Charles Darwin

There has always been a marketplace for the personal cards of important people, but the humble ceremonial personal card (aka business card, visiting card, calling card, Carte de Visite) has never received much attention at auction, and has often been used as part of a significant lot to highlight provenance and authenticity.

This is the second part of our overview of the 2021 auction year – a year where investors channeled more of their wealth into “investments of passion” than ever before. It covers the 150 science, sci-fi and technology artifacts that sold for more than $100,000

The 2021 auction market was quite extraordinary, with unprecedented levels of participation and sales. From cars to colt revolvers to multi-million-dollar NFTs, this sweeping look at the highlights is full of fascinating tales and astonishing prices.

It would be reasonable to expect a slow year at auction for science, technology and science-fiction, but 2021 is on track for a record, with a slew of knowledge-related objects of note hitting the auction block in recent weeks.

Bonhams annual History of Science and Technology sale is a regular feature on the auction calendar and this year it will be held on December 7 with another treasure trove of significant artifacts of humanity's scientific heritage.

The upcoming auction of an marine chronometer highlights just how far science has advanced in the last 200 years. The historically significant instrument accompanied Charles Darwin on his epic second voyage, helped establish the USA-Canada border and accurately mapped the Australian coastline.

A logbook from the 1872-1876 journey of HMS Challenger is to go to auction. Challenger was tasked with constructing a fossil record that would test the then new theory of evolution and became inextricably linked with the God vs. Science debate.