New York: A collection of antique toys that belonged to the late publisher Malcolm Forbes was up for auction on Friday, with prices estimated as high as $300,000 for a rare, century-old miniature battleship.
The trove of board games, toy soldiers, knights, motorcycles, boats and ship models including one of the ill-fated Lusitania, was likely to fetch between $2 million and $4 million or more for Forbes' heirs, said Sotheby's auction house.
Although the top lot, a circa 1905, 47-inch-long gas-powered battleship was expected to sell for $200,000 to $300,000, a few items were priced at far less.
A prints and posters collection carried an estimate as low as $300. A turn-of-the-century "War at Sea" board game was expected to fetch around $1,000.
The star lots were the tiny ships and cruise liners, some of which were expected to sell for more than $100,000 apiece. The Lusitania model, circa 1912, was estimated as high as $200,000. The actual Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat and sank in 1915.
Another highlight was a rare circular Monopoly board game, which Sotheby's said was the only hand-made set by Charles Darrow -- who launched the classic game -- known to survive. It was priced at $60,000 to $80,000, with a complete set of rules included.
Rounding out the sale of more than 200 lots, set for mid-afternoon on Friday, were toy soldiers, motorcycles and medieval model figures.
The publisher of the business magazine that bears his name, Forbes collected the toys over four decades, and many of them once graced galleries at Forbes' New York City headquarters.
Forbes, who died in 1990, was known for his avid motorcycling and traveling the world with his good friend Elizabeth Taylor. For his 70th birthday party, he famously chartered a 747 jet and flew scores of guests, including Henry Kissinger and Barbara Walters, to Morocco.
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