Canada PoliticsPierre Trudeau desk to be auctioned off
A piece of Canadiana — sort of — is up for auction.
Law office furniture used by former prime minister Pierre Trudeau will be auctioned off next month by Heffel.
Here is the advertisement directly from the auction house's website.
In an upcoming online auction in September of 2013, Heffel Fine Art Auction House will be offering a set of office furniture used by charismatic Canadian politician, writer and constitutional lawyer Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who served as Prime Minister from 1968 to 1979 and 1980 to 1984. After Trudeau left office he returned to private practice, acting as counsel to prominent Montreal law firm Heenan Blaikienuntil his passing in 2000.
This set of furniture was commissioned from award-winning designer Alexandra Champalimaud specifically for Trudeau’s use. The lot consists of Trudeau’s desk, office drawers and cabinet, made of various materials such as maple burl wood and veneer, marble and bronze metal.
To add to the illustrious history of Trudeau’s set of furniture, former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien then used it when he joined Heenan Blaikie in 2004.
Proceeds from the sale will go to the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation which "develops and promotes ideas and innovation in the social sciences and humanities fields."
[ Related: Pierre Trudeau remains Canada’s most popular prime minister ]
You might, however, be surprised by the relatively low expected selling price of the office furniture used by two former Canadian prime ministers.
The auctioneers are estimating that it will fetch anywhere between $4,000 and $6,000.
[ Related: Last of Nixon tapes released, includes Pierre Trudeau call about Watergate ]
Apparently, in the U.S. they seem to get a little more excited about political memorabilia than we do in Canada.
Earlier this year, President John F. Kennedy's Air Force One leather bomber jacket went for $570,000 at an auction.
In June, George W. Bush's 2009 F-150 King Ranch truck sold for $300,000.
And in July, 32 items that belonged to Bill Clinton intern Monica Lewinsky reached a bid for $12,650. The lot of pieces included partially crushed presidential M&M's, a birthday card written by Clinton to Lewinsky's lover and a black negligee. (No, the infamous stained blue dress was not included.)
For usable office furniture, $4,000 to $6,000 sounds like a pretty a good deal to me.
(Photo is screenshot from Heffel.com)
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