Recently we had Hitler's champagne up for auction, and now a globe that an American soldier recovered from Hitler's bombed and looted office at "Eagle's Nest" during WWII. James Barsamian, the soldier, kept immaculate records of the find (including a photo of himself holding the globe on location the day he found it) which has made authenticating the piece much easier.

Barsamian has kept the globe in his home discreetly for the past 60 years, but he's decided to sell it now in the interests of doing so while he's still alive and can tell the story behind it. The globe will go up for auction on November 13th in San Francisco and is expected to go for $15,000-$20,000.


Via Luxury Launches

An Italian company which specializes in labeling their wine with the pictures of infamous historical figures is in trouble again. Decanter reports that Italian police have confiscated bottles of wine with labels depicting Hitler and other Nazis. The wines from Vini Lundardelli is part of their 'Der Führer' line which feature a variety of labels portraying various figures associated with Nazi Germany. The bottles were seized because they represent a 'a glorification of the perpetrators of crimes against humanity', according to the Agence France Presse.

Decanter has a quote from Andrea Lunardelli, marketing and distribution director, who says that the move was a marketing strategy (other labels include Che Guevara, Napoleon and Mussolini) and that the Hitler labels were requested by customers in Germany and Austria. The Hitler wines are still for sale through the Vini Lundarelli website (as shown by the screen capture above) and the case is currently with the company's lawyers.

This is far from the first time the wines have caused controversy. There was a major outcry in 2003 at which time Alessandro Lunardelli said that the Hitler wines were the most popular in the series, selling around 30,000 bottles a year.

Care for a little 70 year old champagne from Adolf Hitler's own stash that may or may not be poisoned? Sign me up!

Not really, I'm kidding.

But in all seriousness going up for auction this month on the 17th is a bottle of 1937 Moet et Chandon that was apparently taken by a soldier from the Reich Chancellery in Berlin in 1945 after the Nazis were defeated. And the poisoned part? There was a rumor going around that some of the champagne bottles had been poisoned via injections through the cork.

I might not be interested, but I can still understand why other people would be -- it is a piece of history. Just make sure you store it so there's no chance you're going to pop it open and drink it accidentally this New Years!

Christies announced a few months ago that a 1939 Auto Union D-Type, a racing car that was part of a collection commissioned by Adolph Hitler, was to be auctioned at the Rétromobile 2007 show in Paris on February 17. But that particular item will not enter the auction after all; Christies has just pulled the car from the show, "pending further exploration into the car's race history."

It is decidedly odd that the auction house would decide to pull a car valued at $12-$15 million just a few days before it was to be sold, but despite months of research into the history of the object (which were undoubtedly necessary to price it in the first place), if they aren't confident about their estimate, it is far better to remove it for a later sale then take a chance on a bidder spending that much money for something not worth it.

A racing car commissioned by Adolf Hitler from Porsche may be the most expensive car ever to be sold at auction. Christie's will be selling the car during the Rétromobile 2007 show in Paris, February 16 and 17.

The 1939 Auto Union D-Type is said to be one of only two in existence, a request from Hitler who wanted to display the technological prowess of German engineers. Most of the D-types were destroyed after the war but this one survived because it had been taken to Russia to be studied. The dissembled parts of the car were found in the 1990s and the car was reassembled. The car could bring in over $15 million, setting a world record.

[via Ananova]