A gallery that's not a gallery at 980 Madison.

What does a dispossessed Cherokee tribe, a John Lennon-Eric Clapton supergroup and Marilyn Monroe’s unborn son have in common? All were shopping for an apartment on the Upper East Side on Monday afternoon.

Well, not exactly, but it is possible to shop for both a $4 million apartment and a $40,000 manuscript at the Douglas Elliman showroom at 980 Madison Avenue through Sunday.

Profiles in History, a middlebrow auction house (Albert Einstein’s letter’s, the desk Bram Stoker wrote Dracula on, Kate Winslett’s emerald earrings from Titanic) and Marsha Malinowski, who once auctioned off a Magna Carta for $21 million, are offering some 299 items on December 18, “the Property of a Distinguished American Private Collector.” Ms. Malinowski, after 26 years at Sotheby’s, struck out in May on her own, and her first big offering is the work of the collector she has long known.

After partnering with Profiles in History for the auction, Ms. Malinowski had planned on exhibiting a selection of the offerings at Fraunces Tavern downtown. After all, what more fitting a locale for a snarky letter from George Washington to Thomas Paine—he did not think much of Rights of Man, some 50 copies of which Paine had delivered to the president—or Thomas Jefferson begging Georgia to respect The Conistitution as “the law and the life” of the land and not push out the Cherokee. There is also a very lovely John Hancock. The letter is not much, but oh, that signature.

And it will only set you back $12,000 to $15,000. The Washington is $80,000 to $120,000, the Jefferson is $200,000 to $300,000. “The emotion, the beauty and the historical significance of the language makes it more and more valuable,” Ms. Malinowski said. A perfunctory Washington letter was in the same display case, asking but $30,000 to $50,000, its great virtue a Valley Forge dateline. “That adds insta-value,” Ms. Malinowski explained.

But this flood of parchment was preceded by a flood of water. As any history buff must know, Fraunces Tavern once bordered the city’s waterfront until all that great landfill was built out, and for a brief night in late October, it was so again. Sandy filled the historic inn with turbid water, and while the second floor galleries remained dry, the mechanicals in the basement were knocked out. The tavern promised it would be open on time, and it would have been, had the electrical repairs not passed muster with Con Ed. (Those guys, again!)

Somebody knew somebody who suggested Douglas Elliman’s space on Park Avenue. The august brokerage has called a space at 980 Madison home for decades, but last year, Dottie Herman, the firm’s president, made it over into a sort of salon, cutting down on agents and investing in big screen T.V.s, slick infographics and Saarinnen coffee tables. It is meant to be more apartment gallery than sales office—an appropriate enough setting given the presence of Gagosian and others upstairs in the Park Bernet building.

“We were doing a lot of work with Sandy, so this just fits,” Ms. Herman said, standing inside her flagship on four-inch heels. “We were very involved from the very beginning, pitching in, making donations. One guy was donating helicopters, I was involved in a lot of things, so it came through that they couldn’t open the show, so I said let’s do it here.” She also hosted an art show over the summer here, Study in Meditation, by Carrie Sunday.

People seemed more interested in gawking at the apartment printouts in the windows than the historical scribblings in the cases, but Ms. Malinowski was fine with that. “It’s not like buying art or real estate, it’s more intellectual, more cerebral,” she said. “These collectors, it’s for them, they’re literature buffs or history buffs, they’re not trying to show off to others what floats their boat.”

But there are also some parallels between art and manuscripts. Monet writes his wife, complaining of depression and doubting his artistic abilities, an article valued at $6,000 to $8,000. Van Gogh pens an equally banal item to an ill friend, but it is seven months before his death, in a very short life. The letter is worth $200,000 to $300,000. “Monet lived a very long life, while Van Gogh died young, and he usually wrote on terrible paper, since he was saving every good scrap for his art,” Ms. Malinowski explained.

In one case, separate items from Adam Smith and Karl Marx seemed to be getting on remarkably well. In another, Joe DiMaggio, writing on Madison Hotel letterhead, apologizes to Marilyn Monroe for getting in a fight within weeks of meeting and starting their romance, while she pens a letter from the Waldorf=Astoria many years later to a neighbor, rambling on about depression, poetry and wanting children. The hand is barely legible, presumably under the influence. Nearby, Hemingway shares his thoughts on casting for the film version of For Whom the Bell Tolls—he was partial to Ingrid Bergman playing Maria, appreciating her non-Hollywood look—and John Lennon asks Eric Clapton to join him and Yoko in the Plastic Ono Band.

Ms. Malinowski’s favorite is a first edition of Darwin’s On the Origins of Species—not especially rare, except that this one also includes a list of plantings the famed naturalist wants for his own garden. “It shows both sides of the man,” she said. “That’s what I love about manuscripts, where they show you the other side of the person you didn’t get from the history books.”

Then get ready to put your money where your mouth is, because for the entire month of July, geeks everywhere will be bidding on movie artifacts from The Dreier Collection. And yes, there is definitely a tie-in to San Diego's Comic-Con.

Chad Dreier, retired CEO and chairman of the Ryland Group, has spent a lot of time assembling a cornucopia of cinematic paraphernalia. Profiles In History--the auction house that will be running the event on July 28th-- notes in its online catalog that Mr. Dreier and his son Doug began creating "one of the greatest entertainment and pop culture collections we've ever seen," which makes sense, considering that the Ryland Group was once "one of the nation's largest homebuilders and a leading mortgage-finance company."

As in, we understand why Mr. Dreier is only now willing to part with Gene Wilder's hat from Willy Wonka. (Estimated price: $20-30k.)

Other "must-have" movie mementos up for grabs include 40 pieces from Star Trek: The Next Generation's set (nerds!), a bunch of costumes worn by Hugh Jackman in the X-Men films (a black leather battle suit could go for as much as $50k), and, no joke, Chewbacca's head from Star Wars ($50-80k expected).

Of course, for those slightly less-wealthy pop aficionados out there, you can always bid on retro PEZ dispensers or The Ridler's jumpsuit from Batman Forever. We hear it smells just like Jim Carrey.

As we reported Monday, the U.S. Attorney's office filed a civil complaint aiming to return the fossil to Mongolia, where the suit alleges the fossil originated (and was looted from).

Today, agents from Homeland Security Investigations will seize the skeleton and move it to a government facility in New York where the government holds art and antiquities that are awaiting repatriation, Lou Martinez, a spokesman for the  Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit of the Department of Homeland Security, told The Observer. 

"It will be protected and at some point in time it will be repatriated to its rightful owners," he said.

This is a particularly meaningful patrimony case as Mongolia, a new democracy, having undergone a peaceful revolution in 1990, is still getting its footing dealing with international issues such as these. It also draws attention to a rampant looting problem Mongolia faces, as a massive desert country with unpoliced borders and many natural history treasures underground.

At a breakfast meeting on June 6, The Observer spoke with several prominent paleontologists and representatives of the Mongolian government to discuss their findings after they examined the skeleton the day before. (After that inspection, Dr. Bolor Minjin, a Mongolian anthropologist, wrote a report identifying the skeleton as originating in her home country.)

At that meeting, Puntsag Tsagaan, senior advisor to the president of Mongolia, noted he was pleased that the investigation into the origin of the skeleton was moving forward.

"It will be a nice event in the relations between our two countries and also it will be a signal to the bad guys—looters who illicitly dig and export, sell, trade—it will be a very strong strong message to those illegal traders," he said.

Today, Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, in a joint investigation with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, announced that they had filed a civil complaint in Manhattan Federal Court seeking seizure and forfeiture of the skeleton so it can be returned to Mongolia.

