LONDON (AP) - A British adventurer has paid a record price for a two-seat version of Britain's World War II Spitfire fighter.

Steve Brooks, who four years ago became the first person to fly from pole to pole by helicopter, was the winning bidder at 1,739,500 pounds (U.S.$2.53 million) at an auction on Monday.

The plane was built as a single-seat fighter, but the restorers rebuilt it as the much rarer two-seat trainer. Since Britain never used the trainer version, this plane is painted in the colors of the Netherlands, which had three of the planes.

Bonhams, the auctioneer, says the record price for a Spitfire had been 3.2 million New Zealand dollars (U.S.$1.8 million), set last year.

London's Daily Mail newspaper quoted Brooks as saying: "I'm a great believer that things like this were built to be used, not to be museum pieces."

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DALLAS (AP) - A Georgia man's collection of more than 10,000 Abraham Lincoln stamps has sold at auction in New York City for nearly $2 million.

Dallas-based Spink Shreves Galleries on Friday auctioned off the Lincoln-focused collection that took 67-year-old William J. Ainsworth of Roswell more than 30 years to amass. Officials said bids came from around the world.

The presale estimate for the collection was more than $2 million.

Among the collection's highlights was a proof of a block of eight mint-condition 90-cent stamps of Lincoln with his image accidentally printed upside-down. The block is one of only two known and sold for $149,600.

A 90-cent vertical block of six Lincoln stamps from 1869 sold for $86,250.

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BUFORD, Ga. - A colored pencil on paper arwork created in 1917 by Swiss self-taught artist Adolf Wolfli (1864-1930) sold for $40,480 at a folk art auction held March 28 by Slotin Auction. The framed piece, titled Blatt Aus Heft #15 and inscribed throughout, measured 11¼  inches by 16¼ inches and was in excellent condition. It was the top earner of the sale.

"This was one of only a few Wolfli pieces we've ever offered at auction, and it made a very strong showing, probably stronger than a gallery sale," said Amy Slotin who, along with her husband Steve, oversees what has become the premier folk art auction firm in the country. Twice a year, collectors mark their calendars and pour in from around the world to attend their sales.

The March 28 event was fairly typical, in that nearly 1,000 lots crossed the block. Not so typical, however, was the turnout. "Usually we start a sale with more staff than bidders," Amy remarked, "but this time it was standing room only from the start, with every one of the 200 chairs filled. The room was overflowing. I had to double up on my orders for lunch and dinner."

She continued, "People really did want to be part of this auction, despite the dismal economy. I did notice that where people used to bid on 30 to 40 items in the past, this time they were much more focused on their selections. But I really appreciate the fact that they are still in the game and enthusiastic about the genre."

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Aberdeen Auction Galleries had 118 registered bidders with LiveAuctioneers.com and another 45 registered inhouse for its online/absentee/phone sale of March 14. Auction house owner Alex Turchack had assembled 388 lots of excellent European art, antiques and money to offer to bidders.

The top lot of the sale was a 19½ by 24 inch oil on canvas signed by Alexei Petrovich Bogolubov (Russian, 1824-1896) and titled Night Seascape.

The artist's history is a fascinating one. After joining the Russian navy, Bogolubov attended the St. Petersburg Academy of Art and became a noted landscape painter by the mid-19th century. He traveled widely in Europe, settling in Paris in 1873. When he died in 1896, he left his entire fortune, around US$6 million, to the Russian Museum and its painting school in St. Petersburg. The school was then named in his honor. This seascape, estimated at $5,000-$8,000, sold for $12,330 to a Massachusetts collector bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com. All prices quoted are inclusive of a 17.5 percent buyer's premium.

Another oil on canvas, a winter scene with skaters by Morel Jan Evert Sr. the Elder (Dutch 1766-1808), sold for $2,360. The 6 by 8 inch canvas was enclosed in an ornate 14 by 16 inch frame.

NEW YORK (AP) - A very early photograph of New York City in the 1840s has sold for $62,500.

The photo depicting Manhattan's Upper West Side as open countryside was sold Monday at Sotheby's auction house.

The photo is a daguerreotype, an early form of photography that was used mainly for portraits. It is believed to date from 1848 and shows a white house with shutters, a grassy hillside and a horse-drawn carriage.

Sotheby's said the photo was recently discovered in New England. Neither the buyer nor the seller was identified.
The auction house estimated the presale value of the daguerrotype at $50,000 to $70,000.
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On the Net: www.sothebys.com

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HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. - A rare North Carolina surveyor's compass, made around the late 18th century by Guilford County artisan Camm Moore (1755-1845) soared to $28,750 at a quarterly cataloged auction held March 21 by Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales Ltd. It was the final sale held in the firm's South Nash Street location. Next month, the firm moves into new digs, at 620 Cornerstone Court.

"With the success of this cataloged auction, we were able to end on a very positive note at our present address," said Leland Little, owner of the firm, "but we very much look forward to our move in April into a 10,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility that is ideal for our needs." An inaugural sale is slated for Saturday, April 11, and the next cataloged auction will be held the weekend of June 13-14.

The surveyor's compass was in working order, with an untouched natural patina. It had a silver (or silvered brass) dial, engraved with "Made by Camm Moore, Guilford" around the center ring. Four quadrants were marked "0-90" and the compass was set in a brass housing, with a lid and two hinged sighting posts. Moore was primarily known as a silversmith, but he also made surveying instruments.

Leland Little estimated about 250 people packed his showroom to participate in the final sale of a 10-year run on South Nash Street. "It was standing room only all day long," he said. "As usual, it was a strong collaborative effort that carried the day. We have a wonderful team and support staff." Also, about 1,000 pre-bids were recorded via phone, absentee and online through LiveAuctioneers.com.

NEW YORK (AP) - An Art Nouveau remnant of the Paris subway system has sold for $27,500 at auction.

The circa-1900 cast-iron entrance guard rail from a Paris Metro station was expected to bring $9,000 but had been entered without reserve in Christie's 20th Century Decorative Art & Design sale, held March 26, 2009 at the company's Rockefeller Plaza gallery.

More than 4 feet high and almost 5 feet wide, it was created by the architect Hector Guimard (1867-1942), who is considered the most prominent representative of the French Art Nouveau movement. He produced more than 140 Metro guard rails, but most have not survived.

Some are at top museums including New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Christie's did not release the name of the buyer.
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On the Net:
http://www.christies.com

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