Waldorf-Astoria Online Auction

"The arm chairs and settees in the pale blue that was the favorite color of the Duchess of Windsor, who lived at the hotel with Edward VIII after he abdicated the British throne in 1936, are artfully arranged in an abandoned H&M store. Cole Porter’s dramatic suite is now ensconced in an REI Co-op outdoor store, and former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s New York City stronghold has been set up at Filene’s."

The Murano chandeliers and appliqués are nice. Venini?

Barovier?

These can't be Lalique, can they? They aren't attractive.

In other words, the owner is desperate to get rid of this inventory and turn every hotel room into a pale grey monochromatic mess guests similar to what guests can find at a Holiday Inn Express.

r3, you have a good eye, I can't tell good stuff from garbage.

I was looking for vintage WA dishware, its not included in this auction.

R5 - Yeah, I've stayed in the Towers several times. They were beautiful rooms. You don't have to throw EVERYTHING out. I hope they don't.

I am outbid!

Will they be auctioning off the original recipe card for the salad?

Hotel furniture? You don’t know who’s so spooged all over it.

How exciting.

Do they come with or without bedbugs?

the waldorf astoria! iconic!

I wanted those chairs, starting bid was only 165, it's ten times more now dammit!

R10 Maybe you can black light them prior?

Do they deliver to the UK?

celedon is one of my favorite shades, bidding is strong

Cool, thanks! I’m thinking of the hallway piano.

I will MARY! myself here, but I am aghast.

This is upsetting. The world as (some of us) know it will never be back. I'm a millennial, and I know no one my age appreciates anything antique, baroque, chintz (ok I'm just going to stop as I can't think of a D decor word). Rooms like these, ornate luxury like this, is gone with the wind. Replaced with cheap Trump repros witlessly trying to recreate this look. Or danish streamlined ugly modernism. Or just cheap ikea particle board.

estne nihil sanctum?

R16 But your highest bid only goes to 99!

Marilyn is still a money maker, big.

Gorgeous things.

[quote]ok I'm just going to stop as I can't think of a D decor word

Deco!!!

No bids for the marble side tables in the Elizabeth Taylor suite. If I lived in NY I’d bid.

r16.

I don't know if this is the piano in your pic.

R22 You do know they auction is taking place in an abandoned mall outside Boston don’t you?

R23 How many of those certified genuine Cole Porter Suite pianos are they selling? I guess they’re the 21st Century’s version of slivers from the True Cross!

Thanks R24, but it makes no difference as I’m in Seattle.

The new owners of the Waldorf are Chinese. Just so you know.

Many items wind up being resold on eBay, so keep an eye on the site.

Any of Lana Turner's items for sale?

Grandmas sofa

bidding through the roof for this item

R31 Is that one of those boats large orders of sushi come in? Why’s that so popular?

Don’t scoff, but I like this:

I never knew what this style of furniture was called.

It's awful.

R34 That would also be know as a Bombay Commode.

large credenza, only 45 dollars.

shipping and handling not included.

Not so Grand Hotel....

I love those velvet pillows or cushions, but I wouldn’t buy used pillows 🙈

[quote]LOT #33: LOT OF 4 FRAMED HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPGHS OF MARILYN MONROE

[quote]Marilyn Monroe Suite: LOT OF 4 FRAMED HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPGHS OF MARILYN MONROE

Oh dear. Oh dear.

Good luck to all the bidders, and here’s hoping that you get what you want. But don’t be surprised if these lots — especially in the early auctions — go for a small fortune. This auction has been very heavily advertised thanks to a lot of free press. It’s going to attract a lot of people who will drive up the prices of the “good” stuff. So, a 19th century painting that the auction house estimates should go for between $300 - $500, may get a lot of bids only because of where it has been hanging for the last 100 years. That “increase” in value is going to dissipate almost as soon as the auction is over.

R33 That is actually a nice stylish sofa. Very Italian 1950s. Needs to be reupholstered,

I have an active bid but will be relieved if I am overbid, its more money than I intended to spend.

FOMO

Is the auction actually live streaming somewhere?

i love the sofa in r33, but shipping fees will be a fortune.

I love this extra large floor globe from the Lyndon B. Johnson suite. I can't find anything out about this particular suite.

that is another hot item, r45. its already 10 times more than its minimum bid.

I don't understand -- were these items in suites/rooms ONLY for these particular guests?

[quote]were these items in suites/rooms ONLY for these particular guests?

Yes Rose, the Marilyn Monroe suite had not been rented out since August 4, 1962.

A brand new one from Replogle, the same as I posted in r45 is $13K. For now, that's not a bad price at $1,010.

I have an ancestral cousin who made big bucks buying valuables from nobility in France during the Terror, including objects from Versailles. The nobility needed cash to get out, not paintings, or jewels. His daughter died a spinster. She bequest her loot to the Smithsonian, various NYC museums, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. I know one of them was buried with an urn of some kind.

I’ve never encountered her stuff of display. It’s all mostly in storage, I think.

i dont understand why there is so much action on this one

Just watched the Christie’s auction online. It was 20th century Art, but ended with a T-Rex named Stan. It went for 27.5 Million Dollars! By comparison Sue sold for 9 Million Dollars.

I’d buy a T- Rex if I had the money and space. I mean that is something incredibly special.

Maybe I’d hang Christmas lights on it.

Looks like auctioneers followed good auction practice starting things with low opening bids, especially for items they know will move.

That lot of MM things likely will go for more than $5k if not $10k

F'ank you for fixing the error.

[quote]That lot of MM things

We call them photographs here in America.

I am outbid, I'm ok with it

R50

France's revolutionary government both out of spite and need to raise cash sold off tons of art, furnishings and other things not just from royal palaces, but things belonging to nobility as well. True some of it was sold off by those fleeing France, but much of it was simply confiscated by the state. Revolutionary government didn't have enough room in warehouses for all the stuff they confiscated.

Much of it ended up in North American, Buckingham Palace (British royalty bought plenty), and homes of British and some European nobility.

More and some dirt:

It was a font nightmare!