Hawking auction raises astronomical sum

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A copy of Stephen Hawking's doctorate thesis signed in a shaky hand was the highlight of an auction of the British physicist's personal items in London, which raised nearly 1.4 million pounds (around1.8 million US dollars).

The copy, one of only five originals of the thesis entitled "Properties of expanding universes", smashed pre-sale expectations four times over to sell for 584,750 pounds (762,326 US dollars) at the Christie's sale, which ended on Thursday.

A red leather wheelchair that Hawking used from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, driving himself using a joystick, sold for 296,750 pounds (386,948 US dollars) while an early edition of his bestselling book "A Brief History of Time" marked with a thumbprint, fetched 68,750 pounds (89,647 US dollars).

A script from one of his appearances on the television series "The Simpsons" was one of the 22 lots under the hammer, selling for 6,250 pounds (8,150 US dollars).

The collection highlighted the brilliance, determination, and sense of humor of Hawking, who died in March aged 76 after a lifetime spent trying to unlock the secrets of the universe.

Hawking published his thesis in 1965, two years after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a form of motor-neuron disease that eventually left him paralyzed.

Stephen Hawking's motorized wheelchair on display at Christie's auction in London, Britain, October 30, 2018. /VCG Photo

His first wife Jane typed out the 117 pages but he added two hand-written signatures and the words "This dissertation is my original work" at the front, as well as several mathematical equations inside.

When the document was made available online last year by Cambridge University, where Hawking spent his career, it was so popular that it crashed the website.

Chronicles of life

A collection of his medals and awards, including honors from the Royal Astronomical Society, sold for 296,750 pounds (386,985 US dollars), with the entire collection achieving 1,384,625 pounds (1,805,648 US dollars).

The Albert Einstein Award belonging to the British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking displayed at an auction of items from Hawking's personal estate at Christie's in London, Britain, October 30, 2018. /VCG Photo

"We are very pleased to have the assistance of Christie's to help us with the important matter of managing our beloved father's archives and his unique and precious collection of personal and professional belongings, chronicling his life and work," the physicist's daughter, Lucy Hawking, said before the sale.

"We are also giving admirers of his work the chance to acquire a memento of our father's extraordinary life in the shape of a small selection of evocative and fascinating items."

An invitation he sent out to a party held several years previously, a light-hearted experiment to see if any time travelers would turn up, sold for more than 10 times its pre-sale estimate of 100 pounds (130 US dollars), while a bomber jacket he wore in a 2016 documentary raised 40,000 pounds (52,164 US dollars).

A gallery assistant poses with a bomber jacket that belonged to late British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking during a photocall for the sale of personal items in London, Britain, October 30, 2018. /VCG Photo

The items are only a small selection from Hawking's archive, which his family is donating to the nation in lieu of paying inheritance tax, although there are no details yet of where it will be stored.

The auction funds will go to the family although the money raised from selling the wheelchair will be donated to the Motor Neurone Disease Association and the Stephen Hawking Foundation.

(Cover photo: A copy of "A Brief History of Time" displayed at an auction of items from Hawking's personal estate at Christie's in London, Britain, October 30, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP