RR Auction
| File:RR Auction.png | |
| Founded | Amherst, New Hampshire, 1976 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Bob Eaton |
| Headquarters | , United States of America |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Bob Eaton, Bobby Livingston |
| Services | Auction House, Art valuation |
| Website | www |
RR Auction is a prominent auction house established in 1976 by Bob Eaton. The company operates from its main office in Boston and maintains a production facility in Amherst, New Hampshire. It conducts monthly auctions that feature a diverse range of items including historical manuscripts, autographs, artifacts, sports memorabilia, space exploration collectibles, and presidential relics. Serving clients worldwide, RR Auction distributes monthly catalogs both in print and digitally through issuu.
History
At age 19 in 1976, Bob Eaton initiated RR Auction after acquiring $1,800 worth of sports memorabilia—such as a baseball signed by Babe Ruth and programs from the Red Sox World Series—and reselling them for ten times the original price. Starting with sales from his basement, Eaton officially launched the business in 1980 by compiling a mailing list to offer items from Newton Centre, Massachusetts.
During the 1990s, Eaton moved operations to New Hampshire and transitioned RR Auction’s focus from retail sales to auction services by 1995, establishing offices in Amherst. The company initially concentrated on collectible autographs before broadening its scope to encompass American historical and pop culture artifacts.
The adoption of online bidding in 2004 marked a turning point that accelerated growth; by 2009, annual revenues had climbed to $8 million. In 2010, RR Auction expanded into space memorabilia auctions, starting with astronaut Charlie Duke’s headset, which helped build its reputation in spaceflight artifact sales. Following rapid expansion after launching its website, the firm opened a 1,500 square-foot auction gallery in Boston’s North End in 2014 to exhibit items and facilitate VIP and live auctions.
In 2018, RR Auction revisited its origins with a dedicated auction featuring more than 650 sports collectibles. In June 2021, the company was chosen by Jeff Bezos’ space enterprise, Blue Origin, to conduct the auction for a seat aboard the New Shepard capsule that flew on July 20, 2021.
Historical
- In November 2011, documents related to the Alamo, including receipts signed by William Barret Travis and Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, were offered at auction with part of the proceeds benefiting the Children's Bereavement Center of South Texas.
- The firearms carried by Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow at the time of their death in 1934 sold for over $500,000 during a September 2012 auction.
- President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 Lincoln Continental convertible—the final vehicle he rode in safely before his assassination—was sold for $318,000 in October 2013.
- More than 400 presidential artifacts from the collection of Raleigh DeGeer Amyx, including Abraham Lincoln’s eyeglasses and Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Rolex watch, were auctioned in September 2014.
- An original White House plinth rescued during Theodore Roosevelt’s remodeling efforts in 1902 was sold at auction.
- A letter signed by George Washington addressed to Timothy Pickering fetched over $61,000 in January 2017.
- A partially printed document bearing Queen Elizabeth I’s signature sold for $36,750 in March 2017.
- The signature of Thomas Lynch Jr., one of the Declaration of Independence signers, brought $24,504.90 at auction in May 2017.
- John F. Kennedy’s diary from his time as a Hearst reporter in 1945 commanded $718,750 when sold in April 2017.
- Two amputation kits used by Revolutionary War surgeon Dr. John Warren were sold for more than $104,000 in July 2017.
- In September 2024, RR Auction unveiled previously unseen footage showing President JFK’s motorcade traveling to Parkland Memorial Hospital following his assassination. Filmed on 8mm by businessman Dale Carpenter Sr., the video captures Secret Service agent Clint Hill on the presidential limousine and was sold for $137,500 on September 28, 2024.
Music
- A mono first pressing of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, autographed by all four members of The Beatles, achieved a sale price of $175,698 in January 2014.
- In January 2015, the red Mosrite guitar used on stage by Johnny Ramone was auctioned for $71,875.
- An autograph letter penned by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1786 was sold for $217,000 in October 2015.
