What we now call stamps were invented by Henry Bishop, London’s postmaster general, in 1661. Originally, a handstamp was used to indicate the postage had been paid to send a parcel or letter, coining the term “stamp.” In 1840, Sir Rowland Hill invented the first adhesive stamp, the forerunner of today’s postage stamps. We use…

Art has the ability to stir our emotions, not unlike music, creating reactions that may be universal as well as uniquely personal. Great art has been celebrated, enjoyed, and even coveted, but could it also have a more practical purpose? For many investors seeking to diversify portfolios for financial or personal reasons, the answer is…

LONDON—The shirt worn by Diego Maradona when he scored the controversial “Hand of God” goal against England in the 1986 World Cup has sold for 7.1 million pounds ($9.3 million), the highest price ever paid at auction for a piece of sports memorabilia. Auctioneer Sotheby’s sold the shirt in an online auction that closed Wednesday….

It’s a first for Sotheby’s NY. From July 16 through to July 26, the prestigious auction house will host an online sale titled “Contemporary Realism: Important 21st-Century Works.”  A total of 28 realist paintings are included in the auction, with each lot having been selected from the award winners and high-ranking finalists of the 15th…

Talk about your yard sale finds. A small porcelain bowl bought for $35 at a Connecticut yard sale turned out to be a rare 15th century Chinese artifact worth between $300,000 and $500,000 that is about to go up for auction at Sotheby’s. The white bowl adorned with cobalt blue paintings of flowers and other…