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Amazing Artifacts From the History of Science Are Going Up for Auction

Now if only we all had infinite money

Colin Schultz

October 10, 2014

A first edition copy of the Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life from 1859. Bonhams

The auction will also include a number of other important scientific texts, such as a first edition copy of Johannes Kepler's Tabulae Rudolphinae. NASA's exoplanet-hunting Kepler satellite was named after the famed German astronomer. Bonhams

For those looking for a more personal touch from the great biologist, the auction house is also carrying a number of Darwin's hand-written letters. Bonhams

They also have Louis Pasteur's first papers laying out the idea of fermentation. Bonhams

The auction isn't all about books and papers, however. They also have one of the windows used during the Manhattan Project to allow researchers to observed the production of uranium. Bonhams

And a first edition copy of psychologist Sigmund Freud's first book. Bonhams

X-ray technology was invented in 1985 by Wilhelm Röntgen. This early image, along with others set to be on the block, were taken just a year later. Bonhams

They also have the only copy of a video interview with twice-Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling. Bonhams

And last but not least, a still-functioning Apple 1 motherboard, hand-assembled by Steve Wozniak in 1976. Bonhams expects this little number to go for half a million dollars. Bonhams

Luxury antique auction house Bonhams has put together a special collection—a trove of artifacts from the history of science.

The auction, set for October 22nd in New York, is expected to pull down millions. Up to bid is everything from significant scientific documents, curiosities from some of science's biggest names and rare pieces of technology that helped launch the modern era as we know it.

“While Bonhams has never held a sale of this theme before,” says the Atlantic, “they are striking while the iron is hot.”

"Science, as a subject in general, is becoming a lot more popular. The interest is here. There is nostalgia mixed in," Hatton explains.

In the slideshow above we've picked out a few of the nearly 300 items on offer, pieces of science history that caught our eye more than the others.

Colin Schultz | | READ MORE

Colin Schultz is a freelance science writer and editor based in Toronto, Canada. He blogs for Smart News and contributes to the American Geophysical Union. He has a B.Sc. in physical science and philosophy, and a M.A. in journalism.

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