Churchill Memorabilia Auctioned at Christie’s

An employee of Christies Auction House inspects a handwritten letter by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. On Wednesday, a collection of Churchill memorabilia including letters and photographs sold for $846,364 at the auction house. Leon Neal/Getty Images

Memorabilia from Sir Winston Churchill sold for 577,063 pounds (US$846,364) at Christie’s Auction House in London on Wednesday.

The items were part of a larger collection compiled over 30 years by Malcolm S. Forbes Jr., editor-in-chief of Forbes Magazine and grandson of its founder.

The rest of the collection will be sold in two more installments according to a Christie’s press release.

Among the items up for bid were books and letters by Churchill as well as photographs and an unsmoked Havana cigar that Churchill gave to a friend. The cigar sold for $3,120.

The collection also included a South African police telegram, which sold for $12,635. The telegram describes Churchill as a wanted man when he escaped prison in Pretoria by vaulting over the latrines and jumping onto a moving train in 1899, according to Christie’s item description.