A Collection for the Ages

This week I bring you news of the upcoming auction of the late Mr. Elli Buk (1949 - 2012), an antique dealer who was legendary for his lifetime collection of 19th and early 20th century scientific instruments and unusual objects. The massive collection of over 2,000 items is going up for auction in late April, and is something one is not likely to see in a lifetime. Steampunk aficionados will find hundreds of curiosities to satisfy their need for Jules Verne-like objects from the industrial revolution — including, but not limited to, microscopes and telescopes; medical devices and quackery; patent models and salesman's samples; early projectors, still and motion cameras; motors, archaic electrical devices and machinery; globes and surveying instruments; telegraphy and telephones; televisions and radios; as well as objects from our industrial past and household items such as typewriters and sewing machines.

“There are many individual items in this auction which are show stoppers, such as Marconi’s own experimental model magnetic detector, an early Riker Motor or an 8-foot Henry Fitz telescope, but the real essence of the collection is the sheer diversity and quantity of items Mr. Buk amassed over his forty year career,” commented Michael Grogan, President of Grogan and Company Fine Art Auctioneers and Appraisers. “This exhibit is truly a sight to behold. The list of collections within the collection is almost endless.”

The Elli Buk Collection exhibition will begin on Saturday, April 20th and run through Wednesday, April 24th from 9 a.m. - 4p.m. The collection will be auctioned in four sessions beginning Thursday, April 25th, 2013. Anyone interested in the history of science and technology, the Industrial Revolution and manufacturing history should not miss this opportunity. A fully illustrated catalogue is available on-line at Grogan Auctions. For more information contact the gallery at 781-461-9500.


Mr. Elli Buk (1949 - 2012) Photo Courtesy of Alen MacWeeney


Lot 11
BRASS AND STEEL HAND HELD WEAPON, #4333, L. Dclne, inv., U. K.; circa 1850; length: 8 inches; together with a MAHOGANY AND STEEL RIFLE MODEL


Lot 20
EARTH INDUCTOR; length: 40 inches; Exhibited: Christine Burgin Gallery, New York, 2004


Lot 25
NICKEL, BRASS AND WHITE METAL SPRING MICROPHONE; Model no. 2A; Shure Brothers Company, Chicago, ILL, U. S. A., circa 1930; height: 11 1/2 inches;


Lot 39
PHILCO PREDICTA PRINCESS SWIVEL TELEVISION, circa 1959


Lot 55
TRANSFORMER BOX, Automatic Transformer Co., Kansas City, MO, makers; with four original Edison Mazda bulbs; height: 25 inches


Lot 83
GENERAL ELECTRIC BRASS BUILDERS PLAQUE, numbered 8706D; diameter: 12 inches


Lot 85
TWO FRENCH VINTAGE ADJUSTABLE DRESSMAKER'S FORMS, height of taller: 29 inches


Lot 88
ELECTRO THERAPY MACHINE, E. J. Rose Manufacturing Co., St. Louis and Los Angelos; Serial no. 1114; height: 20 inches


Lot 95
ZENITH PORTHOLE TELEVISION, model G2355


Lot 106
CONTINENTAL WALNUT ARTISTS ANATOMICAL HORSE MODEL; length: 20 inches, height: 14 inches; together with an ARTISTS ANATOMICAL MODEL OF A HUMAN FIGURE and a COLLECTION OF ARTIST PAINT BRUSHES


Lot 112
IMPERIAL B. TYPEWRITER, no. 16961; circa 1915


Lot 132
CELESTIAL GLOBE, with cast iron tripod base; manufactured by Weber Costello Co., Chicago Heights, Ill.; circa 1900; diameter: 12 inches


Lot 151
MAHOGANY APOTHECARY CABINET, 19th century; height: 30 inches


Lot 173
FRENCH STEREO VIEWER, Le Taxiphote, maker; with glass slides in fitted trays; height: 19 inches


Lot 200C
COPPER DIVING HELMET MODEL, height: 10 inches; together with a MINER'S FOOT DRIVEN RESCUE BELLOWS, maker Siebe Gorman & Co., Ltd., London, "makers of high rescue apparatus oxygen reviving sets, smoke helmets, etc."


Lot 255
VARIABLE RESISTANCE LIGHT BULB TESTER, mounted on a rattan peach basket; height: 31 inches


Lot 300D
PHYSICIANS ANATOMICAL AID, Pelvic and Genital Anatomy; in folio format: 15 x 12 inches


Lot 324
BAKELITE RAYETTE LECTRONIC WAVE MACHINE; height: 11 inches


Lot 390
TWO PLASTER BUSTS; including: one with cross section depicting skull and the; height of taller: 20 inches; together with a WAX BUST OF A JOVIAL MAN, height: 15 inches


Lot 469
TICKER TAPE MACHINE, mounted on an oak base with glass dome


Lot 481
TWO BOXES OF ARCHITECTURAL DRAFTING TOOLS AND RELATED ITEMS


Lot 520
FRENCH AUTOMOTION TORSO OF A NEGRESS; with glass eyes; in the manner of DeCamps; height: 18 inches


Lot 587
OPTICAL TRADE SIGN; length: 35 inches; together with numerous replacement prints of "eyes"


Lot 670
VINTAGE COMPOSITION ANATOMICAL FIGURE OF A WOMAN, Clay-Adams Co., Inc., New York, maker; height: 43 inches


Lot 674
LIFE SIZE DETAILED ANATOMICALLY CORRECT MODEL, with internal body cavity and removable organs


Lot 678
MEDICAL DEATH MASK, together with a WAX HAND


Lot 1055
ELECTRO-DYNAMIC REVOLVING RING; height: 8 1/2 inches


Lot 834
SIX BULB CHROME AND IRON TABLE TOP NEBULIZER, U. S. Gauge Co., New York; stamped with multiple patents; height: 18 inches; together with a BRASS NEBULIZER PART