On eBay now: 10 most bizarre bits of political memorabilia

There is no end of wonderful political stuff available on eBay. If I had a million dollars I could have bought a powerboat given by Nixon to Brezhnev, (or was it given by Brezhnev to Nixon, I forget).

There are also some astonishing offers which leave one scratching one's head. The following are, I promise you, all available on eBay right now:

Enoch Powell's complete personal collection of Hansards: An entirely pointless and extremely large set of books covering the 36 years of Powell's Parliamentary career. Where would you put them? When would you use them? Why would you buy them? You would have to be mad, literally mad.

A dinner menu from Robert Mugabe's trip to Buckingham Palace: For all those times when you wish to toast Zimbabwe's leader and require a personal memento. Or perhaps when you want to make your friends jealous by pretending you were there! They either had Avocado salad or salad of lawyers. Either seems possible, but my French is not able to distinguish.

A piece of George Washington's coffin: Just what you've always wanted. The seller doesn't say if the coffin was cherry wood but does insist the fragment is genuine. And they cannot tell a lie.

Bloodied hair of Abraham Lincoln: For the love of your life, this one. A romantic gift. This was clipped by the dying President's doctor from the area of the wound. You would have thought he would have better things to do than collecting souvenirs to sell on ebay. The doctor's Chelsea shirt signed by Didier Drogba is also available.

Gladstone-signed mauchline napkin ring: This is a napkin ring made from a tree felled by the former Liberal Prime Minister, and therefore much better than an ordinary napkin ring.

Eva Braun's Home Movies: These films, like Germany, have been fully remastered. Aren't you pleased Adolf gave Eva a movie camera? If he hadn't you wouldn't be able to see these delightful and intimate moments preserved on film. The seller urges us: "See Himmler, Heydrich, Speer, Goebbels, Bormann, Hitler's doctors, secretaries and many more!" Who can resist such an appeal?

Judy Lamarsh's scrap book collection: A 1955 London bus map belonging to a Canadian MP you've never heard of could be yours! Don't miss out.

6 Hairs of Lyndon Johnson: Who wouldn't want this? Once your family takes possession of this artefact, other people's children will come under tremendous peer pressure to own something similar. They should take care because, according to the seller, the family of White House barber Steve Martini only has limited stocks. He is also hawking Eisenhower's hair. Wasn't Ike bald?

Jackie Kennedy's To Do List: You, yes you, can be the proud owner of a scrap of paper upon which somebody who used to be married to a Greek shipping magnate has reminded herself to post a letter. The ebay listing finishes with the immortal words:  "A coffee cup stain, perhaps from Mrs. Kennedy herself, marks the bottom of the page." You've got to love that "perhaps".

Margot Honecker's Espresso cups: Your chance to own a 21 piece coffee service that belonged to Mr and Mrs East Germany. The seller of the collection holds out the possibility that these were used when the Honecker's entertained guests like Poland's General Jaruzelski.

Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Comments

[A. Nuran]

None of these tops one I saw some years back...

The Non-Commissioned Officer's Sword of Idi Amin, complete with provenance. I don't think I'd want to be on the same continent as that one, let alone have it in my house.

[Lisa]

Jackie Kennedy's "to do list" dates, according to the picture of it, on February 21, 1870. Quite amazing, given she was born in 1929.

[Ian]

George Washington's coffin pieces are obviously fake. GW is interred in a STONE sarcophagus in his family vault at Mt. Vernon, VA. Not to mention that his home and vault are under the administration of a private historical organization--no way they would sell any of his relics, especially on eBay.

[Mark]

Much as this sounds nice, there's a sucker born every day. I'm not saying that all of these are fake. . but this IS Ebay we're talking about. If I were going to buy any of this stuff, I'd be very skeptical about its authenticity.

[Tony]

Is it just me, or has the Times Online gone list crazy of late?

[Michael Robinson]

Re Washington's Coffin Fragment: far from impossible, see:-

"From 1799 to 1831, the wooden casings which covered Washington’s lead casket had to be replaced three times due to deterioration and decay. In 1837, this problem was solved when John Struthers of Philadelphia presented two marble caskets to the Washington family so the President and First Lady could be interred in a safe, strong, and secure permanent enclosure.

The Washington family accepted the gifts and the event known as “Washington’s Re-Tombing’ began.

To accommodate the two new marble caskets, the inner vault had to be enlarged. A 12-foot brick vestibule was added to the inner vault. On Saturday, Oct. 7, 1837, the bodies of Martha and George Washington were placed in the new caskets (made of solid blocks of Pennsylvania marble)."
http://www.commonwealthinst.com/famous.html

[John, UK]

Well done Michael Robinson. Information rather than speculation.

[Stew Harris]

Yes, Ike was bald. But perhaps the hair is not from his head?

[Sam Deakins]

I understand someone has an Obama urine sample for sell...collected from when he was using cocaine by Harvard campus police.