- Title: USA: Sotheby's to auction vintage videogame materials
- Date: 23rd June 2007
- Summary: GEORGE WASHINGTON LETTER VAN GOGH LETTER WORKING MANUSCRIPT FOR ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS "BIG BOOK"
- Embargoed: 8th July 2007 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
- Reuters ID: LVA5FWJWDLJZ1ITF3R4QUQFBYOUA
- Story Text: For the first time ever, Sotheby's will be auctioning off a sizable collection of video game relics signaling that video games have risen in cultural significance from the domain of teenagers to the world of high art and culture.
The collection consists of more than 2000 pieces of Atari marketing and design materials from 1981-1983. It includes original sketches, proofs and screen diagrams for games like Pac Man, Mario Brothers, Donkey Kong Jr., Pole Position and Dig Dug.
While it may be surprising to some that the prestigious Sotheby's, best known for auctioning fine art, would be interested in selling video game relics, representatives of the auction house say they shouldn't be. Atari was a pioneer in bringing video games to the home and represented the zeitgeist of the late 70s and early 80s when video gaming became a popular form of entertainment. Today, videogaming is a multi-billion dollar industry.
"I think what we are seeing more is a general acceptance of the importance of pop culture, that it can be more than just pop and I think that's where the Atari archive crosses that bridge from just popular culture to serious Americana," said Selby Kiffer, Senior Vice President of Sotheby's.
The collection is being auctioned as part of Sotheby's Fine Books and Manuscripts sale, which includes letters from George Washington (to Virginia Governor Robert Dinwiddie), and Vincent Van Gogh (to Dutch artist Anthon van Rappard) and the working draft manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous, estimated to sell for one million dollars. While Sotheby's has clear ideas of who might bid on those items, it is less known who will bid on the Atari material.
"It could be somebody who loves games. It could be someone who is now a successful businessman but who grew up in the 80s and can now indulge in that sort of fantasy," said Kiffer. "I'll be curious myself to see who the bidders are."
The auction takes place in New York on June 21. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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