Buy Richard Garriott’s Stuff!

Those of you with money to burn and a desire to own a piece of ecclectica from Richard Garriott’s collection of oddities might want to take note of this auction, which will be taking place on Saturday, the 21st of this month.

With items ranging from a historic rocket ship model to a full-sized Wells Fargo replica stagecoach, legendary video game developer and astronaut Richard Garriott will be offering pieces from his eclectic personal collection at an estates auction of significant artifacts and antiques. The auction includes a grand selection of antiques, fine art, oriental art, silver and china at Austin Auction Gallery at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21.

Items from Garriott’s collection also include early antique automobiles, a Harley Davidson Sportster 1200 motorcycle, a planetarium projector, a full-sized fortune telling machine and space-related pieces.

“I collect and I look at these demonstration toys or things such as the model rocket ship – and other electromechanical items to inspire the work I do,” Garriott said. “As a collector, these are personally important to me.”

Garriott said the 3-foot-tall model rocket ship is a historical piece as it is a model of the design done by Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. “I got it from Russia, sourced directly from the descendants of the original designer,” he said. “I rewired it to 110 volt as it was originally set up on Russian power.”

And yes…

All of Garriott’s auction items are from his private collection at Britannia Manor, his Austin-area home.

It’s a wild and varied assortment of historical items. Of course, this being Richard Garriott, you’d expect no less. Because of course!

(By the way: Bidding on the Russian model rocket starts at $300.)