Printing Press Auction Update
A little update on what happened at the printing press auction I mentioned two weeks ago.
The guys behind the in-the-works film Linotype were there filming how that part of the auction went down.
The linotype machine went to a museum for $10 (it cost $2600 just to move) and the rest of the room—all the beautiful old lead type, wooden storage boxes, etc—went for almost $10,000, to a guy who (I think) was going to resell it all separately or possibly for just the metal value. There was a collective sigh of resolution in the room after the winning bid was settled, and the new owner was immediately surrounded by type nerds hoping to buy specific pieces from him.
After three hours, I had to sneak out to find a sandwich. Fortunately we were in the North End, so I found this amazing balsamic, mozzerella, proscuitto creation just up the street at Salumeria Italiana:
One of the very last things auctioned off—when only the curious stragglers remained—was the file cabinet we had our eye on. We got it for $10! Cheaper than any of our other crappier, newer cabinets. It has five small drawers, just the right size to hold Joe’s clothes, and was made by Steelcase in my hometown. How perfect.
There’s something great about auctions: a bunch of strangers standing around examining the oddest assortment of things, with one fast-talking gentleman trying to entice you to bid for something you don’t want, or do want, but are pretending not to. We had a lot of fun and it was way more exciting than typical window shopping. It might be a new hobby!