Johannes and Konrad Martin are certain: “It is definitely a rarity that we have with us,” say the two brothers. “Because we haven’t seen anything like it anywhere.” The rare piece is an advertising light box that the two received from their uncle, who in turn took it over when the workshop was liquidated.
Sven Deutschmanek cannot find a manufacturer. For this he recapitulates the history of advertising technology, which can be dated back to the Middle Ages. At that time, inns with Kienspan, a forerunner of the torch, drew attention to themselves. After the Second World War, a lot of work was done with neon tubes. In order to make this technology cheaper, light boxes were finally developed – with which Deutschmanek arrived at the present object, which he dates to the late 1960s, early 1970s.
It is a simple box with eight lines, each of which can be filled with letters and numbers to write individual texts. Deutschmanek used the sequence of letters “Bares for Rares” for demonstration purposes. Even if many of the characters are already yellowed, the expert believes in good sales opportunities: whether in the private sector or in the cocktail bar, there are many possible uses.
The Martin brothers want 50 to 100 euros. Sven Deutschmanek is even more optimistic and estimates the value at between 80 and 120 euros. “Depending on who over there gets excited about it, it might even be more,” says moderator Horst Lichter – and should be right.
Because Fabian Kahl starts the auction with 80 euros. And it doesn’t stop there: together with Jan Čížek, the retailer engages in an exciting bidding war. So the price rises to 360 euros – three times the estimated value. “A lot of money, but I’ll have a lot of fun with it,” says the proud new owner Čížek when paying.
The brothers are more than satisfied: “Originally we just wanted to have a nice day with the money. But now it’s almost a whole vacation.”
Source: “Bares for Rares” in the ZDF media library
also read
