Christie’s Out of the Ordinary auction

The weird and wonderful sale opens its doors to online bidders

A catalogue that features an Enigma cipher machine (estimate £40,000-£60,000, first picture), a 1920s Prohibition bootlegger’s leather case (£1,500-£2,500) made by Abercrombie & Fitch containing two large silver-plated flasks, and the front door of Paul McCartney’s house in Liverpool (£6,000-£8,000, third picture), where he and his pals John and George wrote Love Me Do and When I’m Sixty-Four. It can only mean one thing: the Christie’s Out of the Ordinary sale is back for its second year.

“The auction features a wide range of objects, many of which have never been seen at auction,” says Celia Harvey, head of the sale. “This year we will also be offering a selection of works in an online-only auction, so that collectors can participate from around the globe.”

Another attraction is Britain’s biggest-ever bottle of English sparkling wine (£10,000-£15,000, second picture), a 15-litre Nebuchadnezzar produced by award-winning Kent-based winery Chapel Down. At a weight of 26kg, it is the equivalent of 10 magnums, or 120 glasses, and contains around 60m bubbles – one for every person in the UK. This one-off has been autographed by Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley and Edmund de Waal, who have each accompanied their signature with sketches, including a shark by Hirst and a self-portrait by Emin. All in a good cause, the proceeds of this lot will go towards Turner Contemporary Gallery’s Catalyst Endowment Campaign in Margate.

A visit to the Christie’s showroom in South Kensington also reveals a brass-mounted, painted-wood model of a 3m-high 1950s Montblanc fountain pen (£8,000-£12,000). If that isn’t curious enough, an original Energizer mechanical bunny model (£1,500-£2,000), as used in the battery advertisements, stands 1.2m tall – pink fluffy ears, sunglasses and all. September might not usually be the silly season, but Christie’s Out of the Ordinary auction will provide some light relief.