The complaint alleges that the skeleton was imported into the U.S. improperly. Importation documents from March of 2010 (when the consignor of the bones brought them to the states) incorrectly described the contents of the boxes containing the skeleton (a sampling: “…broken fossil bones, three rough fossil reptiles, one fossil lizard…”) and underreported their value (listing it at $15,000, when it was listed in an auction catalog at a starting price of $950,000 and ended up selling for $1,052,500).

The complaint also contains expert opinions from prominent paleontologists who examined the skeleton in an inspection on June 5 and concluded that the skeleton was from Mongolia, which prohibits the removal of such fossils. (Among them was Dr. Philip J. Currie, whose Wikipedia page asserts that he was “one of the models for paleontologist Alan Grant in the film Jurassic Park.")

After the origin of the skeleton was called into question, a cooperative investigation was launched by Heritage Auctions, the auction house representing the consignor, and Robert Painter, a lawyer representing Tsakhia Elbegdorj, the president of Mongolia.

Jim Halperin, co-chair and co-founder of Heritage Auctions, told The Observer through a spokesman, “We haven’t seen the lawsuit yet so it would be inappropriate to comment.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon Cohen Levin—who happens to be the sister of writer and Vanity Fair contributing editor Rich Cohen—will be handling the case.

Robert Painter, the legal representative of His Excellency Elbegdorj Tsakhia, the president of Mongolia, and the auction house handling the sale, Heritage Auctions, have announced that they will open a joint investigation to determine the origin of the bones and the legality of their ownership.

President Tsakhia said in a statement

"I commend Heritage Auctions and its consignor for assisting with my investigation into the origin and legal ownership of this Tyrannosaurus bataar skeleton. The Mongolian government will be sending a delegation of Mongolian and international experts and representatives to New York City in early June to inspect the skeleton in the presence of both the consignor and a representative of Heritage Auctions."

Until then, the bones are being kept in a "secure, insured facility" in the New York City area, and are protected under an extended temporary restraining order issued by a Texas court today.

On the fourth floor of an airy gallery building in Chelsea on Sunday afternoon, a small group of private collectors and natural history enthusiasts gathered to witness the historic auction of a 24-foot-long, museum-quality Tyrannosaurus bataar skeleton, which was expected to bring up to $1.5 M. After a couple hours of uneventful sales of things like fine gemstones and amber-trapped insects, the marquee object came up.

The centerpiece auction was abruptly interrupted.

Before bidding on the skeleton began, the auctioneer announced that the sale would be “contingent upon a court proceeding dealing with this matter.” Almost immediately, Robert Painter, a lawyer representing Elbegdorj Tsakhia, the president of Mongolia, stood up with a cell phone held to his ear and yelled, “I’m sorry, I need to interrupt this auction. I have a judge on the phone.”

A loud whistle rang out, and Heritage Auctions president Greg Rohan, along with a group of security guards, gathered around Mr. Painter. They urged him to a corner of the room, past a massive cast of a sabre-tooth tiger and a glass case full of meteorite chunks.

In the past week, many prominent paleontologists have taken issue with the provenance of the skeleton and the legality with which it ended up at the Heritage auction. News of the sale eventually reached the Mongolian head-of-state, and Mr. Painter says he was contacted by President Elbegdorj’s office “Friday after 5 PM” to see what he could do to postpone the auction.

The next day, Mr. Painter told The Observer, he filed a lawsuit against Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas (the headquarters of the auction house), alleging the skeleton was taken from Mongolia, and that, under Mongolian criminal law, “the export of dinosaur bones and fossils is a criminal offense.”

Mr. Painter also got a temporary restraining order signed by district court judge Carlos Cortez, who he had on the phone during the auction, which was intended to prevent the sale and transfer of possession of the skeleton. (Mr. Painter provided us copies of both.)

“I was quite surprised and disappointed that Heritage Auctions chose knowingly to ignore a court order that the auction could not proceed,” Mr. Painter said.

