LONDON – A small leather-bound volume in which Muhammad Ali drew pictures of himself fighting archrival Joe Frazier has sold for $30,000 at auction.
It was the most expensive item at an auction organized by Tatler magazine that raised a total of $225,000 for a south London charity for the homeless, Sotheby’s auction house said Tuesday.
Tatler sent two dozen 1-inch-high books bound in leather to celebrities from the worlds of arts, sport and politics and asked them to fill the pages with whatever they liked.
South African casino tycoon Sol Kerzner bought the Ali volume, which was somewhat bigger than the others as Ali has Parkinson’s disease, and paid another $17,000 for British artist David Hockney’s effort, nine sketches of his native Yorkshire, at Monday’s auction.
Ali fought Frazier in three brutal fights – losing the first but outlasting Frazier in the others.
The second most expensive lot, at $23,000, was former Beatle Paul McCartney’s book, which contained the handwritten lyrics to “Hey Jude.”
Third was author J.K. Rowling’s offering, which included pictures of young wizard Harry Potter’s broomstick and wire-rimmed spectacles – at $20,000.
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