Prototype Microchip
On June 19, 2014, Christie's will hold its "Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts Including Americana" auction, which will offer up a Sherlock Holmes manuscript, J.D. Salinger correspondence, a microchip prototype built by Nobel Prize-winning Jack Kilby and several fine-printed books and manuscripts.
Here, the prototype microchip built by Tom Yeargan, a member of the team that implemented Kilby's microchip design for Texas Instruments in 1958. Estimated between $1 million and $2 million, the chip is accompanied by a silicon circuit and a three-page 1964 statement from Yeargan describing the process of inventing the world's first integrated circuit.
Pricey microchip
The prototype microchip is made from a germanium wafer with gold wiring and four leads, and is expected to sell at the Christie's auction for between $1 million and $2 million.
Holmes manuscript
An original Sherlock Holmes manuscript, "The Adventure of Black Peter," is expected to sell at the Christie's auction for between $250,000 and $350,000. The manuscript includes an autographed letter from the author, Arthur Conan Doyle, who apparently in 1908 gave the book as a Christmas gift to Peter F. Collier, the founder and publisher of Collier's Weekly magazine.
Little Prince
The Little Prince, with an inscription and illustration by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry will be auctioned off at Christie's on June 19, 2014. The item is expected to sell for between $100,000 and $150,000.
Chaucer
The Complete Works of Chaucer, which will be auctioned off at Christie's on June 19, 2014, is expected to sell for between $100,000 and $150,000.
15th-Century Hebrew Bible
A remarkable artifact from the 15th century is the survival of the major part of a Hebrew Bible (estimate $500,000-$700,000), from 1456, written by the son of Rabbi Moshe Arragel.