Despite the ruckus, the auction continued, and the considerable artifact sold for $1,052,500, to an unidentified phone bidder. The small audience, slightly confused, applauded.

After being escorted from the building, Mr. Painter stood with a small gathering of protestors—one of them wearing a traditional Mongolian hat and jacket—who were distributing fliers on the sidewalk. They held a sign that read, rather dispassionately, “It's a national treasure of Mongolia. Return our stolen treasure." Also among them was prominent Mongolian paleontologist Bolortsetseg Minjin, a representative of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and the director of the Institute for the Study of Mongolian Dinosaurs, and Ann Altman, of Connecticut, who represented of one of the Mongolian president’s advisors.

Ms. Altman explained, “We wanted postponement and clarification [of the provenance of the skeleton]. The president has made this his personal mission. He personally has stepped in to protect the patrimony of the country.”

The protestors had learned of the sale only days prior, in an article in the Daily Mail, which states the origin of the skeleton was Mongolia.

Mark Norell, the chairman and curator of the division of paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History wrote a letter in support of the Mongolians, included in Mr. Painter’s affidavit, which says the skeleton “clearly [was] excavated in Mongolia as this is the only locality in the world where these dinosaurs are known,” and that the specimen was “undoubtedly looted from Mongolia.”

But the auction catalog provided by Heritage Auctions does not so clearly state the origin of the skeleton. It notes that the skeleton is from “Central Asia” and that the Tyrannosaurus bataar lived in what is now the Gobi Desert (half of which lies in Mongolia), but does not provide further information.

In a brief interview, Mr. Rohan, the president of Heritage Auctions, told The Observer he was confident that the transport of the skeleton to the U.S. was legal. “We and our counsel are not aware of any treaties under which the sale would be illegal,” Mr. Rohan said.

An updated press release on the Heritage Auction website noted that Heritage Auctions

fully appreciate[s] the widespread concerns relating to the Tyrannosaurus, but our conclusion is that no impropriety exists to prevent its sale at auction. Our consignor is an individual with a good reputation who has warrantied in writing to us that he holds clear title to the specimen. We've seen no evidence even suggesting that the fossils were collected illegally.

Mr. Rohan also discussed the complex patrimony issues that arise when dealing artifacts. “In a perfect world, the scientific community would like the sale of fossils to be illegal, and they would all be in museums. But the fact is it is legal to sell fossils. We as the auction house remain neutral [on this issue]. We represent the consignor, who in this case spent a year of his life repairing the skeleton,” Mr. Rohan said.

He also said he felt that the negative attention in the press had “kept bidders away.”

In the hours after the auction, Heritage posted another press release to its website, maintaining that the skeleton was acquired legally and denying Mongolia’s claims to the artifact:

As far as we know, the Mongolian government has not produced any evidence that the piece originated in its territory, but the final determination will be up to the American legal system.

Mr. Painter plans to ask the judge for a shortened discovery period, with the hope that it will take a week rather than the typical month to get this ironed out.

“I feel comfortable that the Tyrannosaurus skeleton is safe. Once we get the ownership identified, if we’re correct and this is the property of the Mongolian nation, this will not go back to the consignor—it will be returned to the Mongolian people. That’s our goal,” he said.

The buyer of the bones bid by phone, and his or her name was not disclosed by the auction house.

President Obama

Before he was leader of the free world cruising around in armor-plated vehicles with a Secret Service retinue, then-legislator Barack Obama allegedly tooled around in this tasteful gray Chrysler sedan. This is apparently a legitimate auction for the 2005 Chrysler 300C the President used while he was an Illinois State senator. Lisa Czibor, who has told reporters that she is holding the auction for someone else, says the  first 19,000 miles were all [future] presidential powered.

