As we've reported, Artcurial is limbering up to provide a high quality space and aviation auction at the end of January, entitled From the Earth to the Moon: the icons of the era of supersonic aerospace and conquest.
The main highlight in the sale, of course, is one of the few last Fouga Magister planes in France to still function.
Outstanding technical capabilities in aerobatics and air weapons, reliability and manoeuvrability allowed the Fouga to experience military life with about 12,000 pilots trained on the Magister.
But of course, the Fouga Magister is not the only plane to count as a classic, and there is a part of a plane in the auction which has an even better claim to iconic status: Concorde.
 The £100,000 Concorde nose cone sold in Four Rooms |
We love Concorde here at Paul Fraser Collectibles, and have previously commented on the ongoing value of its parts and memorabilia as collectibles, not to mention interviewing perhaps its greatest collector, Simon Jones.
Of course 2011 saw a landmark sale for a piece of Concorde memorabilia: a nose cone from a British Airways Concorde was sold on British TV show Four Rooms for £55,000 to dealer Andrew Lamberty, who then almost immediately sold it on for £100,000.
The movable 'drooping' nose of Concorde is probably its most memorable feature. Now Artcurial is offering a piece of memorabilia of a more manageable size, which is still extremely exciting.
 Not to be sneezed at... the Concorde nose control |
The 'nose control' was made by Dowty Electronics, and has four possible configurations: nose down to 12 ° 30 for landing, nose down to 5 ° for take-off, nose at 0 ° visor subsonic cruise low and nose at high peak for supersonic cruising.
A fantastic item, it is expected to sell for €15,000-18,000. A rare model of Concorde with its landing gear extended also appears in the sale, listed €5,000-7,000.
Concorde's creators were seen as pioneers in the field of aviation, and many regret that the speed of sound-busting plane has been retired. Collectors will always be interested in pioneers of the skies - it's for that reason that we're so proud to be offering the famous Charles Rolls collection of Wright Brothers photographs from our stock.
