Signé Magazine
Browse
  • Horology
  • Automotive
  • Fashion
    • Accessories
    • Gear
    • Insider
  • Art & Design
  • Lifestyle
    • Dining
    • Grooming
    • Hotel & Spa
    • Property
    • Travel
  • More
    • Auctions
    • Philanthropy
Search
Signé Magazine
Signé Magazine Signé Magazine
  • Horology
  • Automotive
  • Fashion
    • Accessories
    • Gear
    • Insider
  • Art & Design
  • Lifestyle
    • Dining
    • Grooming
    • Hotel & Spa
    • Property
    • Travel
  • More
    • Auctions
    • Philanthropy
  • Auctions

Christie’s offers Hawking’s legacy through an online sale

  • November 7, 2018
  • 2 minute read

Stephen Hawking, who died on March 14 this year, was a brilliant mind whose discoveries have shaped our understanding of the universe. Christie’s is presenting a selection of 22 lots from the legendary physicist’s estate in an ongoing online sale entitled ‘On the Shoulders of Giants,’ taking place until November 8.

“It has been a huge privilege for Christie’s to work on this selection of objects from the estate of one of the most brilliant minds of the last half-century. The lots selected for sale highlight Professor Hawking’s remarkable achievements in science alongside his unique personality and inspirational life story.” – Thomas Venning, Head of the Books and Manuscripts department, Christie’s London

The lots featured include Hawking’s offprints of his most important papers, including his seminal ‘Black hole explosions’ of 1974; a selection of his medals and awards; a copy of his best-selling ‘A Brief History of Time’ (1988) signed with a thumbprint; a bomber jacket; and the script for one of his appearances on The Simpsons. Estimates start as low as £100.

Stephen Hawking’s iconic wheelchair

The last lot of the sale, one of Hawking’s iconic wheelchairs, will be sold to benefit the Stephen Hawking Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association. “Professor Hawking’s wheelchair, in which he both toured the world as a successful scientific communicator, and from which his mind voyaged to the outer reaches of space-time, making it literally and figuratively one of the most-travelled wheelchairs in history,” added Venning.

A highlight of the group will be Hawking’s thesis typescript estimated to fetch between £100,000 and 150,000. When Professor Stephen Hawking’s PhD thesis was made available online by Cambridge University in October 2017, it proved so popular that it crashed the University’s website. Christie’s will be offering one of only five original copies of his thesis alongside early editions which celebrate the scientist’s genius.

Stephen Hawking's Bomber Jacket
Stephen Hawking’s Bomber Jacket
Hawking's Medals and Awards
Hawking’s Medals and Awards
Brief History of Time signed with a Thumbprint
Brief History of Time signed with a Thumbprint

When the thesis was written in October 1965, Hawking was already suffering from the early symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS,) and it was his wife Jane, whom he had married three months earlier, who typed out the 117 pages of the document, painstakingly adding the mathematical equations by hand. The thesis is signed in Hawking’s distinctively shaky handwriting, with the statement: “This dissertation is my original work. S.W. Hawking.”

Of the 22 lots featured in the sale, 12 are offprints of Hawking’s most important papers, including ‘Origin of Structure in the Universe’, ‘Spectrum of Wormholes’ and ‘Fundamental Breakdown of Physics in Gravitational Collapse.’ Also included will be rare and important autograph letters and manuscripts by leading scientific forebears including Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein.

Spectrum of Wormholes
Spectrum of Wormholes
Origin of Structure in the Universe
Origin of Structure in the Universe
Fundamental Breakdown of Physics in Gravitational Collapse
Fundamental Breakdown of Physics in Gravitational Collapse
Black Hole Explosions
Black Hole Explosions
Stephen Hawking makes an appearance on The Simpsons
Stephen Hawking makes an appearance on The Simpsons

“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,” said Lucy Hawking, daughter of Stephen Hawking.

Related Topics
  • christies
  • Lucy Hawking
  • Stephen Hawking
  • Thomas Venning
You May Also Like
RM Sothebys Michael Schumacher Ferrari F1-2000 Chassis 198
View Post
  • Auctions
  • Automotive

Michael Schumacher’s F1 Ferrari Is Up For Sale

  • March 29, 2023
Phillips x Bacs & Russo exhibition of last Qing Emperor Artefacts
View Post
  • Auctions

The Last Qing Emperor’s Artefacts, A Phillips Exhibition

  • March 29, 2023
Patek Philippe Grand Complications Sky Moon Tourbillon – Ref 6002G-001 sold at Christie's
View Post
  • Auctions
  • Watches

Patek Philippe ‘Sky Moon Tourbillon’ Breaks Record At Christie’s Online Sale

  • March 28, 2023
RM Sothebys Paris Sale - Bugatti Chiron Profilée
View Post
  • Auctions
  • Automotive

Bugatti Chiron Profilée Leads RM Sotheby’s Record-Breaking Paris Sale

  • February 4, 2023
Nardo Grey Ferrari F40 Competizione RM Sotheby
View Post
  • Auctions
  • Automotive

RM Sotheby’s Offers A One-Off Ferrari F40 “Competizione”

  • August 15, 2022
JLR cars at No Time To Die Auction at Christies London
View Post
  • Auctions
  • Automotive

JLR Cars To Star At James Bond Christie’s Auction

  • August 3, 2022
IWC Schaffhausen Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition Toto Wolff
View Post
  • Auctions
  • Watches

The Last “Toto Wolff” Watch Auctioned For Charity

  • July 25, 2022
Jacob& Co Astronomia Tourbillon Bucherer Blue
View Post
  • Auctions
  • Watches

The First-Ever Triple Axis Tourbillon To Go Into Space, To Be Auctioned

  • July 21, 2022
FEATURED POSTS
  • The Crossing - Grand Master Chef Imtiaz Qureshi
    Master Chef Imtiaz Qureshi To Take Command At The Crossing In April
    • 30.03.23
    • 2 min
  • RM Sothebys Michael Schumacher Ferrari F1-2000 Chassis 198
    Michael Schumacher’s F1 Ferrari Is Up For Sale
    • 29.03.23
    • 5 min
  • Phillips x Bacs & Russo exhibition of last Qing Emperor Artefacts
    The Last Qing Emperor’s Artefacts, A Phillips Exhibition
    • 29.03.23
    • 4 min
  • Patek Philippe Grand Complications Sky Moon Tourbillon – Ref 6002G-001 sold at Christie's
    Patek Philippe ‘Sky Moon Tourbillon’ Breaks Record At Christie’s Online Sale
    • 28.03.23
    • 2 min
  • Breitling 6 New Premier Models 2023
    Breitling’s 6 New Premiers Celebrate 80 Years of The Historic Chronograph
    • 28.03.23
    • 4 min
Follow Us
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Make your Inbox more interesting.

Every alternate week get a packaged update from the world of luxury. A newsletter tastefully curated by the 'Keepers of Craft', Signé Magazine.

Signé Magazine
  • Contact Us
Keepers of Craft

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

 

Loading Comments...