The auction holders are also a little defensive about the $1,000,000 asking price:

Also, please understand that the $1 million dollar starting price is not a joke:
** The President of Iran's ancient Peugeot fetched £1.5million at auction - only because it belonged to Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad drove the 1977 white sedan when he was the mayor of Tehran and put it up for sale on an auction site last year
** A light-blue 1975 Ford Escort GL once owned by Pope John Paul II sold for $690,000 to a Houston multimillionaire who put it in a museum.
** The current Pope Benedict's 1999 VW sold for $244,000 and he probably never drove it (as he did not have a drivers' license as a Cardinal, he had a driver).
** Billionaire buys Adolf Hitler's convertible blue Mercedes for $8 million.
** Plus, being from Chicago, we have seen someone pay $113,000 for the "Bartman baseball" that (supposedly) kept the hapless Chicago Cubs from reaching the World Series in 2003 - just to blow up the ball as a publicity stunt (probably to try and break the Cubs' curse). (No, hasn't helped yet......)
** Marc Ecko paid $752,467 in the bidding war for Bonds' 756th home-run ball.

The listing goes on to state that this is a "serious auction" and eBay "is not a playground"--an apparent nod to election year political tensions. However:

[What] you do with the Obama car after it is paid for is up to you..... you can put it in a museum, proudly drive it, or, you can use it as part of a Republican publicity stunt during the 2012 Election campaign - whatever you want once its bought & paid for...... I think just owning this vehicle would give the buyer a lot of coverage in the Press - maybe even $1 million worth of free publicity.

[Buzzfeed via Gawker]

No Soho. (Hotel Chatter)

Blame the bad spirits. Or maybe it was the economy. Or living next door to the Holland Tunnel. Or the fact you couldn't actually live there because it was not a condo—that would violate city zoning for a manufacturing district—but a condotel, where units were habitable 120 days a year and never for more than 30 days at a stretch (move out for a day and you were fine). Still, in this age of the foreign buyer, when all anyone wants is a pied a terre, the Trump Soho would seem to be the perfect home. Wasn't that the plan all along?

Well, it has not worked out, as the developers of the bedrock-defying 48-story tower have decided to put the remaining units in the building up for auction, according to Bloomberg. Alex Sapir, developer of the property and son of the cabbie turned billionaire Tamir Sapir, said he was approached by an interested party but has decided to go the auction route to test the waters of a bigger sale.

“This is a real trophy property,” Sapir told Bloomberg. “An asset like this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

That said, only 85 of the 391 units in the building have sold, based on our count of StreetEasy listings (Bloomberg counted 90 sales). With hotels still very much in demand, perhaps someone has a vanilla plan in mind, like a regular-old hotel.

Still, this area, with its generous industrial zoning, allowing for that special hotel loophole, has not been kind to hoteliers. Master builder Gary Barnett had plans for an even taller hotel around the corner from the Trump Soho, since nixed. Maybe the place really is cursed.

mchaban [at] observer.com | @MC_NYC

Actually the furnishings of Professor Bernard Nevill, standout items include a sporting painting by the artist Maud Earl and this tattered, though comfortable-looking, Victorian armchair. All told the collection is expected to take in some $310,000, which is quite impressive, especially since they were considering THROWING IT INTO THE ROAD GLADLY TO ESCAPE ALL THIS HIDEOUSNESS.

Last week I wrote about the Picasso market, specifically with regard to the increased interest in works featuring his lover Marie-Thérèse Walter. Yesterday Christie’s London held the auction referenced in that piece (the Impressionist and Modern Sale) and the star Marie-Thérèse, Jeune fille endormie, sold under hammer for 13.5 million pounds, over a high estimate of 12 million. The painting was sold by the University of Sydney, which obtained it through a donation and will use the funds for scientific research.

It actually wasn’t the most expensive painting sold at the auction. That honor went to a depiction of the artist’s next lover, Dora Maar, so if you have an extra twenty million dollars or so lying around, now may be the time to invest in those!

Updated, 10:30 a.m. to include sale roundup.