New York - A medallion of mold used in Alexander Fleming's landmark discovery of penicillin's antibacterial properties achieved a record price of $76,000 at Bonhams' History of Science and Technology sale on October 23. The medallion was one of a small number created by Fleming – most going to important notable figures such as Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt – and features the inscription – "The mould that first made penicillin / Alexander Fleming." The result was an auction world record for a Fleming mold medallion which was previously held by a different sample that sold at Bonhams in December 2016 for $46,000.
"Fleming's discovery of penicillin changed the course of human history – for the first time furnishing medicine with the ability to completely cure many diseases and infections," commented Darren Sutherland, Bonhams' Senior Specialist of Fine Books and Manuscripts in New York. "As part of one of the most important medical advancements which has saved an incalculable number of lives, it is no wonder that the current sample of Fleming's wonder drug attracted interest from around the world and set a world auction record for a Fleming mold medallion."
The sale saw an analog 'Blue Box' Phone Hacking Device used in the 1970s to access free phone services soar past expectations when it sold for $140,200. An additional highlight of the sale was an Apple 'Twiggy' Macintosh Prototype – one of only two known to still exist – which sold for $83,000.
The Fine Books & Manuscripts department presented two additional sales which also closed this week – Space History on October 23 and Americana, Natural History, and Travel on October 24. Highlights of those sales include:
• A rare first printing of the influential pamphlet Common Sense, 1776 by Thomas Paine (1737-1809) sold for $140,200.
• The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands: Containing the Figures of Birds, Beasts, Fishes, Serpents, Insects, and Plants, the most famous colorplate book of American plant and wildlife, by Mark Catesby (1683-1749) sold for $127,500.
• A rare and important broadside circular denouncing taxes "imposed on the people without their consent" from 1768 achieved more than 14 times its estimate when it sold for $70,350.
• A hand-painted globe of Mars created without a telescope or binoculars by self-taught Danish astronomer Emmy Ingeborg Brun (1872-1929) sold for $15,360.
• R. K. Jefferies' Apollo 11 Flight Plan annotated during the EVA on July 1, 1969, sold for $12,800.
Overall, the three sales from the department achieved together $1,626,000.