensive movie poster from the space opera ever sold at auction.

One of seven known examples of ‘the first gold coin struck in the US’ – the 1787 New York Brasher Doubloon – has sold for more than $5m in a private deal.

A handwritten manuscript of a Sherlock Holmes story featuring a cipher devised by author Arthur Conan Doyle goes under the hammer this month in Dallas, Texas.

High at the top of any list of seminal moments in rock history will be Pete Townshend’s penchant for often destroying guitars at the end of a gig with The Who.