- A customized Hummer previously owned by rapper Tupac Shakur, acquired three months prior to his passing, fetched $337,114 at auction in May 2016.
- Prince’s handwritten and signed acceptance speech from the 1993 Brit Awards sold for $32,129 in March 2017; this item was part of a collection valued between $20,000 and $25,000.
- A copy of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, signed by the band members but without the record, sold for nearly $28,000 in April 2017.
- Early in 2017, a love letter from Judy Garland to Frank Sinatra was auctioned for $5,897.15, confirming speculations about an affair during Garland’s marriage.
Space
- RR Auction hosted its inaugural space-themed auction in June 2010, featuring approximately 500 items including the headset worn by Astronaut Charlie Duke during Neil Armstrong’s famous "The Eagle has landed" transmission.
- In September 2011, Alan Shepard’s 1959 letter expressing his attempt to join the "Man in Space" program was sold for $106,000.
- November 2014 saw the sale of a Hasselblad camera and Zeiss lens from 1962 used in NASA’s orbital photography experiments.
- April 2015 featured an auction of flight software and a Block II Apollo Guidance computer display and keyboard developed by MIT computer scientist Margaret Hamilton for Apollo missions.
- Astronaut David Scott’s Bulova watch worn on the lunar surface during Apollo 15 was auctioned for $1.625 million in October 2015.
- A rescue arrow decal from the Apollo 11 command module Columbia sold for over $147,000 in 2017, surpassing its estimated value of $100,000.
- In June 2021, RR Auction sold a seat aboard Jeff Bezos’ New Shepard space capsule to an undisclosed bidder for $28 million.
- An Omega Speedmaster Professional chronograph commemorating Apollo 11 was sold to an anonymous buyer for $1.53 million in October 2022.
Cultural
- Wallace Hartley’s final letter as bandleader on the Titanic was sold for $155,000 in January 2012.
- A photograph from the 1970s depicting Princess Diana alongside an unidentified man fetched $18,396 at auction in January 2013.
- The first email ever sent by a U.S. President—from Bill Clinton to astronaut John Glenn in 1998—was sold for more than $11,000 in April 2014.
- The white Cadillac Escalade used in The Sopranos television series and signed by actor James Gandolfini sold for $119,780 in November 2015.
- An official badge from the 1924 Chamonix Winter Olympics belonging to a figure skating judge and retaining its original ribbon was auctioned for over $33,000 in January 2017.
Notable figures
- A renowned photograph of Albert Einstein bearing his signature sold for $74,000 in June 2009.
- A portrait of Charles Darwin signed by Julia Margaret Cameron changed hands for $27,579 in 2010.
- An Edgar Allan Poe letter addressed to editor Sarah Josepha Hale fetched $164,000 in 2012.
- Oskar Schindler’s letter requesting relocation of his factory sold for more than $21,000 in August 2013.
- Truman Capote’s annotated manuscript of Breakfast at Tiffany’s realized over $300,000 at auction in April 2013.
- A handwritten letter by John Lennon was sold for $28,000 in 2014.
- Mario Puzo’s archive containing drafts of The Godfather commanded $625,000 at auction in February 2016.
- An autographed Marilyn Monroe photograph from The Prince and the Showgirl press event sold for over $19,000 in February 2017.
- Isaac Newton’s pay order issued to the South Sea Company achieved a sale price of $53,805.68 in June 2017.
- Al Capone’s diamond-encrusted watch engraved with "AC" fetched $84,375 at auction in June 2017.
- Steve Jobs’ Apple II manual set a record with a sale price of $787,484 in August 2021.
- An Apple-1 computer prototype utilized by Steve Jobs during its development in 1976 was sold for $677,196 in August 2022.
- Personal belongings including a signed birthday card once owned by Elon Musk were auctioned off by his former partner in September 2022.
- The Olympic gold medal won by Soviet figure skater Alexander Zaitsev was auctioned for $93,000 during summer 2023; Zaitsev later distanced himself from this sale following his divorce.