10 of the best pieces I've sold this year

We’ve reached the end of another vintage year. 

The market has thrown up some fascinating trends and huge records, as well as new perspectives on some old favourites. 

I'm looking back on 10 of the best pieces I’ve sold in the last 12 months.

Let’s begin with…

Hendrix's vest is decorated with long tassels  

It's from the collection of Tom Hulett, Hendrix’s former tour manager.

Hulett received it as a gift from Hendrix’s father Al.

It’s an exceptional item that encapsulates Jimi Hendrix’s wild creativity.

It sold for £8,950 ($12,151) in June.

Looking for something similar? Click here.

9. JFK

The Kennedy family gifted this photograph to their nanny, Maud Shaw.

This charming card shows a little seen side to the Kennedy family  

JFK, Jacqueline and their two children, Caroline and John Kennedy Jr, have all signed.

It shows JFK and the children petting Macaroni - the Shetland pony Caroline received as a gift from former president Lyndon B Johnson.

It's a candid photograph of a private moment in what was, for all the family, a very public life.

It went for £17,500 in March.

8. JK Rowling

There are few contemporary writers as influential as JK Rowling.

Her Harry Potter series was a global phenomenon.

This looks to be a totally unique piece of Apollo 11 memorabilia  

And I was fortunate to source something truly special for the occasion.

This pristine block of 32 1969 10c Apollo 11 Moon Landing stamps bear signatures from Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.

As far as I’m aware, this piece is entirely unique.

The crew carried the original die for these stamps with them to the Moon. This piece achieved £12,000 ($16,292).

6. Yuri Gagarin

The way we talk about the Space Race is changing.

Yuri Gagarin's achievement made him a superstar, both in the USSR and abroad

And I’ve tracked rising demand for Soviet cosmonauts over the past couple of years. Historically demand was reserved for American astronauts.

Marlon Brando commits to appearing in Apocalypse Now  

The atmosphere in the cinema was electric. It’s one of a handful of movies to have had a lasting impact on me.

In August, a buyer paid £4,950 ($6,720) for a 1976 letter Marlon Brando sent to director Francis Ford Coppola’s lawyers agreeing to star as Colonel Kurtz.

Brando was notoriously difficult on the set. Among the many things that wound Coppola up was Brando's insistence on improvising. Eventually, Coppola threw up his hands and agreed to let him do whatever he wanted. 

This decision, however much it rankled at the time, proved a masterstroke.

4. Stephen Hawking 

Stephen Hawking left us last year.

In the aftermath of his death there was an outpouring of affection. We also saw rising demand for his autograph.

One of Hawking's carers signs below the thumbprint to confirm its authenticity

Due to the progression of MS, Hawking was unable to write by hand from the late 1970s onward. This was around the time he became internationally famous.

Consequently, his written autograph is so rare as to be almost unobtainable. But Hawking did give autographs. His carers would dip his thumb in ink and press it onto the page.

This year I sold a copy of Hawking’s seminal A Brief History of Time bearing one of these distinctive signatures for £2,568 ($3,486).

You can own another here.

3. Charles Lindbergh

Charles Lindbergh was the biggest hero of his age.

Lindbergh signed autographs on the world tour that followed his historic flight 

When he stepped out of his cockpit in Paris in 1927, he was met by an adoring crowd.

And those crowds got bigger and bigger over time.

Lindbergh’s signature is a real rarity and signed photos are particularly in demand.

This signed photo, which recently sold for £9,500 ($12,898), is easily the best I’ve handled.

2. My Prestige Collectibles Auction

This year I held my first auction in several years.

There were autographs from Marilyn Monroe, Louis Armstrong and the Beatles.

Marilyn Monroe can be seen with this mirror in a photo taken at a 1952 awards ceremony 

A set of original Woodstock tapes.

Some ultra rare stamps.

It was a big success.

Among the highlights was an England Elizabeth I (1558-1603) Gold Pound of Twenty Shillings which realised £8,000 ($10,861).

The Marilyn Monroe-owned mirror in the photo above sold for £1,000. 

I’m hosting the next one in March. 

Please get in touch at info@paulfrasercollectibles.com if you have something you’d like to consign.

1. Albert Einstein 

Albert Einstein’s signature is a classic rarity.

Most often it comes in the form of letters.

Einstein signed this portrait of himself in 1948  

But the great man wasn’t averse to signing portraits.

I look forward to catching up with you in January.