A rare working Enigma machine, only recently discovered in a Norwegian barn, will be on display in London next week before being sold at auction.
The Enigma machine is a rare example of a Heimsoeth und Rinke three-rotor Enigma 1 cipher machine built around 1937 and is thought to have been left in a Norwegian barn at the end of WWII, where it remained undiscovered until last year.
After the war, the farmer served as a member of the local Home Guard troops (Heimevernet), and his barn may have been used as a logistics storage centre for the military unit. The farmer died in 1995, and the Enigma remained in the barn undisturbed until its discovery last year. The auction house Bonhams says that the Enigma’s condition is remarkable as it’s still in its original veneered oak box, along with the original instructions on the inside lid.
The Enigma machine will be on display ahead of the auction for one week only, alongside a range of other items from the auction, including a wide selection of other cipher machines and clandestine spy radios.
The Instruments of Science and Technology sale will also include a pair of miniature terrestrial and celestial globes made by the leading map maker in the early 18th century, John Senex and a collection of 35 portable sundials in brass, silver and wood that were produced in Europe between 1500 and 1900. There will also be a very rare 1930s Baird Televisor — an early type of television — on sale.
The auction takes place at Bonhams on New Bond Street, and the public viewings will run from Monday 2nd to Friday 6th September and also Monday 9th September between 9:30am and 4:30pm.
Auction viewings are officially for prospective buyers, but they’re freely open to the public to visit and have a look as well.
You can see the full auction catalogue here.
This article was published on ianVisits
SUPPORT THIS WEBSITE
This website has been running now for just over a decade, and while advertising revenue contributes to funding the website, but doesn’t cover the costs. That is why I have set up a facility with DonorBox where you can contribute to the costs of the website and time invested in writing and research for the news articles.
It’s very similar to the way The Guardian and many smaller websites are now seeking to generate an income in the face of rising costs and declining advertising.
Whether its a one-off donation or a regular giver, every additional support goes a long way to covering the running costs of this website, and keeping you regularly topped up doses of Londony news and facts.
If you like what your read on here, then please support the website here.
Thank you
