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The Schmooze

Ed Koch Belongings Fetch $55K at Auction

The first day of the auction of the former New York Mayor Ed Koch’s possessions fetched a sum of $51,755 at Doyle New York auction house, far greater than the expected $20 – $30,000, the New York Daily News reported.

Koch’s dining set, which included of six Frank Lloyd Wright-designed chairs, was expected to fetch around $2,500. It went for $11,250 to a Florida couple.

Koch’s favorite burgundy leather chair went for $875 to a buyer in Alabama. It was expected to fetch between $200 and $300.

The late mayor’s mahogany inlaid desk, with an estimated value of $150-250, will go to a buyer in New Jersey for $469. Three paintings were sold to a New York buyer for $4,063. Several other pieces of art fetched a total of $4,175.

“There really was a demand, and not just from New Yorkers,” said Louis Webre, director of communications at Doyle New York. “We had fans of the mayor bidding from all over the place.”

Koch died in February at the age of 88. His personal books and correspondences will be auctioned off on November 25

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